“The Great Land of America has been a beacon of positive change for the world.”

Mohamed’s Journey from Africa“Great Land of America”

Mohamed Sackor’s Journey from Liberia, Africa, to the United States

“I’m a Dream chaser.  Nothing is impossible for me; the word impossible doesn’t exist in my dictionary.”

My name is Rick, and I am a current member of the Casa Franciscana Outreach Board (CFO) and part of the Matthew 25 Ministry. Twice a year, the CFO travels to the Franciscan Mission in Guaymas, Mexico, to support pilgrims from the U.S. and assist them in sharing the mission of serving God’s beautiful people in Guaymas. We also travel throughout the countryside to help many individuals needing basic necessities.

While there, we always stop at La Bestia "The Beast," also known as “El Tren de la Muerte” or The Train of Death," where many asylum seekers travel to get to the United States.  Here is my story about a young man named Mohamed Sackor, whom we met at the train station, seeking a better life with his wife:

During our visit to the Mission in Guaymas, Mexico, we arrived at the train station, which serves as a hub for asylum seekers en route to the United States. We noticed that many of these travelers hailed from Central and South America. During our time there, we also met a small group of African immigrants and their young families, primarily from French and Arabic-speaking nations.

We distributed essential supplies to this small group of Africans, including food, water, clothing, medication, and baby items. While we addressed their needs, a young man named Mohamed and his wife greeted us with bright smiles and welcomed us in English.

“When we learned that Americans were coming to visit us, our hearts were filled with joy and hope.”

In Mohamed’s own words, his story is:  “Our travels take us from country to country; we feel unsafe.  Often, we are intimidated, and our journey is flooded with people—the mafia and immigration police; they all exploit us. My wife and I were victimized when we were moving from Guatemala to Ula, Mexico City. I'm here with my wife traveling. My wife is here with me. So, everything is alright. However, things got difficult on our way. We were on the bus with 30 travelers to the United States. A man by the name of Antonio and others who were with him were there; they exploited us, taking almost $5,000 in United States dollars from us. While we were on the bus, they took many of our items.

They left and returned, and they stole our phones. My phone was part of it, too. So, we felt intimidated; we were exploited by the mafia on the road. The journey to a prosperous America is no small task.

We would tell each other we either live in Africa or try to get to America.  So, with difficulty, we lived and traveled from place to place; we have spent much time trying to reach America. When we see Americans coming here for us, we are very happy. We believe that America is still great. By the grace of all my Muslim beliefs, I believe in that, too. I believe that the hand we all give, we all receive more. So that's it. I'm very impressed. Happy to meet you.”  Mohamed.

Mohamed has family in the United States.  They moved here 18 years ago.  He has a brother in Philadelphia, a sister in Phoenix, cousins, an aunt, and “my father.”  (“My father” is his Uncle; this title given to his Uncle is a sign of respect.)  His “Father” and sister were ready to receive them in Phoenix, Arizona.  Mohamed got another phone to keep in touch with his family.

What I found interesting was that I was Facebook friends with his sister. Mohamed and I then connected on Facebook, and I followed his journey to the United States, which he crossed over in April 2024. This journey took two months and started on February 14th.

Mohamed's final words before we left them at the train station were filled with hope:

 “We face many difficulties right now, but we believe in our journey to the United States to contribute to America.”

“The Great Land of America has been a beacon of positive change for the world. Thank you.”

As of November 2024, Mohamed and his wife gave birth to their first child, a boy named Mohamed Jr..

Their journey isn’t over just yet. They have a court date for their asylum case in May 2026.