A deeply distressing photo of recently published has heightened the awareness of the dangers Central American migrants are facing in their attempts to make a better life for their families. The image which we find too upsetting to reproduce shows an El Salvadorian father and his young daughter lying drowned in the Rio Grande in a failed attempt to make it across the Mexican border into the US. The family had been in Mexico on a two months on a humanitarian visa, but the father had become frustrated at not being able to apply for asylum in the US. This is not the time or place to discuss the rights or wrongs of anyone’s actions but instead should be used to highlight the need to put a proper asylum system in place or look at ways to help ensure there are opportunities for people in these countries so they don’t become sufficiently desperate at their lot that they don’t feel the need to risk their lives.
Header Image Siam.pukkato/Shutterstock
