The Committee of Relatives of Missing Migrants (COFAMIDE) is a Salvadoran based organization that was founded in 2006 as an initiative of mothers, fathers, husbands and wives and children seeking to find out what happened to their family members that set out on the trek to the United States. COFAMIDE began as a grassroots organization that received no help from the government and thus, resorted to informal channels to track down their loved ones, dead or alive. Realizing that they were not the only ones dealing with the pain of not knowing, they set out in 2009 on a "Walk of Hope" from San Salvador to Ixtepec, Mexico following the route that the majority of migrants take, to gather as much information as possible from locals and to meet with local governments in effort to form a database of collected information on missing migrants.
While on this March many belonging to COFAMIDE held hope they would find their relatives. In fact, the group became aware of several mass graves of Salvadorans murdered in Tamaulipas, but unfortunately there was no willingness on the government's part to uncover these graves for analysis. And sadly, more mass graves are still being discovered.
After a change in the Salvadoran government in 2009 and the slaughter of Tamaulipas, efforts to protect the human rights of migrants in transit have grown, but are yet to be affective.
On a more positive note,
Diario Co Latino reports that COFAMIDE has been in contact with the Ombudsman for the Defence of Human Rights, the Deputy Minister for Salvadorans Abroad and the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) to build a DNA database that will be able to identify those who disappear on their way to the United States. This project was initiated in August of 2010 and is aimed to help those migrant families that report a missing or assumed dead family member. The group currently has 143 cases lined up for this new database and 160 samples of DNA provided to help locate and identify missing migrants. The EAAF has extended its search to Northeastern Mexico and Texas to compare DNA with local Morgues. This DNA database will allow for a more reliable verification of remains and allow for family members to recover and bury the remains according to their beliefs.
This database may seem to be too simple of a concept to be worth celebrating to some, but to COFAMIDE and those who have spent years wondering what became of their loved ones this is a huge step. Now, instead of having to rely solely on hearsay to locate and identify migrants, technology and scientific data will be available to speed up and ease the search. Unfortunately, this database isn't a Fix all. The COFAMIDE will still have to battle the government (both Salvadoran and Mexican) and persuade them to take action to protect migrants from harm and to release information on the location of mass graves. In addition to this, COFAMIDE will still be reliant on the informal channels of hearsay to find out the details behind what happened to their loved ones.
As Thanksgiving approaches we account for all of the things we are thankful for, jobs, family, friends, freedom etc. For many, Thanksgiving is a time to be spent with family for those lucky enough to have family to spend it with. And although Thanksgiving is an American holiday, let's remember our Salvadoran friends, especially the ones who have missing family and friends that have not been accounted for.
