Central American migrants join the thousands-strong caravan heading to the United States

Central American migrants who joined the thousands-strong caravan heading to the United States said they feel safer in larger numbers, given the many risks of making the journey alone.

Kenia Yoselin Gutierrez had thought about migrating to the US before, but never summoned enough courage to do it. The 23-year-old from Villanueva, Cortes, Honduras knew others who had made the trip and heard the stories: women raped, migrants who disappeared, children stolen. When Gutierrez heard about the caravan, she saw her chance. Her sister, niece and a cousin joined her and her 5-year-old daughter. Gutierrez and many other migrants said they felt safer travelling and sleeping with several thousand strangers in unknown towns rather than hiring a smuggler or trying to make the trip alone.