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. 

No Bridges Not Borders volunteers went to Roxham Road today. There  was an unexpected snafu that made it impossible to go.

Sunday, May 19th  2019. Afternoon, Roxham Road, USA.
A quiet time at the border, except for the black flies which were out in force!

​Only one car arrived coming directly from New York City, bringing three people. One was a very friendly young woman from Ivory Coast, and the other two, were young men from Gambia. We greeted them and spoke to them briefly. They crossed without any problems. The RCMP respected their protocol.  

Sunday May 12, 2019. Afternoon at Roxham Road, USA.
A pleasant spring afternoon. Only three people crossed when we were there.  The shuttle bus brought a French speaking Haitian woman with her son aged about 10 years old who is disabled and in a wheelchair. The other person was a young woman of African origin who spoke English. 

​We helped the Haitian mother move her luggage to the edge of the border. The RCMP officer told them the standard speech and waited. The woman with the boy in a wheelchair just stood there unsure of what to do. She did not seem to understand that she could now cross. One of us said to her ''Tu peux traverser maintenant'' and a second officer told us ''You can't say that.''   Another few minutes passed and the second woman decided to cross at which point the Haitian woman also moved ahead with her son in the wheelchair and their luggage. The officers did not help her.

Sunday, April 28th 2019. Afternoon at Roxham Road, USA.

A fresh sunny spring day. Six people crossed into Canada while we were there this afternoon.  ​At the border we met a photographer doing a documentary on refugees in Canada. She was accompanied by a  teacher of sociology at SUNY. 

We waited quite a while until the shuttle bus arrived from the Pittsburgh bus station. There were 6 people aboard, a youngish couple with two young children aged about two and five years old,  along with two adult men. We believe they were all from Haiti.   They all crossed at the border without incident.