The 3,000-kilometre US-Mexico border is the most frequently crossed international land border in the world, with about 250 million crossings a year, some of them legal, some not. Every year approximately a million Mexicans seek to improve their fortunes by migrating illegally to the USA - and every year several hundred lose their lives in the attempt.
1. D Some die of thirst and exhaustion in the desert, some drown in the Rio Grande or are killed in car accidents. People smugglers, known as ‘coyotes’, demand high fees and then abandon the migrants in the wilderness at the first sign of danger. In some cases, being found and arrested by the US Border Patrol may be a blessing. Recently, the US government have come up with an innovative weapon against illegal migration: poignant ballads with Spanish lyrics, describing the danger of trying to cross the border.
2. F This fact has not been publicised, and sometimes radio DJs who play the songs are not aware of their origin. They belong to the traditional and highly popular Mexican genre of ‘corridos’, narrative ballads whose lyrics may be love stories or legends of famous heroes and criminals. The ‘migracorridos’ tell tragic tales of immigrants meeting with abuse and death on the dangerous journey. The message: it is not worth it. In one of the ballads, a singer called Abelardo sets out to cross the border with his cousin Rafael. They manage to reach US territory, but are lost in the desert without water.
3. E After many hours of futile wandering, they lie down to rest. Later Abelardo wakes up to find his cousin dead by his side. In another song, a group of friends are abandoned by a human trafficker, locked inside the trailer in which they were being transported, where they slowly suffocate to death. The US Border Patrol commissioned the migracorridos CD from a Hispanic advertising agency based in Washington.
4. A A CD of such songs has been distributed free to radio stations in northern Mexico. The ballads appear to be popular, with listeners phoning in to ask for more and wishing to find out about the singers.
5. C Official statistics show a drop in both arrests and deaths on the US-Mexican border in 2008. The decrease could be due to a number of factors, such as more patrols, better technology and fewer people trying to cross the border as a result of the economic crisis in the USA. It is too early to estimate the impact of the migracorridos. However, the creators of the campaign believe that if they have managed to get at least some people to think twice before throwing themselves into the deadly risk, that is already a success.
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