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  • Every morning at sunrise Sister Norma crosses  the bridge over the Río Grande to Mexico

  • Her daily mission is to help refugees to get to  "the other side," as immigrants refer to the US

  • On this side people already know her  and are constantly asking for her help

  • "Now there is a possibility to offer a person who  

  • is being persecuted and who haslive threat to apply for asylum." 

  • After 4 years the border is finally opening  again for immigrants qualifying for asylum.  

  • Many of them have been waiting in Mexico  for years, under inhumane circumstances

  • "This is our role as people  

  • that care about the circumstances , care  about the fact that they are human beings  

  • and people that have families and they need that  presence of the fact that they are not alone." 

  • This is why sister Norma is here to guide  them and assist them in the process

  • These immigrants came together 2 years ago and  created the informal refugee camp of Matamoros

  • Ever since they refused to move, insisting  to stay as close as possible to the US

  • They came from Haiti, Central America and also  from parts in Mexico where criminality is high

  • Around 4000 refugees have been living  in this camp for up to 2 years

  • Now there are only around 200 people living  there. Every day small groups are crossing over to  

  • the US. The procedure is long and it ends withcoronavirus test before they go to the other side

  • A total of 25,000 immigrants seeking  asylum have been stuck in Mexico for years

  • President Biden's administration has now  

  • allowed them to wait for their  hearings in the United States

  • For them, this is the  culmination of years of waiting

  • And for sister Norma it's  an honor to be part of it

  • "Finally! This is so beautiful. I'm tired. It has  been a day full of emotions and very exhausting.  

  • These families have suffered a lot and  now the US opens its doors for them." 

  • Once on US soil NGO's are taking care of them. Around 99 percent of them have family  

  • members or friends living in the US. But this is not the end of their trip

  • "This long journey is just starting. The goal is not here yet." 

  • Meanwhile on the Mexican side of the border  more families, who were forced to flee,  

  • are arriving. Hoping that the new  Biden administration will let them in

  • "We are under threat. My family and I we had to  escape, because they said they want to kill us." 

  • As long as the root of the problem is  not addressed, the increase of criminal  

  • activity in Mexico and Central America is still  going to force families to abandon their homes.

Every morning at sunrise Sister Norma crosses  the bridge over the Río Grande to Mexico

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