To Find Freedom, U.S. Bound Migrants Must Face Down the Beast Named "La Bestia"
Jun 23, 2014 11:19 AM EDT
The train jerks and halts with little notice -- at least not for the passengers stowed away on top of it. There are hundreds of them, or perhaps thousands, and they search desperately for a safe hold among the yards of smooth steel. It's not meant for passengers up atop the train, but where they're headed, no seats are offered. America is a tricky mistress to seduce, and one must take any in there is. For these Central American immigrants, that means climbing aboard the Death Train. The lucky ones hold tight enough to evade the whirring wheels below. The ones asleep? Well, they aren't always so lucky.