Drowned father and daughter mourned at El Salvador cemetery
About 200 relatives and friends followed a hearse bearing the bodies of Óscar Martínez and his 23-month-old daughter Valeria inside
Many wore black and wept. They carried flowers and green palms, and some held signs bearing the logo of the Alianza soccer team favored by Óscar Martínez, who belonged to a group that supports the club.
"For those who cheer you on from heaven," one read.
"I knew them. They are good people, and I can't believe they died this way," said
"We came from
Tania Vanessa Ávalos, their wife and mother, returned to
A municipal police officer said their graves were in a section of the cemetery named after Saint Óscar Romero, the
After the burial, relatives stayed behind at the gravesite to say a last goodbye, said family friend
"This is very painful, most of all because of the baby. ... They went in search of a better future, but everything came to an end in the river," Moran said.
A collection of floral arrangements adorned the grave, including one from
The photographs of Martínez, 25, and Valeria, lying face-down along the riverbank, the tiny girl tucked inside his black shirt and her arm draped over his neck, prompted a global outpouring of emotion. They underscored the perils faced by migrants and asylum-seekers trying to reach
"We are dismayed, shocked, everyone is in pain," said
President Nayib Bukele said late Sunday that the drownings were "a great tragedy" and that there's blame to be shared among governments.
And Bukele, who took office a month ago, said his own country shares responsibility.
"We can speak blame to any other country, but what about our blame?" Bukele said in lengthy remarks, much of them delivered in English. "I mean, what country did they flee? Did they (flee)
"We haven't been able to provide anything, not a decent job, not a decent school," he continued. "What if there's a little girl who had a decent school here, a decent health care system for her and her family, a decent house with water supply, a job for his parents, for his mother and his dad, a decent job, living in a zone where a gang member would not come to rape her and kill her family?"
Many of those trying to reach the
Martínez's mother said last week that the family had hoped to live and work in
"These are situations that make visible the problem of migration, something that happens daily," said
Vega criticized
"May God will that this tragedy sensitize people," he said.
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