For most of this summer, San Antonio has been sweltering under an excessive heat alert, with temperatures exceeding 105 degrees. The searing heat resulted in tragedy for 53 immigrants, who suffocated to death in a trailer on June 27.
Men, women and children, from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, were packed together, without water or air conditioning.
Although the Guatemalan consulate says that it is not known for sure if any of the immigrants were headed to Massachusetts, in New Bedford there are those who relived the nightmare of crossing the border in a trailer.
Sebastiana Raymundo, together with her daughter, traveled more than 18 hours aboard a trailer. “[There] were 160 people. There was an armed man who was forcing us to be silent,” she recalled.
“Sad memories come to mind, and I think we could have been the victims,” she said.
Editor’s note: Gerardo Beltrán Salinas is a Chilean journalist currently living in the New Bedford area. He produces video and news stories on topics of interest to the region’s Spanish-speaking community.
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