Chapter 4 Describe the generosity that migrants often experience in Oaxaca and Veracruz. Explain Why do people give gifts in Oaxaca and Veracruz?

Unlike the people of Chiapas, those of Veracruz and Oaxaca are friendly toward migrants. They shout to signal if police are nearby, giving the migrants time to react. Women and children run along the sides of the train with small bundles, which they throw up as gifts. Enrique receives several loaves of bread from woman and a boy. He is overwhelmed by their generosity.

In fact, residents of Veracruz are known for their kindness. One migrant says, “We could never keep going forward without people like this” (104-105). Although poor themselves, the townspeople give sweaters, clothes, bread, water, lemonade, and more to the migrants as they pass on the trains. Marìa Luisa Mora Martin is over a hundred years old, but she and her daughter regularly throw bags of food and supplies to migrants.

In interviews with Nazario, the residents provide their philosophies on kindness. One person says, “I don’t like to feel that I have eaten and they haven’t” (105). Others say it is rewarding to help the suffering migrants. They are all encouraged to give by the local bishop.