The Jaguar's Children
CBC Books | CBC | Posted: March 10, 2017 5:33 PM | Last Updated: June 21, 2017
John Vaillant
Hector, a young Zapotec fleeing Mexico for a better life in the US with his friend Cesar, pays to be smuggled across the border by unscrupulous "coyotes," concealed in the tightly sealed, empty tank of a water truck packed with illegal migrants. Abandoned by the smugglers in the desert, their only lifeline is Cesar's phone. When Cesar slips into unconsciousness, Hector reaches out to the one name with an American code — AnniMac— that becomes his lifeline to the world as he reveals what has brought him to this place. Finding the courage to survive is critical, even as hope dwindles. (From Knopf Canada)
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From the book
Hello? I hope this works. Still one bar only but I'm recording now and when the signal comes back I will send it in a soundfile with all the details and the information from César. He is badly hurt, AnniMac — unconscious. I looked in his contacts for someone else, but the Mexican numbers won't work now, and you are the only one with an American code. I hope you are his friend. I know him from school, but I haven't seen him in many years. We've been together only a short time now to cross the border and already he gave me so many things. I have been telling him he's not alone, that I sent you messages and you're coming soon, that you will save us. I don't know if he hears, but in this darkness how will he know to live without a voice — some sign of life? So I talk to him, and to you also. AnniMac, if you get these messages and come to look for us, what you are looking for is a water truck — an old Dina. The tank is a big one — ten thousand liters and you will know it when you see an adobe-color truck that says on the side AGUA PARA USO HUMANO — Water for Human Use. But that doesn't mean you can drink it. This one is different because someone has painted J and R so it says now JAGUAR PARA USO HUMANO. I saw this in the garage before we loaded and I didn't know if it was graffiti or some kind of code, the secret language of coyotes, but then I was nervous to ask and later it was too late.
From The Jaguar's Children by John Vaillant ©2014. Published by Knopf Canada.