TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The story of a Tucson woman who survived crossing the desert in 1980 is now being turned into a memoir. Dora Rodríguez was one of 13 survivors from a group found in Tucson in 1980.
She's served as a leader in many community groups, but she shared her deep devotion to the Southside Presbyterian Church. Her memoir will detail the church as a place where she found her community after nearly dying while crossing the Arizona desert after fleeing her country, El Salvador.
Rodriguez was one of 13 survivors out of a group of 26 unaccompanied minors, she described. Reports show they crossed through the Organ Pipe area until the 13 survivors were rescued. Her story eventually brought her to the Southside Presbyterian Church.
"The Southside Presbyterian Church was the birth of the Sanctuary Movement, and this is where I met the incredible Reverend John Fife who, with his friend Jim Corbett, came together and said, ‘We’ve got to do something. There are too many people dying. There's too many people coming. We have to figure out what's going on in El Salvador,'" Rodriguez described.
"Dora: A Daughter of Unforgiving Terrain" will be released this summer. The church is where her story started, and it's where she will bring it full circle. Her release party is scheduled for July 5, a Saturday, at 10 a.m.—the same date she was rescued in 1980.
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Reyna Preciado is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2022 after graduating Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Reyna by emailing reyna.preciado@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or Twitter.
