They met on WhatsApp and decided to walk 2,000 miles together. In mid-October Jackelin Martinez joined one of the dozen messenger groups forming after Salvadorans watched as thousands of migrants from neighboring Honduras start trekking toward the United States in a caravan. The conversation on WhatsApp was a constant churn of information, sometimes dozens of messages a minute with prayers, packing lists, and meeting points. Jackelin had always wanted to leave El Salvador, to see the world and find a good job, and traveling in a group offered strength in numbers.

Multiple departure dates for the caravan from El Salvador were circulating, so she asked which was right. I’ll find out for you, a member of the chat wrote to her