FairPlanet.Support
| topic: | Refugees and Asylum |
|---|---|
| tags: | #migrants, #Mexico, #humanitarian aid, #donation |
| located: | Mexico |
| by: | Quinta Thomson |
The city of Tijuana lies on the US-Mexico border and has become an overcrowded refuge for migrants attempting to reach the US.
As the Trump administration barred applications for asylum in the United States, thousands have been living in camps on the border for over a year. This crisis has been amplified by the fact that the number of people applying to be recognised as refugees from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador has increased by 1007 percent throughout the past decade.
Many of the areas of refuge for migrants have been declared inadequate for basic living, with insufficient water and health services causing the spread of respiratory illnesses among the crowded shelters. Amnesty International's report declares that migrants at the US-Mexico border are existing in neglected and ‘squalid’ conditions and is calling for urgent action.
This has been a developing issue for some time, and in 1987 the non-profit Casa Del Migrante Tijuana (Migrant’s House in Tijuana), was established. Since opening the first refugee house in Latin America, the NGO has received more than 250,000 migrants, which is now an average of 120 people every day.
Offering basic services such as shelter, food and clothing, the organisation aims to serve the most vulnerable who arrive in the city - primarily those who have been deported from the United States.
As well as providing the necessities for basic living, Migrant’s House goes one step further, making social integration a key goal of their mission. New arrivals have an interview with a social worker to arrange exactly what provisions they need and what Migrant’s House can provide for them. These services cover many spectrums of the issues these migrants are dealing with. From psychological aid and assistance in seeking employment to legal action and petitions for asylum, the organisation endeavours to provide sustainable support.
Through their work, Migrant House members safeguard and promote the rights of migrants in addition to motivating other institutions to do the same. By demonstrating values of reception, hope, solidarity and generosity, the organisation is striving to create a community in which migrants are treated with respect rather than negligence.
A donation to Casa Del Migrante Tijuana will not only significantly improve the housing, food, medical and psychological care situations of migrants in the city, but will have an extended impact upon the families of migrants and the community that Migrant’s House is trying to build.
Image: Peg Hunter.
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