11/06/2016
TIJUANA SHELTERS ARE HELPING WITH THE FLOOD OF REFUGEES SEEKING TO ENTER THE UNITED STATES
Last weekend I visited a shelter in Tijuana to talk to the refugees staying there while they await their turn to begin the process of seeking asylum in the United States.
U.S. border officers, overwhelmed with the flood of refugees seeking protection in the United States have tried to limit the flow and Tijuana's homeless and migrant shelters have stepped in to help. The shelters provide beds (or in the case of the shelter I visited tents), blankets, food and other necessities to the men, women, and children, while they await their turn to begin processing by U.S. authorities.
The majority (I'd guess more than half) of the refugees at the shelter I visited are from Haiti. They sleep alongside refugees from Ghana, Gambia, Pakistan, Central America (Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala) and even Mexico. When they first arrive at the shelter, their names and dates of arrival are recorded and Mexican migrant organizations provide them with a slip of paper with their "appointment" date to approach the U.S. Port of Entry.
Even with the U.S. efforts to stem the flow, if anything, the numbers are increasing. The wait at the shelters, a few days in May, is now closer to three months. The refugees I spoke to arrived in September and had "appointment" dates in December (look at the attached photographs and try to imagine living in these conditions for that amount of time!).
On the day I visited, the shelter, run by an incredibly generous man named Jose Maria ("Chema") out of the home once owned by his late parents, provided entertainment to try to ease some of the stress and boredom. The singers, dancers, and other entertainers (including a man reading poems that he wrote) had messages of hope and encouragement; and the shelter's tenants sometimes joined the entertainers on stage. They had a piñata and a birthday cake for one of the volunteers.
I felt sadness (at the desperation that drove these people to flee their countries, leaving families and loved ones behind) but I was touched by the kindness and generosity of all of the beautiful people of Mexico who volunteer their time and resources to make this process work; and the refugees who break bread with and sleep beside strangers from all over the world while they wait and hope for the opportunity to begin a new life in a country where they can feel safe and protected. There seems to be little concern among the volunteers about the origins, or religions of the shelters' tenants, and only concern about their physical and mental well-being. For that, I felt hope and inspiration.
