Why, in Tijuana, a ’Different Kind of Migrant’ Elicits Outpouring of Help Whitney Eulich - The Christian Science Monitor
go to original June 14, 2017

Mexicans Respond To Haitians, Africans With Unusual Hospitality (KPBS News)

Each week, Tijuana receives thousands of people fleeing violence or seeking opportunity, including Mexican deportees, Central American migrants, and refugees from around the globe. Its border with the United States is the most trafficked international crossing in the world.

Many residents have grown accustomed to the long-term challenges that come with Tijuana's transitional nature, like deportees living in canals along the border, or migrants being recruited into criminal gangs. But a recent group of arrivals drew a new kind of attention – and action – from locals. Starting last spring, thousands of Haitians descended upon Tijuana on their way to the United States.

“People were arriving in the middle of the night, looking for help,” Pastor Gustavo Banda Aceves says, standing inside his church, The Ambassadors of Jesus, on the outskirts of the city. The periphery of the sanctuary is covered with mattresses, cots, and drying clothes, signs of the some 200 Haitian men, women, and children sheltered here. Last December, the space was filled with nearly 600 people.



The perception that these migrants had distinctive needs drove an outpouring of support. Almost overnight, the number of Tijuana migrant shelters jumped from roughly 12 to more than 30. Locals fundraised to deliver clothes, food, and trainings to Haitians in need. Pastor Banda and his wife donated land in hopes of building arguably Mexico’s first “Little Haiti,” and local businessmen started passing by shelters, offering jobs specifically for Haitians.

That mobilization of support echoes a phenomenon seen around the globe, amid some of the worst refugee crises in decades. Yet along with the eager helping hands comes a glimpse of an unpleasant reality: Consciously or not, communities sometimes prioritize certain types of refugees or migrants over others, making the decision that some groups are more “worthy” of help and attention.

From Germany to Lebanon and Kenya to the United States, how migrant or refugee groups are accepted or rejected can come down to language, how they look, religion, and cultural practices. Even the legal labels used to describe them – whether refugee or migrant – can play a part in how newcomers are welcomed by host communities.

Although the attention Haitians have garnered in Tijuana has at times been controversial – with some reprimanding locals for prioritizing them over fellow citizens – it has also sparked renewed interest in other groups in need here.

Read the rest at The Christian Science Monitor

Related: Mexican Immigration Arrests First Haitian When They Discover His Documents Are False (The Fulano Forum)

Related: Aid Needed for Guatemalans Who Fled to Mexico (The Associated Press)

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