Thread: AZ: Border group leaves water for migrants

Border group leaves water for migrants
April 27th, 2008 @ 7:25pm
by Associated Press

SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. - Raymundo Pineda Montoya placed his hand against the side of a 55-gallon plastic barrel. The top part was hot from basking in the sun. He ran his fingers down until he could feel a cold area toward the bottom.

The barrel seemed to be more than half empty. He estimated it was lacking about 35 gallons. Antonio Mejia Villano unraveled a hose from the bed of an F-150 pickup truck and carried one end of it over. As Montoya placed the nozzle in an opening in the barrel, gravity carried water to it from a giant tank inside the pickup.

On Wednesday, a small group worked to put an estimated 145 gallons into seven barrels near Naco, Sonora in Mexico. The water is available for thirsty migrants who are hiking through the desert on their way to illegally enter the United States.

The barrels are topped off once a week, except during summer months when they may be filled twice as often. The stations - five located west of town and two to the east _ are marked with blue flags so they can be seen from a distance.

The water program is a binational effort of Frontera de Cristo Presbyterian ministry in Douglas and Agua Prieta, Citizens for Border Solutions in Bisbee, and a rehab clinic in Naco, Sonora, known by the Spanish acronym CRREDA. Other groups in the region sponsor similar programs on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Cecile Lumer, of Citizens for Border Solutions, said she was impressed by the fact that the first barrel was missing so much water.

``This is at a time when hardly anyone is crossing here,'' she said, noting U.S. Border Patrol officials recently discontinued deportations of illegal immigrants through the Naco port of entry.

Upon arrival at another barrel, Lumer noticed the water inside was greenish. The tank needed to be replaced with a clean one, but the group did not bring any empty barrels along on this trip.

``You wouldn't want to drink it,'' she added, as she told Montoya to add 10 gallons of clean water to top off the contents in the dirty barrel. ``We will leave it. It's better than nothing, if you are dying of dehydration.''

The third water barrel was full and there was no need to add any water to it. Lumer referred to the group's records and pointed out this barrel was also full during the past two Wednesdays, meaning it has not been used by migrants for three weeks now.

Data on water usage is kept on a spreadsheet, she said. If a barrel is not being used much, then it will be moved somewhere else.

Mark Adams, a coordinator of Frontera de Cristo, said the group pays CRREDA in Naco, Sonora, a $100 honorarium per month, plus $20 for gas for each trip, to drive its pickup truck and fill the seven water barrels near Naco, Sonora.

There are also more than a dozen water stations near Agua Prieta, he said. Representatives of CRREDA in Agua Prieta fill those barrels, and Frontera de Cristo pays that group the same amount.

Montoya, the director of CRREDA in Naco, Sonora, said the drug and alcohol rehabilitation center participates in the activity because it needs the funds.

``We don't get a lot of money, but when we get it, we pay the lights, the telephone, the cable,'' he said, adding the center helps 35 men and five women, including 10 mentally ill men.

Lumer said she intends to install a couple more water barrels wherever there is a need for them near Naco, Sonora.

Al Garza, national executive director of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, said members of the border watch group have ``mixed emotions'' about the water station effort because it entices people to violate international law.

``It is kind of a confusing issue,'' he said. ``We understand it's a humanitarian gesture, but at the same time we look at it also as a magnet. It is an attractive and a very appealing form of saying, 'Come on in, you're invited, and don't forget, here's the water.' ``

Garza said the Minutemen do not oppose the idea of giving out water. In fact, he estimated the group has given out more than 20,000 gallons of water to illegal immigrants and has saved more than 320 lives.

``But we haven't enticed anyone with it,'' he added. ``We just happened to be in the right place at the right time and we always make sure to carry plenty of water.''

He added the water stations can actually harm illegal immigrants because some bandits hide nearby and then rob, rape or murder unsuspecting individuals who come for a drink.

Lumer said migrants are frequently spotted near the water stations. She takes food packs along to hand out in case she sees them.

The bags contain nonperishable items such as Gatorade, water, a fruit drink, sardines, crackers and apple sauce.

http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=820380

Why don't they give 'em a map to their homes too so that they can support 'em. If they want to aid and abet illegals they might as well adopt them so that the rest of America doesn't have to support them!

Lumer said migrants are frequently spotted near the water stations. She takes food packs along to hand out in case she sees them.

The bags contain nonperishable items such as Gatorade, water, a fruit drink, sardines, crackers and apple sauce.

I have no problem with these folks furnishing water for folks who may be dying from dehydration, however, furnishing them with food is beyond what I deem acceptable. IMO, the food is a comfort item that is not necessary for their basic survival. A person can survive 4 to 6 weeks without food but survival without water is normally limited to a few days (probably less in the desert environment).

Personally, I don't consider furnishing a drink to someone who could be dying of dehydration aiding and abetting, however, I view giving illegal aliens food to make thier journey more comfortable differently.

Living where I do I have had lots of illegals come up asking for water and I always give them as much as they want but I also invite them to have a seat in the shade while they wait for Border Patrol to come and pick them up.
The obl's like to call us hate filled racist but that's not the case, I actually feel sorry for a lot of the people I turn in, the look on their faces shows the toll they have been through. I have helped many who were going into heat exhaustion, giving them ice water and helping them walk to a shady seat and hosing them down to cool them off.
I know how quickly the heat and lack of water can kill a person.
I don't want to see these people suffer, I just wish they would stay home.