ACACOYAGUA, Mexico: Thousands of Central American migrants crossing Mexico toward the United States in a caravan resumed their long trek Wednesday with a day’s walk expected to take about 12 hours.
The migrants, who have drawn near-daily Twitter tirades from US President Donald Trump, set out from the town of Huixtla, in southern Mexico, toward Mapastepec, some 60 kilometers (40 miles) away.
Carrying their few belongings on their backs — many with babies pressed to their chests or holding their children by the hand — they left at dawn after taking a one-day break to rest, bathe and nurse aching and injured feet.
“I miss my country. I’m not doing this because I want to. No one wants to leave their home to go to a place they don’t know. But sometimes necessity pushes us to do this, because of what’s happening in our countries,” said Delmer Martinez, a migrant from El Salvador.
Fleeing violent crime, political unrest and poverty at home, the migrants say they are determined to reach the United States — despite Trump’s vows to stop them, and his threats to cut aid to Central American countries, as well as to deploy the military and close the southern US border.
There are now about 7,000 migrants in the caravan, the United Nations estimates — the vast majority from Honduras.
In a show of solidarity, Mexicans watching the caravan pass shouted out, “Keep it up, brothers!” and gave them food and water.
“Mexico! Mexico!” the migrants shouted in reply, bathed in sweat under the hot sun of the southern state of Chiapas.
They have so far traveled about 100 kilometers from the Mexico-Guatemala border, where they crashed through a series of border gates Friday.
Halted at the final gate by hundreds of riot police, most of the caravan entered Mexico by swimming or taking rafts across the river that forms the border.
Mexican federal police have periodically accompanied the caravan in trucks or flown overhead in helicopters, but without attempting to stop it.
According to the Mexican government, 1,700 people who were traveling in the caravan have requested asylum in Mexico.
The migrants still have some 3,000 kilometers left to walk to reach the US.
Migrant caravan resumes trek to US-Mexico border
Migrant caravan resumes trek to US-Mexico border
Indian teacher who created hundreds of learning centers wins $1 million Global Teacher Prize
- Nagi is the 10th teacher to win the award, which the foundation began handing out in 2015
DUBAI: An Indian teacher and activist known for creating hundreds of learning centers and painting educational murals across the walls of slums won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize on Thursday.
Rouble Nagi accepted the award at the World Governments Summit in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, an annual event that draws leaders from across the globe.
Her Rouble Nagi Art Foundation has established more than 800 learning centers across India. They aim to have children who never attended school begin to have structured learning. They also teach children already in school.
Nagi also paints murals that teach literacy, science, math and history, among other topics.
The prize is awarded by the Varkey Foundation, whose founder, Sunny Varkey, established the for-profit GEMS Education company that runs dozens of schools in Egypt, Qatar and the UAE.
“Rouble Nagi represents the very best of what teaching can be – courage, creativity, compassion, and an unwavering belief in every child’s potential,” Varkey said in a statement posted to the Global Teacher Prize website. “By bringing education to the most marginalized communities, she has not only changed individual lives, but strengthened families and communities.”
Nagi plans to use the $1 million to build an institute that offers free vocational training.
Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, said Nagi’s prize “reminds us of a simple truth: teachers matter.”
In comments carried on the prize website, Giannini said UNESCO was “honored to join the Global Teacher Prize in celebrating teachers like you, who, through patience, determination, and belief in every learner, help children into school — an act that can change the course of a life.”
Nagi is the 10th teacher to win the award, which the foundation began handing out in 2015.
Past winners of the Global Teacher Prize have included a Kenyan teacher from a remote village who gave away most of his earnings to the poor, a Palestinian primary school teacher who teaches her students about non-violence and a Canadian educator who taught a remote Arctic village of Inuit students. Last year’s winner was Saudi educator Mansour Al-Mansour, who was known for his work with the poor in the kingdom.
GEMS Education, or Global Education Management Systems, is one of the world’s largest private school operators and is believed to be worth billions. Its success has followed that of Dubai, where only private schools offer classes for the children of the foreigners who power its economy.
