The Migrants Who Died on the Way

Monday, May 20, 2024

This week from The Walrus:

“We Don’t Have Any Water. We’re Lost”: In the Footsteps of Migrants Who Never Made It

Thousands die trying to cross into the US from Mexico. Each year, activists follow their harrowing trek

BY MARCELLO DI CINTIO

A brown leather knapsack leans against a white cross in the desert.

In 2004, a group of activists decided to respond to the rising body count by walking what they called the Migrant Trail. They plotted a week‐long, 120‐kilometre route through the Tucson sector, one of the busiest for crossings and the site of many migrant deaths. The idea was to bear witness to those who died on the border and to experience—in a small way—the same heat, dust, and exhaustion. The group promised to return every year until the deaths stopped. They never did. More than 3,000 bodies have been recovered since 2004, and the walkers keep walking.

Read the story

A folded photograph of a group of people next to shelf with a camera and plants.

The Unspoken Contradictions of Quebec’s Immigration Policy

Familial separation can have devastating consequences on mental health and productivity

BY SHEIMA BENEMBAREK

Alice Munro, Nobel‐Winning Author, Dies at Ninety‐Two

A Canadian master of the contemporary short story passes away

BY KATHRYN KUITENBROUWER

A woman walks past a Body Shop with a dark green sign and pictures of birds and flowers in the windows.

Goodbye Body Shop? Buying Body Butter Can’t Save the World

After the company announced widespread closures, I visited a store for the first time in decades

BY LISA WHITTINGTON-HILL

A dark winter night with a neon blur over the Whitehorse Star building.

After 124 Years, One of Canada’s Oldest Independent Newspapers Dies

The Whitehorse Daily Star’s closure will deepen the country’s local news crisis

BY RHIANNON RUSSELL

A large model of a woman's finger pressing a button of an electronic voting machine stands in front of a black fence amid trees and shrubs.

Deepfakes and AI Trickery Are Disrupting the Biggest Election in History

Nearly 1 billion voters are set to choose India’s next government. Will the country’s future be shaped by disinformation?

BY MITALI MUKHERJEE

Canada is bursting with talent and making waves on the world stage. Why is it important to share stories by Canadian artists and storytellers, not just within our borders but around the globe? And what does the future hold for the national cultural institutions that support the country’s creativity?

Join us in Ottawa, or online, at The Walrus Talks Canada’s Creative Power for a unique opportunity to hear directly from leaders of Canada’s key national cultural institutions as they tackle these pressing questions and share the extraordinary stories of cultivating Canada’s creative power.

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This newsletter was produced by CIBC Digital Journalism Fellow Makda Mulatu. Email us at letters@thewalrus.ca and your letter may be included in a future issue of The Walrus.