Bob CollinsThis picture, owned by the Washington Post, carries with it a story of humanity that could, perhaps in a different universe, transcend politics.
The story behind the photo of the little girl crying in the migrant caravan https://t.co/pK6oslOqVA
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 7, 2018
Camila Savioll Mejia, 4, is part of the exodus of people fleeing violence in their home countries that is currently walking through Mexico.
She had to keep up, the Washington Post says in its story about her today, because stragglers are — rumors say — being rounded up and deported.
But she’s 4. She’s also sick. So is her sister, 2.
Then something happened that would likely never happen in the United States, lest there be an accusation of being unethical: a TV journalist gave her and her family a ride, the Post says.
Paco Santana, a TV anchorman, had interviewed Mejia a few days earlier and had given her a lift. Now he offered to do so again.
I wish I could take you all like last time, but I have a woman who is very pregnant,” he told Zelaya and Mejia’s other friends.
“No, no, no,” said Ana Velazquez, 36, who was traveling with her 16-year-old daughter. “What we want is for her to get a ride because the little girl doesn’t like to walk.”
“Well,” Santana said, turning to Mejia. “What do you think?”
She looked at her friends. Then she looked at her daughters.
“Do you want to go in the car, like the other day?” Santana asked Camila and Samantha.
With shouts of excitement, her daughters made the decision for her.
“I don’t have cookies this time,” Santana said, opening the door of his car, where the pregnant woman and her partner were already waiting for a ride. “Should we go get some?”
And then it was on to the next town, the single mother’s odyssey over — at least for another day.
