The immigration crisis at the American southern border has once again come to fore after a distressing image of a dead father and his daughter clinging to each other has come up. A Salvadoran father and his daughter were found lying lifeless in the water of Rio Grande, at the US border with Mexico. The 23-month-old daughter was still clinging on to the arm of her father, highlighting the tough times faced by migrants who try to cross into the US border. This shocking picture also reminds us of the crying immigrant child's photograph which became the face of zero tolerance immigration policy last year.
The image is of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez, 26, and his daughter Valeria Ávalos whose bodies were recovered from the bank of over near Matamoros, Mexico. It is just half a kilometre away from the international bridge. As reported in La Jornada, Martínez Ramírez had arrived in Matamoros to request asylum from US authorities with his wife and daughter in tow. He realised that it could take weeks for the process, so he decided to swim the distance. While the other picture of the crying girl was captured of the child and mother from Honduras who had entered the United States illegally after using a raft to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico. Photographer John Moore who captured it also won the World Press Photo 2019 award.
Here's The Image of Father and Daughter That is Going Viral:
“Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez, frustrated because the family from El Salvador were unable to present themselves to U.S. authorities and request asylum, swam across the river with his daughter, Valeria.” They didn’t make it. This photo is so, so haunting. https://t.co/A8AuPLQ4vi pic.twitter.com/B6ctd6lQ8G
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) June 25, 2019
Here's The Picture of Other Immigrant Child Which Went Viral Last Year:
Martínez Ramírez crossed over with the little girl and he left her on the American side. He then turned back to get his wife and her daughter got scared of her father leaving her behind. She got into the water after him and when he went to save her, the current took hold of them and they drowned. Crying Immigrant Child & Donald Trump As TIME Cover Pic With Caption 'Welcome to America' Portrays Immigration Crisis.
It is indeed a heartbreaking picture. The viral image has now been compared to the photograph of three-year-old Syrian boy Alan Kurdi who was found drowned in the Greek island of Kos. The process of seeking asylum and the trouble and stress that comes with it is highlighted here. Since the process can even take years, migrants resort to other dangerous routes to get across the border.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 26, 2019 04:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).