This shelter home for people on the move is one of the few remaining in the area following the re-election of Donald Trump and his anti-migration policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They have gone from hosting 500 people to just 70. Major humanitarian organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have left the area due to cuts in funding from the United States. The shelter itself has also stopped receiving support from many of the organizations that once collaborated with it. Among the few that remain is the TAU Foundation. Despite everything, \u201cLa 72\u201d continues to stand on the outskirts of the small town of Tenosique de Pino Su\u00e1rez, because it knows that this place\u2014just one hour from the Guatemalan border in southeastern Mexico\u2014is a key stop for those migrating or seeking refuge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLa 72\u201d consists of small, single-story buildings painted in bright colors and decorated with drawings that give the place a special warmth. The volunteer area is called \u201cThe Resistance\u201d; the medical clinic, \u201cChe Guevara\u201d; the module for women and children, \u201cTender Fury\u201d; and the sports, where a football match is played every day, is \u201cDignity Square.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On one of the walls of the shelter, with an intense green background and an image of migrants leaving Latin America and trying to reach a walled United States led by its current president, one can read: \u201cTrump, you will be the one who ignites the fire of the people\u2019s resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This Franciscan shelter opens its doors to those seeking asylum in Mexico, but also to those passing through in search of the American dream. These individuals have the right to sleep for three days in the chapel, a large space that has gone from hosting religious services to housing people on simple mattresses on the floor. At the entrance to the chapel, which now shelters people in transit staying for short periods, the main wall displays 72 crosses bearing the names and flags of the migrants massacred in San Fernando in 2010 by the Los Zetas cartel after refusing to \u201cwork\u201d for them. This tragedy gave the shelter its name. Some of the crosses hang blank, belonging to those who could not be identified in the mass graves that were found. A year later, this center was established under the coordination of Franciscan friars, although they had already been assisting migrants and refugees for years in the Tenosique Fraternity and Parish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the profile of these people has changed dramatically since Trump\u2019s arrival. \u201cIt\u2019s as if we\u2019ve gone back 20 years. After COVID, entire families began arriving\u2014children, elderly people, people with disabilities\u2026 Now most of those who arrive are men traveling alone, because families are too afraid to take the risk or be deported,\u201d summarizes Friar Ricardo, until recently in charge of the center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Friar Ricardo Alberto Roque, the director of the center, denounces that for these people \u201cthere is no such thing as free transit. Throughout their entire migration route, including Mexico, they suffer extortion from police, from coyotes (human traffickers), from robbers along the \u0627\u0644\u0637\u0631\u064a\u0642 who are capable of beating and robbing those who don\u2019t even have money for a soft drink. They also face forced disappearances, human trafficking, being recruited by organized crime as drug mules, physical and psychological abuse\u2026 the list is long and very harsh,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reverse migration has also increased, as in the case of Juan Carlos, a 25-year-old Honduran. The young man was deported to Mexico while his wife and baby\u2014less than a year old\u2014managed to remain in the United States. Now he is trying to obtain asylum in this country while watching his child grow up through daily video calls. In addition, some entire families have begun passing through \u201cLa 72\u201d in the opposite direction, returning from the U.S. to their home countries, tired of living under daily pressure and in irregular conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite everything, some women still make this journey alone, like Katerine, a 36-year-old Venezuelan who fled her country, leaving behind her two daughters, aged 17 and 15. \u201cThey\u2019re angry with me. They don\u2019t understand it right now, but I did it for them. In my country, without money, you can\u2019t study. Working is only enough to eat, and I want them to go to university because they are very good students,\u201d she says proudly, although her expression changes when recalling parts of her journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She crossed the river at the Tapachula border (Chiapas), one of the most violent, and upon arriving in Mexico she was kidnapped by several armed men who took her, along with 16 others, to what looked like a ranch. \u201cThey put us into three lines. One for those who had money, another for those who could call their families to pay and were given three days to get it, and the last for those who had nothing. It almost sounds absurd now\u2014there was even a secretary collecting payments,\u201d she recounts with a sad half-smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey stripped the last group. Some were found to have money and were taken away. Those are the ones who later often appear dismembered in the news as a warning to other migrants. Those who had nothing were also killed\u2014they were considered useless. Some women were taken as prostitutes,\u201d she laments, looking down. \u201cMany screamed in panic attacks. I couldn\u2019t scream\u2014I felt a kind of adrenaline, like nerves\u2026 Those of us who had money managed to get out.\u201d Katerine was close to requesting self-deportation until someone told her about \u201cLa 72.\u201d Now she is trying to regularize her status in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the vast majority of those arriving now are men or young Hondurans fleeing poverty or gang violence. One of the most striking cases is that of Jefferson David Ram\u00edrez, a 19-year-old from that country who broke the strict rules of the shelter two months after arriving and was expelled. Marco, one of the guards, decided to give him a chance on his ranch, and today he is part of the family: \u201cI was the one who kicked him out, and I was the one who adopted him,\u201d he says, laughing. \u201cI think anger got the better of him. We all have our limits. Now he\u2019s adapted\u2014he helps me on the ranch, my 4- and 5-year-old children love him like a brother, and he calls us mom and dad. It never even crossed my mind to grow the family, but we\u2019re very happy,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even so, Jefferson\u2019s future remains uncertain. While waiting for his asylum papers, if they are denied, he will be deported or remain in an irregular situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Dari\u00e9n jungle, between Colombia and Panama, is another hotspot on the migration route. Camila and Thiago, along with their 5- and 2-year-old children, left Peru due to insecurity. \u201cFor some time now, there have been foreign gangs capable of killing for a mobile phone. And if you start a business, they extort you for money,\u201d Thiago explains. They saw on social media that crossing the Dari\u00e9n jungle was \u201cvery easy,\u201d but what they experienced was \u201ctraumatic.\u201d The coyote (the person who \u201cguides\u201d migrants along the route) abandoned them along with others in the middle of the jungle. For several days they thought they would die\u2014they ran out of food and saw human remains. Eventually, they managed to escape that hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLa 72\u201d also has a space for the LGTBI community. There rests Keshua Smith, a 26-year-old Guatemalan who fled due to the strong discrimination faced by this community in his country. \u201cMy parents passed away, and the rest of my family said I was abominable just because of the way I love,\u201d he recalls emotionally. \u201cIn Guatemala, the gay community is highly stigmatized. We have a hard time. One day I was holding my partner\u2019s hand and from a car, a gang insulted us and pointed a gun at us. Many people call us \u2018huecos,\u2019 which is very derogatory and painful. The only fun days are Saturdays, when we go to a nightclub attended by people from the community, where we can truly be ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keshua has already applied for asylum in Mexico and dreams of one day having a ranch where he can live peacefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, despite the sharp decline in the number of people in transit and the closure of various shelters, those at \u201cLa 72\u201d remain resolute. \u201cDuring COVID, people stopped coming\u2014there are always cycles. But migration is unstoppable. People will come again, and we will be here as long as even one person needs a place to find shelter,\u201d concludes Friar Ricardo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Isabel Egiguren: freelance journalist<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This shelter home for people on the move is one of the few remaining in the area following the re-election of Donald Trump and his anti-migration policies. They have gone […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"\n
Este hogar refugio para personas en movimiento es uno de los pocos que quedan en la zona tras la reelecci\u00f3n de Donald Trump y su pol\u00edtica anti-migratoria.<\/em><\/p>\n\n Han pasado de acoger 500 personas a 70, las grandes organizaciones humanitarias como el Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Refugiados (ACNUR) se ha marchado de la zona por los recortes en la financiaci\u00f3n que recib\u00eda de Estados Unidos. El propio hogar ha dejado de recibir ayuda de muchas organizaciones que cooperaban con ella. Entre las pocas que se mantienen fundaci\u00f3n-TAU- fundazioa<\/strong>. A pesar de todo, \u201cla 72\u201d resiste a las afueras de la peque\u00f1a localidad de Tenosique del Pino Su\u00e1rez porque sabe que \u00e9ste lugar, a tan solo una hora de la frontera con Guatemala al sureste de M\u00e9xico, es una parada de referencia para quienes migran o buscan refugio.<\/p>\n\n \u2018La 72\u2019 consta de peque\u00f1os edificios de tan solo una altura, pintados con llamativos colores y dibujos que dan un calor especial al lugar. La zona para el voluntariado se llama \u2018La Resistencia\u2019<\/em><\/strong>; la consulta sanitaria, \u2018Che Guevara\u2019<\/em><\/strong>; el m\u00f3dulo para mujeres, ni\u00f1os y ni\u00f1as, \u2018la tierna furia\u2019<\/em><\/strong>; y la cancha de deportes, donde cada d\u00eda se juega alg\u00fan partido de f\u00fatbol, es la \u2018Plaza Dignidad\u2019<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n En una de las paredes del Refugio, con un fondo verde intenso y con una imagen de personas migrantes que salen de Am\u00e9rica Latina e intentan llegar a unos Estados Unidos amurallados presididos por su actual presidente, se puede leer:\u00a0\u201cTrump, ser\u00e1s el que encienda el fuego de la resistencia de los pueblos\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Este refugio franciscano abre sus puertas a quienes buscan asilo en M\u00e9xico, pero tambi\u00e9n a quienes est\u00e1n de paso en busca del sue\u00f1o americano. Estas personas tienen derecho a dormir durante tres d\u00edas en la capilla, un espacio amplio que ha pasado de celebrar oficios a alojar a personas en sencillas colchonetas en el suelo. A la entrada de la capilla que actualmente alberga a personas en movimiento que pasan estancias cortas; podemos ver en su pared principal que cuelgan 72 cruces con los nombres y banderas de los pa\u00edses a los que pertenec\u00edan las personas migrantes masacradas en San Fernando en el a\u00f1o 2010 por el c\u00e1rtel de Los Zetas al negarse a \u201ctrabajar\u201d para ellos y que ha dado nombre al Hogar-Refugio. Algunas de las cruces cuelgan en blanco. Pertenecen a quienes no pudieron ser reconocidos en las fosas que se encontraron. Un a\u00f1o despu\u00e9s nac\u00eda este centro coordinado por franciscanos, aunque llevaban a\u00f1os atendiendo a migrantes y refugiados en la Fraternidad y Parroquia de Tenosique.<\/p>\n\n Pero el perfil de estas personas ha cambiado de manera radical desde la llegada de Trump. \u201cEs como si hubi\u00e9ramos retrocedido 20 a\u00f1os. Tras el Covid comenzaron a venir familias enteras con ni\u00f1os, ni\u00f1as, personas mayores, discapacitadas\u2026 Ahora la mayor\u00eda que llegan son hombres solos porque las familias no se atreven a arriesgarse o a ser deportadas\u201d<\/em>, resume Fray Ricardo, hasta hace poco responsable de este centro.<\/p>\n\n Fray Ricardo Alberto Roque<\/strong>, director del centro, denuncia que para estas personas \u201cno existe el tr\u00e1nsito libre. Durante toda su ruta migratoria, incluida M\u00e9xico, sufren extorsiones de polic\u00edas, de polleros (traficantes de personas), de asaltantes en el camino que son capaces de golpear y robar a quienes no tienen ni para un refresco. Tambi\u00e9n se enfrentan a desapariciones forzadas, a trata de personas, a ser reclutados por el crimen organizado como mulitas para pasar droga, a violaciones f\u00edsicas, psicol\u00f3gicas, maltratos\u2026 la lista es larga y muy cruda\u201d<\/em> asegura.<\/p>\n\n Tambi\u00e9n ha crecido la migraci\u00f3n inversa, como es el caso de Juan Carlos, hondure\u00f1o de 25 a\u00f1os. El joven fue deportado a M\u00e9xico mientras su esposa y su beb\u00e9, de menos de un a\u00f1o, lograron permanecer en EE UU. Ahora intenta conseguir asilo en este pa\u00eds mientras observa c\u00f3mo crece su hijo a trav\u00e9s de videollamadas diarias. Adem\u00e1s, han comenzado a pasar por \u201cla 72\u201d algunas familias enteras que realizan la ruta inversa, que vuelven de USA a sus pa\u00edses cansadas ya de vivir en situaci\u00f3n irregular y bajo presi\u00f3n a diario.<\/p>\n\n A pesar de todo, algunas mujeres siguen realizando esta ruta solas, como Katerine<\/strong>, una venezolana de 36 a\u00f1os que huy\u00f3 de su pa\u00eds dejando all\u00ed a sus dos hijas, de 17 y 15 a\u00f1os. \u201cEst\u00e1n bravas conmigo. Ahora mismo no lo entienden, pero lo he hecho por ellas. En mi pa\u00eds sin dinero no se puede estudiar. Trabajando solo da para comer y quiero que vayan a la universidad porque son muy buenas estudiantes\u201d<\/em> dice con orgullo, aunque su rostro cambia al recordar algunos de los pasajes de su periplo.<\/p>\n\n Cruz\u00f3 el r\u00edo por la frontera de Tapachula (Chiapas), una de las m\u00e1s violentas y al llegar a M\u00e9xico fue secuestrada por varios hombres armados que le llevaron junto a otras 16 personas a una especie de rancho. \u201cAll\u00ed nos pusieron en tres filas. Una para los que tra\u00edan dinero, otra para los que pod\u00edan llamar a su familia para pagar y a quienes les daban el chance de tres d\u00edas para conseguirlo y la \u00faltima para quien no llevaba nada. Ahora se ve chistoso, hab\u00eda hasta una secretaria cobrando\u201d<\/em>, relata con una media sonrisa triste.<\/p>\n\n \u201cA estos \u00faltimos los desnudaron. A algunos les encontraron dinero y se los llevaron. Son los que luego suelen aparecer desmembrados en las noticias del peri\u00f3dico para poner sobre aviso al resto de migrantes. A quienes no ten\u00edan nada tambi\u00e9n los mataron, consideraban que ya no les serv\u00edan. A algunas mujeres las agarraron como prostitutas\u201d<\/em>, se lamenta mirando al suelo. \u201cMuchas gritaban con ataques de p\u00e1nico.\u00a0Yo no pod\u00eda gritar, sent\u00eda una especie de adrenalina, como nervios\u2026 pudimos salir de all\u00ed quienes ten\u00edamos dinero\u201d<\/strong><\/em>.<\/strong>\u00a0Katerine estuvo a punto de pedir la auto deportaci\u00f3n hasta que alguien le habl\u00f3 de \u2018La 72\u2019. Ahora intenta regularizar su situaci\u00f3n en el pa\u00eds.<\/p>\n\n Pero la gran mayor\u00eda de quienes llegan ahora son hombres o j\u00f3venes hondure\u00f1os huyendo de la pobreza o de la violencia de las pandillas. Uno de los casos m\u00e1s llamativos es el de Jefferson David Ram\u00edrez<\/strong>, un joven de este pa\u00eds de 19 a\u00f1os que incumpli\u00f3 las estrictas normas de la casa a los dos meses de su llegada y fue expulsado. Marco<\/strong>, uno de los guardas, quiso darle una oportunidad en su rancho y hoy es uno m\u00e1s de la familia: \u201cYo mismo lo saqu\u00e9 de la casa y yo mismo le adopt\u00e9\u201d<\/em>, relata riendo. \u201cYo creo que le gan\u00f3 la ira. Todos tenemos nuestros l\u00edmites<\/strong>. Ahorita est\u00e1 adaptado, me ayuda en el rancho, mis hijos de 4 y 5 a\u00f1os le quieren como a un hermano y a nosotros nos llama pap\u00e1 y mam\u00e1. Ni se me hab\u00eda cruzado por la cabeza aumentar la familia pero estamos muy contentos\u201d<\/em>, r\u00ede.<\/p>\n\n Aun as\u00ed, el futuro de Jefferson no est\u00e1 claro. A la espera de sus papeles de asilo, en caso de ser denegados, ser\u00e1 deportado o quedar\u00e1 en situaci\u00f3n irregular.<\/p>\n\n La selva del Dari\u00e9n, entre Colombia y Panam\u00e1 es otro punto caliente de la ruta migratoria. Camila y Thiago, junto a sus hijos de 5 y 2 a\u00f1os salieron desde Per\u00fa por la inseguridad que existe. \u201cDesde hace un tiempo hay pandillas extranjeras que son capaces de matar por un m\u00f3vil. Y si montas un negocio te extorsionan para que les pagues dinero\u201d<\/em> relata Thiago. Vieron en redes sociales que era \u201cmuy f\u00e1cil\u201d cruzar la selva del Dari\u00e9n, pero lo que vivieron fue \u201ctraum\u00e1tico\u201d. El coyote (la persona que \u201cacompa\u00f1a\u201d a las personas en la ruta), los abandon\u00f3 junto a otras personas en medio de la selva. Durante varios d\u00edas pensaron que morir\u00edan, se quedaron sin alimentos y vieron restos de personas fallecidas. Finalmente consiguieron salir de aquel infierno.<\/p>\n\n En \u201cla 72\u201d tambi\u00e9n hay un espacio para la poblaci\u00f3n LGTBI. All\u00ed descansa Keshua Smith<\/strong>, un joven guatemalteco de 26 a\u00f1os que huy\u00f3 por la fuerte discriminaci\u00f3n que sufre el colectivo en este pa\u00eds. \u201cMis padres fallecieron y el resto de la familia me dec\u00eda que era abominable solo por mi forma de amar\u201d<\/em> recuerda emocionado. \u201cEn Guatemala el colectivo gay est\u00e1 muy se\u00f1alado. La pasamos mal. Un d\u00eda iba de la mano con mi pareja y desde un coche, una pandilla nos insult\u00f3 y nos apunt\u00f3 con una pistola. Mucha gente nos dice \u201chuecos\u201d, que es algo muy despectivo y doloroso. Los \u00fanicos d\u00edas divertidos son los s\u00e1bados, que nos vamos a una discoteca a la que acude gente de la comunidad y donde podemos ser quienes somos realmente\u201d<\/em>. Mucha gente los llama \u201chuecos\u201d de forma despectiva y lleg\u00f3 a ser enca\u00f1onado por una pandilla por el hecho de ir de la mano con su pareja como coment\u00f3.<\/p>\n\n Keshua ya ha realizado la petici\u00f3n de asilo en M\u00e9xico y sue\u00f1a con tener en un futuro un rancho donde vivir tranquilo.<\/p>\n\n Mientras tanto, y a pesar de la gran disminuci\u00f3n de personas en movimiento y del cierre de distintos albergues, en \u201cla 72\u201d lo tienen claro. \u201cDurante la Covid dej\u00f3 de venir gente, siempre hay ciclos, pero las migraciones son imparables, volver\u00e1n a venir personas y nosotros estaremos aqu\u00ed mientras una sola necesite un hogar donde cobijarse\u201d<\/em> sentencia Fray Ricardo.<\/p>\n\n Isabel Egiguren: periodista \u201cfree lance\u201d<\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[44,78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-noticias-en","category-ultima-historia-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/taufundazioa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/taufundazioa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/taufundazioa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/taufundazioa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/taufundazioa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11560"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/taufundazioa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11565,"href":"http:\/\/taufundazioa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11560\/revisions\/11565"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/taufundazioa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/taufundazioa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/taufundazioa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/taufundazioa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}