After a tragic start to the week and a night of thunderstorms, a group of migrants in south Texas woke up newly determined to fulfill their American dream.
Equipping themselves with soapy water, buckets, rags and a lot of spirit, about 30 Venezuelan men on Tuesday began operating a donation-based car washing service in a gas station right next to the border that divides Brownsville, Texas, from Matamoros, Mexico.
Their goal, they said, was to make enough money to rent a 65-person bus that could take them to San Antonio, the larger city 275 miles to the north.
“We’re not trying to get rich. We’re just trying to get to our next stop,” said Ángel Chacón, 31, as he held up a handwritten sign on neon green card, reading “Donation Wash” to attract passing drivers.
Two days before, a local man driving an SUV veered into a group of Venezuelan migrants waiting at a bus stop opposite a refuge center. The vehicle struck 18 people, killing eight and badly injuring 10, with multiple witnesses telling media that he shouted anti-immigrant slurs. The man is in custody, charged with manslaughter, and the police investigation continues as the community mourns.
Two months ago, Chacón had left Cumaná, Venezuela, the country stuck in political and economic crisis that has driven more than 7 million of its citizens to flee since 2015.
He left behind his seven-year-old daughter, Nicole, in the care of his mother.
“There was too much violence, and sometimes I couldn’t even find food for her,” Chacón said.
He was working full-time at a market in Cumaná, selling fruits and vegetables, he told the Guardian on Tuesday, when he decided the only way to continue to provide for his daughter, his sister, and mother, was to migrate to the US.
“I was struggling to buy school supplies, books and uniforms for my daughter,” he said.
After initial opposition from his family, he embarked on his immigration journey with his daughter always in mind. They would talk on the phone every day, he said, at least until he got to the Darién Gap. Trekking in the thick of the jungle, he and the group he was with were robbed at gunpoint, and he lost his belongings.
“It was frustrating, but if it means I can give her a better future, I would risk my life again,” he said.
Chacón hasn’t been able to speak to his daughter in a week, but he sometimes borrows phones to text her and let her know he’s OK. Although he misses her, he is certain he will not see her again until it is possible for him to fly her to the US.
“I don’t want her to endure the journey I had to endure,” Chacón said.
At the tiny Valero gas station on a street corner in Brownsville on Tuesday afternoon, reggaeton music blasted and there was a defiance in the upbeat energy of those working, right across from a bus terminal where many migrants congregate daily.
Some sang and danced along as they worked together to clean a variety of cars and trucks that showed up.
“It’s all thanks to the owner, we’re lucky we touched his heart,” said Eli José González, 24, from Maracaibo, Venezuela.
He left his country two years ago and is trying to get to New Jersey to prove to himself he’s worthy of a better future, he said.
Aarón Beltrán, 30, a Brownsville native, is the man behind the gas station business.
He told how on Monday night, the night after the terrible crash, he felt the urge to help. The following morning, he bought paraphernalia and spread the word via social media.
“It wasn’t my idea, I honestly think it was God,” Beltrán said. “I won’t keep a cent, it’s all going to pay for their water, food and transportation.”
Beltrán hopes this carwash won’t be the last. Brownsville, just like other cities along the US-Mexico border, is expecting many more migrants to arrive after the Title 42 rule is lifted on Thursday night.
“We’ve lost count, we’ve washed too many cars,” said Naudys Rivero, 29, from the state of Lara, Venezuela, buoyed but exhausted as he sat down and took off his shoes after they got soaked while washing cars.
Customers seemed happy.
“It’s great to see them united and collaborating after this shocking weekend,” said Baudelio Rocha, 61, an electrician and Brownsville resident who heard about the carwash and hurried to go and make a donation. “I’m Hispanic too, so I have to help however I can.”
Two more customers, Jessica and Luis Medina, both 32, showed up in their white truck fully stocked with sanitary kits, wipes, socks and toys for the migrants.
The Medinas and their seven children belong to a local church and promised they would be back to offer food and clothes.
“It’s not much, but we help with anything and everything we can,” Jessica Medina said, and encouraged border communities to continue taking care of migrants passing by. “We need more help – so we can all continue helping them.”
