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September 24, 2005

A missing Mexican teen, a hurting mid-Hudson family

By Yaika Garcia
Times Herald-Record
ygarcia@th-record.com


Sept. 16 was a day to remember for Reymunda Perez Galvan of Poughkeepsie, but for unpleasant reasons. While her fellow Mexicans celebrated their country's Independence Day, the native of San Agustin, Oaxaca, and her family had no time or reason to be festive.

As many Hispanics rejoiced and welcomed Hispanic Heritage Month with open arms last weekend, Reymunda and her extended family were too busy taking down donation containers all over Poughkeepsie, Connecticut and Los Angeles, all in hopes of raising money and gathering clues to trace the fates of compatriots who seem to have vanished.

A convoy of about 15 people attempted to enter the United States illegally over the perilous Mexico-Arizona border the week of July 18. It is assumed that three teenagers and one adult didn't make it. Two have been found dead, their bodies shipped back to Oaxaca. Two haven't been found. One of those two happens to be Reymunda's 16-year-old nephew, Javier Juarez, whose destination had been Plainville, Conn. The donations that have been collected so far have gone toward burial for the two that have made it back to Oaxaca.


ARMED WITH NOTHING but hope and gathered hearsay, Reymunda is determined to solve the mystery before she goes back to Oaxaca "for good," soon.

She knows the beginning of her nephew's trek, but it's the possible end that bothers her the most.

"The desert is very treacherous," she said sadly, as she looked toward her homemade altar, full of Catholic images and plenty of candles.

"(They) tried to cross by the desert. It is believed that they got off from the truck to rest for an hour, then they would walk. Nothing is known beyond that point," Perez said.

Little is known about the "coyote," or smuggler/guide, who led them to the United States. He is known only by his nickname, "El Chispas" (Sparky). Up until July, he was considered reliable.
"In my town, he went to recruit people. He behaved kindly," she said.


AT THE START OF THE JOURNEY by Reymunda's nephew and the others, a phone number with a California area code was provided to let family members know about the group's progress. However, that phone number now seems to be inactive, with no one answering.

What Reymunda calls a "half-baked" excuse by "the coyote's people" has been provided to Reymunda's family back home, as well as to the other affected families, to settle them down.

"The coyote's people were sent to advise that they were dead, but didn't furnish any bodies, because they were all swept away by a river," said Reymunda.

Reymunda said that this doesn't add up. According to Reymunda and her sister-in-law Elizabeth Cruz, who resides in Connecticut where Javier was expected to arrive, the two bodies that were initially recovered and shipped were found by the Arizona border patrol, who said they were found "in the desert of Arizona."

"They can't find the others," she said, referring to her nephew and a twentysomething adult who also lived in San Agustin.

Reymunda has vowed to help as much as she can and bring peace to her sister, Javier's mother. It won't be easy. She and her family have no receipts, no written proof and nothing but rumors to rely on. In the dangerous labyrinths of "coyotes," anything is possible, and Reymunda knows it.

Typically, there are three or four people involved in the initial stages. The "coyote" is usually the only one interacting with the travelers through their journey. "Coyotes" go only by nicknames to protect themselves, as others serve as "sales people" that introduce and generate potential customers. Payment in cash is typically expected. If anything should go wrong in the operation, the "coyotes" disappear, just as "Sparky" did in this case.


JOEL MAGALLAN, founder and executive director of the Asociaciõn Tepeyac in New York City, an advocacy organization that serves the undocumented communities in New York, knows this story all too well.

"It can be that he may be found at a hospital," he said. "I think that the first causes of this are the situations in poverty in Mexico. A solution is, either Mexico needs to keep working so that these people don't have to migrate, or change the obsolete migratory system so that these people don't endanger their lives.

"The United States hasn't changed. At the end, the United States needs to accept and realize that it needs these workers," Magallan said.

Elizabeth has Magallan's information and is hoping for the best.

"We're desperate. They can't be found and nothing else is known. We may know of our people that are missing, but there may be more. We will never give up hope and will be waiting for them until they personally call us," she said.

Vamos!