Sunday, December 2, 2018. Afternoon at Roxham Road, USA.
A rainy mild day although the rain stopped by the time we arrived.  Seven people crossed into Canada while we were there.  First to arrive was a taxi bringing  a family from the Democratic Republic of Congo: mother, father, two girls and one boy ranging in age from about 4 to 8 years old.  The mother was also pregnant.  There was also a young woman with them but not sure what the family relation was. They were not warmly dressed  and the adults wore thin plastic slip-ons.  Everyone was  happy to receive hats, scarves and mittens and the young children in particular enjoyed it.  The RCMP officer was friendly with the children after the family crossed into Canada.

Shortly afterwards, a taxi arrived with a single passenger - a young woman from Venezuela who spoke some English.  One of us spoke to her in Spanish and she took a hat from us.  She told the RCMP officer she didn't speak much English and he asked her to read the sign at the border.  After looking at the sign for awhile she went across.  

Sunday November 25, 2018. Afternoon at Roxham Road, USA.
No one arrived while we were at the border so nothing to report!

FYI,  a total of 16, 298 people crossed irregularly into Quebec (probably all at Roxham Road) from January to October 2018. This is 917 more people than crossed at Roxham from January to October 2017.  If you want to read more about numbers of asylum seekers entering Canada go to our webpages:
​English:   ​www.bridgesnotborders.ca/myths-and-facts-5.html
​French: www.bridgesnotborders.ca/mythes-et-faits-5.html

Sunday November 18, 2018.  Afternoon at Roxham Road, USA.
It was a humid and cold day.  While we were there only three people crossed into Canada. Although just as we were turning into Roxham Road we saw a taxi leaving so we did miss those who came in the taxi. 
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At about 3.30 pm a taxi brought a woman who spoke little English or French. She repeated the word “Arabic" several times.  She crossed safely into Canada.  Shortly after another taxi arrived (from the train station) and two single men crossed. They were from Eritrea  and Sudan. One did not listen to the RCMP’s instructions and kept walking over the border.  We don't know if he understood what was being said to him.  Before going into the RCMP  building one of them waved to the taxi driver, who took a picture to send ‘home’.  No one needed any mitts nor hats.  The RCMP behaved appropriately with all those who entered Canada. 

Sunday November 11, 2018. Afternoon. Roxham Road, NYS, USA.
A very cold day. The first snow of the year.  A total of 10 people (five adults and five children) crossed into Canada while we were there. As we waited a car arrived carrying a journalist from Dutch TV who spoke to us for a while.  They were visiting North America for two days and interviewing people in Canada and the US.

Eventually two taxis arrived. In one taxi there was a  single man and a family (mother, father and two children) and in the second taxi there was only a single man. They were all from Pakistan.  They appreciated the warm clothes and welcome.

About 15 mins later another taxi  arrived with a Nigerian woman and her 3 children, six to twelve years old.   The mother was visibly very upset  and  it seemed her greatest fear was that she would be separated from her children (as was done at the southern border in the US earlier this year).  We felt it really made a difference that we were there, though she was still upset going over the border. She too accepted some warm things for herself and her children.

The RCMP were polite and respected the protocol.

Sunday November 4, 2018.  Afternoon. Roxham Road,  NYS.

A cold day in early November. Only six people crossed into Canada while we were there.  They came in a shared taxi from the Plattsburgh bus station: one woman and a family of five.

A woman in your 20's from Uganda was traveling on her own. She carried only a small backpack and was happy to take mittens and a hat. When we let her know she would be arrested she became terrified and started to cry. We were able to reassure her she would not be hurt and that this was temporary. She started to calm down and bravely stepped up to the border.

The family of five included a mother, father, teenage daughter and two small twin boys. They were originally from Nigeria but had been living in a state on the east coast of the US before deciding they needed to seek asylum in Canada. They all needed warm things.  They had a lot of luggage and as they were struggling to carry the twins and organize the luggage the RCMP officer asked the Ugandan woman to help them carry things across.  She was happy to do this. 

The RCMP officer explained the protocol briefly and everyone entered Canada.  

Sunday October 28, 2018. Afternoon. Roxham Road, USA.
A cold rainy day.  A total of 10 people entered Canada when we were there. The BnB volunteers waited for a long while at the border when two young women reporters from New York City arrived . They work for a publication called Business Insider.  They asked about our group and the situation at the border.

Around 4pm two taxis and a minibus arrived. In the first taxi were two man: one from Nigeria and the other from the Democratic Republic of Congo.  They had very little luggage and neither of the men were dressed warmly. They were very grateful to receive hats, scarves and mittens. The  second taxi brought two women. We did not have chance to talk to them because they crossed over the border  while we talked to the passengers of the minibus. The taxi driver told us that they had come from Nigeria. 

The passengers on the bus were Spanish speaking and came from Columbia:  two women, a 10 month old baby, a  four year old child and one man. They also had very little luggage and gratefully accepted some warm things.  The RCMP officers behaved appropriately with the refugees.  

Sunday, October 21, 2018.  Afternoon.  Roxham Road, USA. 
BnB volunteers arrived around 3:30 pm.  A chilly afternoon.  Not long afterwards a Plattsburgh Taxi arrived  delivering a woman from Nigeria with two young daughters (around 4 and 7 years old ). When addressed by the RCMP officer, the mother  answered quickly saying "Yes we want to come" and walked across with her children.  The taxi driver told us that no one else had come off the bus.   Around 4pm an SUV arrived driven by a freelance journalist from Chicago who asked us a few questions about our group.  He also said that he had a relative living nearby who wanted to donate some warm clothing to our group. 

Later a  second taxi arrived with a family from Columbia -  mother, father and a small daughter aged about  2 or 3 years old. As they spoke very little English, the RCMP officer spoke Spanish to them. They then crossed over into Canada.   With both groups of refugees, the RCMP officers respected their protocol.   A total of 6 people entered Canada while we were there.

Sunday October 14, 2018. Afternoon. Roxham Road, USA.
A beautiful sunny autumn day. The colours of the leaves are at their best today.  The first taxi to arrive brings four people.  We speak first with a single woman in her 30's from the Democratic Republic of Congo,  She holds the hands of the volunteer. Her smile is beautiful and sad as she shares how hard it is in her country. She is afraid of to cross into Canada and be arrested and  yet brave at the same time.  The other people in the taxi are a young family from El Salvador - mother, father and one year old baby.  They seem nervous but excited to have arrived at the border and to take the next step.  The RCMP officer speaks in French to the Congolese woman. He then speaks in basic Spanish to the El Salvadorean family until he is told they speak English and he switches.  It sounded like he first said in Spanish 'You don't have a right to cross here.' which would not have been correct (see: http://www.bridgesnotborders.ca/myths-and-facts-2.html). All four cross into Canada without incident. 

Nearly an hour later a second taxi arrives bringing an Egyptian family from the train station - mother, father, teenage daughter, and two sons aged about 10 and 4.  They are tense and afraid as they struggle with their luggage.  We help out and speak with the mother who is in tears from fear and  all the stress of finally arriving here at the border.  Her little son is crying and so is her daughter.  The RCMP officer speaks gently to them explaining the protocol.  They finally cross over and another officer speaks kindly to the little boy.

Sunday October 7, 2018. Afternoon. Roxham Road, USA. 

After waiting a while at the border, two taxis arrived transporting 2 groups of people.  The taxi drivers helped everyone with their luggage and showed them where to cross. The first taxi brought two women and one man from Burundi. They spoke English and French. The second taxi brought a family from Ethiopia, a mother and two teenage daughters, English speaking. The driver also offered them bottle water, but they declined.   When asked by an RCMP officer where they came from the mother said Dallas,Texas, but when questioned further said Ethiopia.  At first the RCMP officers were inside the building but then came out. One officer spoke very loudly  and  one of the Burundian woman  hesitated  at first, but then went across. into Canada.  

Sunday, September 30, 2018. Afternoon. Roxham Road, USA.

A chilly autumn day. A total of  eight people crossed into Canada while we were there (six adults and two small children). The first taxi arrived bringing just one young man from Haiti who spoke only French. He crossed quickly into Canada. Next came a shuttle with 5 adults and two children from Nigeria. There was a young single woman with a baby and little girl who had to struggle with her children, stroller and luggage. There were three single men. Finally there was a single older woman who was very worried. According to the shuttle driver she had already gone to the official border and been refused entry into Canada due to the STCA.
 
There were four RCMP officers dealing with the asylum seekers. They were consistently polite and agreeable.