Sunday, August 18th 2019. Afternoon at Roxham Road, USA.

While we were at Roxham Road today,   7 refugees crossed into Canada, all adults.  We were accompanied by a Masters student doing a study on border crossings and how they can be made more humane.

The first taxi brought an older couple who spoke both French and English -  very nice people.
Next came a taxi bringing one man from Nigeria who looked to be about 30 years old.

Next the taxi brought a young man who had arrived at Plattsburgh Airport. He was French speaking , about 20 years of age and very tall.  We did not hear where he was from.

The third arrival was a  sweet young woman, maybe 20 years old who came from Ethiopia.   We really wished we had more time with people to hear about their stories. 

The fourth  taxi dropped off two young women and at the same time a fifth taxi brought another young woman. All women we’re in their early 20’s.  We were not able to find out  where they were from.

The RCMP respected their protocol.

Sunday, August 4th  2019. Afternoon at Roxham Road, USA.
Another warm summer day. A total of 7 people, all adults crossed into Canada while we were there.  

The first taxi brought two women of African origin in their thirties. They looked exhausted and did not want to talk.  The RCMP officer gave helpful information about the need to bring all their luggage with them in one go. We helped one of the women who had two very heavy suitcases.

The next taxi brought two Nigerian men.  They stopped at the border as the RCMP asked them to do but when one of the men (perhaps assuming the officer had finished speaking) walked across the border, the RCMP officer became angry and told him to stop because he had not finished. 

The last taxi brought two men from Sri Lanka. They were very friendly, drank some water and thanked us with a Namaste. The RCMP officer stuck to the protocol and they crossed without incident. 

Sunday, July 28th, 2019. Afternoon at Roxham Road, USA.
It was 28C in full sunlight, when we arrived at  Roxham Road. Later on the blessed clouds
breezed in and brought relief.  It was an unusually busy afternoon and a total of 18 people
crossed while we were there (14 adults and 4 children).

The first taxi to arrive brought and young man and woman in their thirties from Haiti. 
They were not a couple.  Next came a taxi bringing a young English speaking woman of African
origin with a boy aged about 8 years old wearing red spider man running shoes. The taxi driver helped them to b​ring their several pieces of luggage to the edge of the border.  

A minivan taxi arrived bringing six people: a Haitian couple with a year old baby. The couple spoke more Spanish than French or English. The woman explained they had been living in Chili for some time;
a young man from Ghana;   a middle-aged Mexican man who spoke some English and  a young Haitian woman.  This group of people had very little luggage.

Next arrived a taxi with a couple from Columbia who also spoke some English. The woman
was in her third trimester of pregnancy. The couple held hands throughout the process. 

The last taxi brought a family of  six from Pakistan:  middle aged parents, a young man, a young woman, a preteen boy and a toddler. They were tired but  communicative and accepted our well wishing graciously, thanking  us in English. 

This afternoon the RCMP officers were very friendly and polite and everyone crossed without incident.