Film illustrates plight of migrants crossing Mexico

A story today in the Latin American Herald Tribune describes a recent rescue of 103 migrants held by human traffickers in Mexico:

MEXICO CITY – Mexican marines rescued 103 Central Americans and five Mexicans being held at a banana plantation apparently operated by people traffickers, and arrested eight suspects, federal prosecutors said.

Three newborns and a pregnant 12-year-old girl were among those rescued by the marines, the Attorney General’s Office said.

The rescue operation was staged at the La Herradura banana plantation in Tapachula, a city in Chiapas state, which is on the border with Guatemala, the AG’s office said.

This rescue follows the discovery of 72 Central American migrants who had been massacred in Tamaulipas, Mexico in August.

Now Amnesty International is promoting a new film about the plight of Central American immigrants who fall victim to rape, kidnapping and worse.   From the announcement about the film:

The Invisibles, a new film in four parts documents the journey of Central American migrants travelling through Mexico and the brutal reality of life on the move.

Our hope? to shine a light on what has largely remained an invisible issue and highlight the Mexican government’s obligation to prevent and punish these abuses, whether perpetrated by criminal gangs or their own officials.

The idea for the film came about after several research trips to Southern Mexico to document the human rights abuses of thousands of irregular migrants who travel through Mexico every year.

Our team spent hours interviewing migrants who told us what was happening to people on their way to the US: how they had been prayed on by criminal gangs and sometimes public officials and how the gangs were killing, raping and kidnapping migrants. The stories were horrifying but the people we spoke to were determined to reach the US. We decided we had to find a way to draw the world’s attention to this human rights crisis.

Watch the four sections of this new film here.