By Ana Gomez Salcido 
A memorial for immigrants that have drowned around the world was held on both sides of the border at Friendship Park inside Border Field State Park, this Sunday, August 7.
The memorial, first observed in Spain, has been organized in San Diego by humanitarian and immigrant rights non-profit Border Angels for the last five years.
The tribute consisted in placing wood crosses bearing messages like “Rest in Peace,” “Never Forgotten,” and “We miss you” along the beach to remember migrants from around the world that have died on the world’s waters.
“It is very important to recognize all people that have died crossing borders. Today, we especially remember the people that have died crossing rivers, channels, and the sea,” said Border Angels Founder and Director Enrique Morones.
“Here at the U.S.-Mexico border, [the leading cause of deaths] is a lack of water for people that cross through the desert. Around the world however, the number one cause of death of people immigrating from one to country to another is drowning.”
According to Morones, two or three migrants die on a hot day in the desert, but there are 400 or 450 people that can die in a day at sea by having any type of mishap on a boat.
In San Diego, immigrants use many different methods to cross from Mexico to the United States without documentation. A common method is using panga boats that sometimes are overloaded and go even further than 100 miles into the sea to avoid authorities.
Morones explained that panga boats used to dock in San Diego, but nowadays, these vessels go further north up to Santa Barbara, making trips longer and more dangerous.
“Last year was the worst for immigrants using the sea to go from country to country because of the crisis in the Middle East,” Morones said.
“The boats they use are not able to hold many people and they often don’t have enough life jackets. So if the boat turns, the immigrants drown. Over 3,000 deaths drowning deaths have been registered so far this year.”
The act of remembrance held this Sunday helped to create awareness in the community, Morones said.
Marlon Henriquez, who was born in El Salvador, participated in paying tribute to these lives lost to the high seas.
“I have the summer off, so I decided to come and be a volunteer for Border Angels along with my girlfriend Amy”, said Henriquez, who is a preschool teacher in Minnesota.
“I didn’t know how the border works, and I hadn’t seen the walls that divide the U.S. from Mexico before. It has been an opportunity to learn and help,” Henriquez concluded.
