A group of volunteers carrying backpacks full of supplies braced for another trip into remote parts of the California desert on Saturday as part of their weekly water drops to provide basic necessities to migrants hoping to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
Al Otro Lado, a nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid and no-cost legal aid for refugees and deportees, conducts weekly drop-offs at San Diego and Imperial Counties’ deserts. The organization describes its efforts as “an initiative aimed at saving the lives of men, women and children fleeing persecution by providing water, seasonal clothing, food and first-aid kits along the California-México border.”
James Cordero, who coordinates the water drops, said migrants who cross the desert into the States face rugged terrain, harsh weather conditions that include temperatures of up to 130 degrees during the summer and the possibility of injuries or even death on their journey. His team hopes to save lives by providing supplies and leaving them in the desert.
“We’re talking about very remote locations, and this is reserved for those with the least amount of resources to get into this country and that’s why they take these very long distances, this rugged terrain,” he said.
Along their paths in the desert, Cordero said the volunteer group has found items left behind by migrants, showing them where supplies are needed most.
“We’ve found anything from backpacks, shoes, bibles, rosaries, a lot of the times prayer cards,” he said. “We’ll find currency from all over the world kind of letting us know where people are traveling from or where they’re traveling through to get to where they are.”
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With their weekly drop-offs, the group is able to determine which areas require more necessities to help migrants.
“To me, if nothing’s used, that means there should be no one dying in that area, there should be no one suffering in that area,” Cordero said. “If there’s some supplies used – great; they needed what they needed. And if all the supplies are gone, that’s not a good thing to me because that just means that the levels are so high up there, it’s such a necessary thing.”
Cordero said the group’s mission is to help fellow humans. He shared one message to those who are opposed to the nonprofit’s efforts:
“At the end of the day, it’s about saving human lives and a bottle of water can minimize the suffering and minimize death out there,” he said. “The supplies that we use can save lives and do save lives.”
To learn more about Al Otro Lado, click here.
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