6 hours to experience ＂smuggling into the United States＂

Tourists experience the pain of smuggling in the park.

China Daily Global Online News: The hardships of Mexican illegal immigrants crossing the Mexican border can now be experienced by themselves in an ecological park. In 2004, Alberto Ecological Park, located in Hidalgo, central Mexico, launched an extreme activity called "Night Tour" and advertised "Experience what smuggling is". In the past two years, this activity has attracted many tourists.

Travel is realistic and thrilling.

There are deserts, hills, bushes and rivers in the park, and the scenery is quite similar to the areas that stowaways need to cross when entering the United States. As long as each tourist pays 200 pesos (equivalent to 20 dollars), he can experience an incredible smuggling adventure. The "night tour" usually starts at 8 pm and ends at 2 am, and lasts for 6 hours. According to the park regulations, the number of tourists on a "night trip" must be at least 20, because there must be at least 72 staff to cooperate with the whole activity.

When night began to fall, a group of tourists who had been asked to wear clothes that were convenient for activities in advance were waiting for their departure with great expectation. After hearing the "snakehead", that is, the guide’s urging "Go, go!" Later, the "illegal immigrants" hurried on the night road. The geographical environment here is complex, and the mountains and rivers are intertwined. Under the leadership of the "snake head", tourists are rushing to the mountain road with one foot deep and one foot shallow. The "snakehead" also reminds "Don’t turn on the flashlight" and "The patrol police are coming soon" from time to time, creating a tense atmosphere and making tourists wonder if they really came to the Mexican-American border.

This game is much more than that. When the "illegal immigrants" came to the Rio Grande River, which is supposed to be the border between Mexico and the United States, suddenly the lights flashed in the distance, and the "snakehead" quickly stopped everyone and hid in the bushes. Sure enough, there came a crude English question, "Are you Mexican? We are border patrol police! " In order to increase the realistic effect, the "patrol police" searched nearby for a long time and fired guns in the air. The tourists held their breath and waited until the footsteps were far away before being taken on the road by the tour guide.

Along the river, the tourists finally reached the tunnel. After crossing the tunnel, everyone was asked to wait in a cornfield. They were picked up by a big truck. The "snakehead" shouted "Get on the bus" and everyone swarmed. The truck sped along the highway, but there was another situation ahead. A team of "patrol police" appeared. Obviously, the "illegal immigrants" were found this time. The "patrol police" shouted "You are surrounded" and caught up. Surprised and frightened tourists discovered that smuggling was much more dangerous and difficult than they thought. Finally, the "snakehead" and the "stowaway" had to give in easily.

Most tourists are white-collar workers.

The "Night Tour" has been opened for more than two years, and thousands of tourists have come here. Besides Mexican natives, there are also tourists from the United States, Canada, France, Argentina and other countries who come here.

The vast majority of tourists who come here to play are white-collar workers with higher education. They always fly in and out of the United States and have never experienced such a scene. Oswald, a computer engineer from Mexico, said: "It’s shocking. I never imagined that smuggling was like this."

In fact, the "night trip" is very safe, the difficulty of the journey is less than 1/10 of the real situation, and the "snakehead" pretended by the tour guide will never give up the team members on the way. Rosa of Mexico City has been here for three times. She brings different friends and family, including her 12-year-old son, every time. She said that while we are enjoying a happy life, some people are giving their lives for smuggling. I hope my son will not only have fun in the game, but also be inspired.

The smuggling trip caused controversy.

While the United States made great efforts to build a wall to stop illegal immigrants, the Alberto Ecological Park in Mexico opened this adventure of trying to smuggle. The us border defense department expressed dissatisfaction with this and believed that this move would help Mexicans accumulate smuggling experience. However, Hernandez, the head of Alberto Ecological Park, has a different explanation. He said that the park was established by Wau indigenous people with the support of the local government. The "night trip" helps Mexicans understand the hardships and dangers of smuggling, rather than encouraging the smuggling wind.

There are 2,500 villagers in Wau Gathering Village where Hernandez is located. Before the establishment of the ecological park, most of the villagers here sneaked into the United States to find jobs without jobs. Hernandez himself sneaked into the United States five times and lived in the United States for 15 years. Most Wau residents who are tour guides of "Night Tour" have personal experience of smuggling or taking people with them. Now, the employment opportunities created by the eco-park allow villagers to stay and live and work with their families, without having to go on a dangerous smuggling trip.

In Hernandez’s view, the "night trip" is also a cultural trip and a sports trip to promote the Wau people. During the trip, tourists not only learn about indigenous culture,

I also exercised my body and cultivated the spirit of overcoming suffering, unity and self-discipline. (Lei Zhang, correspondent in Mexico)