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 woman 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. 

Sunday June 30th, 2019. Evening at Roxham Road, USA. 
We arrived after 6pm and  met an academic who was conducting research at the border and had spent the afternoon at Roxham. Some of the report contains her observations of people who crossed during the hour before we arrived. 

The first taxi  brought 2 brothers from Pakistan and a friend  who had  travelled north via Central America.   The same taxi returned with a young couple from Sudan.  The woman was 7 months pregnant. Her husband asked for our prayers.  The RCMP officer engaged with them and put them at ease.  Shortly thereafter another taxi brought a family of 4 (a couple with two small boys). They were likely from South Asia.  Next came a taxi bringing two men from the airport.  One of the men had no luggage because the airline had lost his suitcase. They were English speakers from Africa. 

Finally a taxi brought three passengers of African origin from the bus station.  They were a couple and woman on her own.  They had lots of luggage and struggled with it. They spoke English with the RCMP officer. The couple crossed first followed by the woman who struggled with one very large bag and a smaller one that popped open. She managed to get across without help. 

Sunday, June 16th 2019. Afternoon at Roxham Road, USA.

A total of seven people crossed into Canada today: six men and one woman.
A shuttlebus arrived about 20 minutes after we arrived bringing six men aged from about 20 to 30 years old. Three men were of African origin, possibly Nigerian and the other three individuals were from Turkey, El Salvador and China.  They did not engage with us before crossing over.   

Later, a car drove up with 2 men and a young woman  in her 20s  who was from Liberia. Her older brother and a friend had come to accompany her. She was the only one to cross over. They were very appreciative of our gesture to be there. 

The RCMP officers were very appropriate with clear communication, making sure the refugees understood English. 

Sunday June 9th, 2019.  Afternoon at Roxham Road, USA.
A hot day with plenty of bugs!  We entered the US at the Moores' crossing and the customs officer was unfazed by our brief explantation of our destination of Roxham Road.

Only three people - all adults - crossed into Canada while we were there. 

First arrived a taxi from the bus station bringing two friendly young men about 30 years old. They were from Angola and Nigeria.   They were not travelling together but had met "at the park" . One of them thanked us for our well wishes.

Shortly afterwards another taxi arrived with a young woman who was in a big  hurry to enter Canada. She waited only long enough to listen to the RCMP officers and then crossed quickly.

RCMP officers respected their protocol.  

 Sunday, June 2nd 2019. Afternoon at Roxham Road, USA. 
It was a muggy afternoon. The mosquitoes were out in force!

Nine people crossed into Canada today.  First came a taxi bringing an exhausted group of people from the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The group included two adult men, a little boy about six years old and a woman carrying a small girl about 2 years old. The woman looked very stressed and distraught.
They entered Canada without incident.

Next came a taxi bringing three people: a single woman of African origin who spoke French and was struggling with two large suitcases and  a friendly young couple from Columbia carrying only backpacks.  The couple spoke some English and were happy to exchange a few words. They all crossed into Canada without incident.  

Very soon after this a taxi brought an anxious young man from Angola who went to the border's edge. No RCMP officer appeared so he crossed over and went to the RCMP building. 

With the first two groups the RCMP respected their protocol.