(CNN) – Thousands of migrants left Tapachula in southern Mexico this Sunday and began the long journey on foot towards the USA. Organizers call the caravan an “exodus from poverty.”
Many of the migrants come from Central and South America as well as the Caribbean, Cuba and Haiti.
One of the organizers, Luis Villagrán, told reporters that they were fleeing the “inhuman” and that “the only hope of these people is to go out, attract attention and say that we are alive. The only thing we want is to work.” “The only thing we want is documents to move forward,” Villagrán added.
Benigno Sánchez, a Cuban immigrant, told CNN: “We are afraid to speak… We have economic needs. We have the dream of working honestly. What can I tell you? Unfortunately, we live in a corrupt government.”
In the middle of their walk, Aida Peña, a Salvadoran, told CNN that as a reward for the sacrifice they are making, she hopes that “God will give them the miracle of passage” to the United States.