Shocking death of an asylum seeker and his child at the US border
An El Salvadoran man and his two-year-old daughter drowned in a border river while fleeing from Mexico to the United States. The release of photos of their bodies has sparked a wave of anger and criticism on social media.
The Mexican newspaper La Jornada, which first published the shocking photo, quoted Tania A., the mother of the two-year-old girl and the husband of Oscar R., who died in the Rio Grande River on the border between Mexico and the United States, as saying: "They decided to cross the Rio Grande on Sunday, June 23. Oscar, carrying their daughter Valeria on his back, crossed the river and reached dry land. He intended to return to help his wife cross the river, but suddenly the girl ran after him and fell into the river. The father returned to save her, but instead of saving his child, he drowned himself."
After a few hours, the border police found their bodies 500 meters away.
Oscar's mother told reporters that her son, his wife and two-year-old son left El Salvador for the United States on April 3. They spent two months in Tapachula, a border region between El Salvador and Guatemala, before heading to Mexico.
A wave of anger and criticism
The release of photos of the bodies of two-year-old Oscar and Valeria is reminiscent of the death in the Mediterranean of three-year-old Syrian child Aylan Kurdi, who was found in a Turkish port in 2015.
A photo of the lifeless bodies of a Salvadoran refugee and her child has sparked a wave of anger and criticism, with many social media activists blaming US immigration policy for their deaths.
Some users have also criticized Mexican government officials for bowing to pressure from US President Donald Trump.
Trump had asked his Mexican counterpart, Lopez Obrador, to stop refugees from entering the United States, otherwise Washington would raise tariffs on Mexican products.
In this regard, an agreement was reached between the two countries, based on which the Mexican government has deployed 15,000 soldiers and police officers on its northern borders.
The bodies of an asylum seeker mother and her three young children were also found on the banks of the Rio Grande, apparently dying of thirst, according to the US Border Patrol.
House of Representatives financial assistance to refugees
The US House of Representatives has approved a bill that provides $4.5 billion in financial assistance for the children of refugees at the Mexican border.
According to Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, the money will be spent on food, clothing, health, housing, and medical needs for refugee children.
Many Republican representatives oppose this plan and plan to pass a new plan in this regard in the Senate.
In recent weeks, human rights organizations have criticized the poor conditions of asylum seekers in Mexican camps, saying that the conditions of children in these camps are deplorable.
Source: DW
