How many years did it take the father and daughter of the US-Mexico border wall to get together?

Tijuana is a town on the west coast of Mexico, near the US-Mexico border. The border between the two countries extends eastward from Tijuana 195 1 mile, about 3 14 1 km. On this long border, Friendship Park in Tijuana is the only place for immigrants and their families to "reunite".

197 1 year, when Pat Nixon, the then first lady, inaugurated her friendship park, there was no fence, only a few iron wires, and the two peoples could kisses and hugs each other. At that time, Friendship Park often became a place where people held religious activities, and some people held weddings. Today, the US government only opens the border fence for four hours every Saturday and Sunday. People can only put their fingers into the barbed wire and touch each other through the towering fence-this is the only way for most of them to communicate physically.

Jose Marquez, a 68-year-old street singer, is one of them. He and his daughter Susanna live in two places a few miles apart, but they have been separated 17 years. When the father and daughter were able to hug for the last time, Susanna was only an adult, and now, her son is going to be an adult.

As early as 1985, Jose took his wife and children to San Diego, California, where he became a singer of 18. The year after 9 1 1 incident, he was deported. Susanna stayed in the United States as an undocumented immigrant. I can't leave the United States because of work, and I can't visit my relatives in Tijuana. 20 16, 165438+ 10 When I visited my father in October, she was engaged and pregnant, so my father didn't have a chance to take her into the church.

After Jose was fired, he didn't see his daughter for 17 years. It was not until 20 14 that he had the opportunity to meet his daughter regularly every month. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security closed Friendship Park in 2009 because the original fence was renovated and a second fence was built. It was not until 20 12 that it was reopened, and talents from the United States were allowed to walk to the first fence.

Father and daughter can't hug each other when they meet again, and the tiny holes in the barbed wire can't let them see each other's faces at close range. Jose couldn't help but start singing.

"People around you began to gather at this impromptu concert. After the end, the crowd cheered and applauded, and then dispersed to the wall. Susanna and her father are alone again, leaning against the wall, looking at each other and talking about the missed life and time. They want to hug for a while, but they can only touch each other's fingers. " Griselda San Martin, a Spanish documentary photographer who witnessed all this, recalled.