A caravan of Central American migrants travelling to the United States to seek asylum is now halfway through Mexico, writes Karen Jacobsen. Central American migrants face extortion, robbery, assault, kidnapping, rape and murder on their weeks-long journey through Mexico. But as a scholar of forced migration, I believe it’s also important to consider why migrants travel in groups: their own safety. Large groups increase migrants’ chance of safe passage, and they provide some sense of community and solidarity on the journey, as migrants themselves report. Publicizing the dangers they fleeLarge groups of migrants also attract media coverage.

Source: Irish Examiner October 25, 2018 15:22 UTC