The Garifuna ExodusPosted in Articles, Audio, Caribbean/Latin America, Latino Studies, Media Archive, Social Science, United States on 2015-02-02 01:29Z by Steven |
Latino USA
2015-01-23
Maria Hinojosa, Executive Producer & Anchor
Marlon Bishop, Producer
For centuries, the Garifuna people — descendents of both Africans and indigenous Arawak people from the Caribbean — have lived peacefully in seaside towns on the North Coast of Honduras. There’s always been a trickle of migration from the community to the United States – especially the Bronx, where the largest Garifuna community outside of Central America lives.
But starting last spring, the trickle of migrants became a flood. Hundreds of Garifuna from each town left, thousands all together, embarking on the dangerous journey through Central America and Mexico to the U.S. border. It was mostly mothers with small children. They showed up in places like the Bronx, seeking refuge with family members, wearing GPS ankle monitors placed on them by U.S. immigration officers who detained them. They await court dates in limbo, unsure if they will be forced to go back to the homes they fled…
Read the entire introduction and listen to the story here.