Mexico to give survival kits to border jumpers

FILE-- U.S. Border Patrol agent Brent Barber takes information from a Mexican citizen, early morning hours of April 10, 2000, in Douglas, Ariz. Hundreds of Mexicans try to illegally cross into the United States via Aqua Prieta, Mexico every day. At least 66 illegal immigrants have died this year making their way through Arizona, the most the Border Patrol has ever recorded in the state. Last year, 40 people died crossing Arizona's border. (AP Photo/Matt York) less FILE-- U.S. Border Patrol agent Brent Barber takes information from a Mexican citizen, early morning hours of April 10, 2000, in Douglas, Ariz. Hundreds of Mexicans try to illegally cross into the United States ... more Photo: MATT YORK Photo: MATT YORK Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Mexico to give survival kits to border jumpers 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

2001-05-17 04:00:00 PDT Mexico City -- If they can't stop illegal immigration to the United States, officials of the new Mexican government say their citizens at least shouldn't die in the process of trying.

So starting next month, the administration of President Vicente Fox will distribute up to 200,000 survival kits to those planning to immigrate illegally to the United States this summer.

Each packet will contain food, water, medicine and information to prepare people for the problems they are likely to face on the trip north -- which can include a dangerous trek through deserts and mountains of California or Arizona.

Juan Hernandez, the director of the Office for Mexicans Abroad, conceded that the survival kits are controversial in that they appear to encourage illegal immigration. But, he said, "We are not going to close our eyes. We have individuals who are dying at the border. This office was created specifically to watch out for their needs."

As U.S. Border Patrol surveillance has increased, poor Mexicans have resorted to crossing the border in isolated areas. Last year, 490 died crossing the 1,952-mile border, according to the Mexican government. So far this year, they have perished at a rate of about one a day, though government officials say the death toll typically increases during the hot summer months.

A committee of doctors and health workers formed by the special office came up with the idea of the survival kits, the bluntest sign yet of the government's new attitude.

"It reflects a reality that has rarely been reflected officially," said Jorge Santibanez, president of the Colegio de la Frontera Norte, a state university in Tijuana. "Mexico avoided actions that could appear to be helping migrants leave. There was a kind of self-censorship: What will the U.S. say if we look like we are helping them leave? This self-censorship has disappeared. This is very positive."

The program -- called Vete Sano, Regresa Sano, or "Leave Healthy, Return Healthy" -- is scheduled to begin June 15 and cost $2 million.

U.S. FUNDING SOUGHT

It is sponsored by the Mexican government, which also is seeking funding from the California Endowment, a health foundation based in Woodland Hills (Los Angeles County) that has set aside $50 million for programs to improve the health of California farmworkers.

"The concept is consistent with the kind of commitment this (money) would support," said Dr. Robert Ross, the foundation's president and former health director of San Diego County.

Even if they can't strike a deal with the foundation, Mexican officials say the program will proceed in a reduced form.

For years, officials ignored the emigrants' plight and treated them like traitors for earning a living outside Mexico. Police extorted money from those returning home for periodic visits.

All that changed in December when Fox became the first opposition candidate in 71 years to oust the Institutional Revolutionary Party from power.

FOX'S NEW REGIME

Last Christmas, Fox went to the border to welcome Mexicans home for vacation. He then set up the Office for Mexicans Abroad to handle their affairs, which promised to prosecute those preying on returning emigrants.

Since then, the office has lobbied U.S. governors to find cheaper and safer ways for Mexicans to send money home and for banks to allow immigrants to open accounts without Social Security numbers. In September, the office will present to Congress legislation that would allow Mexicans abroad to vote absentee in general elections.

The survival kits are part of this major shift in Mexican government policy.

In addition to distributing medicine and equipping some emigrants to administer first aid, the government also is distributing a list of California health clinics that do not require a Social Security number to receive treatment. Tuberculosis sufferers will be given a card that documents their last doctor visits so they can continue treatment in California.

Finally, the program will hold seminars in which recipients of the kits are taught about good nutrition, how to use the included medicines and condoms, and techniques to combat depression and anxieties that come with leaving family and friends behind and arriving illegally in an English-speaking nation.

"Those who have gone to the U.S. have told us of their experiences," said Dr. Angel Flores, chief of community action for the Mexican Institute of Social Security, a network of 3,000 rural health workers responsible for health education and delivery of the kits. "This is what they have told us they need."

NUTRITION A CONCERN

The kits will be distributed and workshops held in 369 of the poorest municipalities in 17 states, Flores said. At the workshops, health workers will lecture on nutrition, junk food, diabetes and psychological problems.

Flores said many Mexicans contract diabetes in the United States. Their diet in Mexico is meager and simple but relatively healthy, including tortillas made of cornmeal, beans and chile peppers. But ignorant of what is available and unable to speak English, they often resort to eating mainly junk food in the United States, leading to such diseases as diabetes.

"We want them to know that in the U.S., they can eat well, and they can find what they eat here in Mexico," he said.

Psychological seminars are intended to help emigrants deal with bouts of depression and loneliness. These include concentration and relaxation exercises, as well as Asian breathing and meditation techniques.

In the end, the biggest obstacle to the proper use of the survival kits could be the very people that they are intended to help.

"If you ask emigrants, 70 percent don't see any risks," Santibanez said. "So if the kit isn't accompanied with education on how to use it and why it is necessary, it won't be used."

Staying healthy

The survival kits being given to Mexicans planning to cross the border will include anti-diarrhea medicine, bandages, aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol), medicine for snake and scorpion bites, powder to prevent dehydration, water, salt, dry meat, tuna and granola.

In addition, women's kits will have 25 birth control pills, while men will get 25 condoms.

As part of the same program, the government will train hundreds of volunteers among the population who immigrate illegally each year in first aid and emergency health care. They will be given surgical soap, sutures for sewing wounds, thermometers, gauze, cotton and other implements to treat common medical problems suffered on the road.