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No More Deaths Volunteers Discover, Help Recover Body of Unauthorized Migrant |
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Friday, 12 February 2010 09:42 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Geoffrey Boyce, 520.240.1641 daytime or evening (Spanish/English)
Email:
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Tucson, AZ—Several volunteers with the humanitarian organization No More Deaths encountered the body of a deceased migrant approximately 2 miles east of Ruby, AZ on Tuesday, February 9. The volunteers immediately contacted the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office to help recover the body; officials estimated that the individual had been deceased for at least six–seven months. The individual has yet to be identified.
Kevin Riley, age 27, was among a group of 5 volunteers who encountered the body around 3pm. Says Riley, “We were on a day-long humanitarian patrol and were walking a narrow canyon that none of us had travelled before. As we walked the canyon we found a shallow grave partially covered in small rocks adorned with a hand-made cross.”
More than 61 bodies of unauthorized migrants have been recovered in southern Arizona between October 1, 2009 and January 31, 2010 (FY2010), according to Tucson’s Coalición de Derechos Humanos. This represents a 36% increase over the same period last year.
No More Deaths calls on the United States to recognize the humanitarian emergency taking place along the U.S./Mexico border, and to bring an end to the enforcement practices that cause these deaths.
Says Rev. Gene Lefebvre, volunteer and co-founder of No More Deaths: “We are praying for this individual and their family. Even one death in our deserts represents a tragedy and a failure of the government to uphold human rights. We hope that others will join us in working and praying for change.” |
