We started today with a trip to the Centro de Orientacion al Inmigrate (COMI). This is a shelter for migrants who are traveling through Mexico. Many thousands of people leave Central America and Mexico every year in hopes of a better life in the US. This journey is incredibly dangerous. The migrants risk their lives and leave everything behind they have ever known and loved for the chance at making some money. These people travel on foot, ride on top of trains, and risk robberies and abuse from police, gangs, and immigration officials. I know immigrants in the US get a bad rep but think about it, who would risk it all and travel so dangerously if they had no other options? Fortunately, the Catholic Church in Mexico has created some 55 safe houses. The immigration officials cannot enter these houses and weary travelers can rest and receive a few meals. At COMI, migrants can stay for up to three days. If they are sick or injured, they can receive free health services from the Mexican system and stay longer. If they need money, they can stay for up to a week to work. The COMI house provides beds, meals, and a change of clothes to migrants. They said mostly men are traveling but they are an increasing number of women, children, and whole families. When they arrive at the house, they are interviewed and the center documents where they are from, where they are going, and ages. Nancy, the director, said that many people arrive and do not know where or how they will travel. They have a destination in mind but it is usually a state in the US, not a specific address, and they do not know how far it is or where to find it on the map. The center provides them with information and the location of other houses like this along the way. While here, I met a 23-year-old Honduras man. He was traveling back to the US to work as a painter in Houston. He had worked there before and made plenty of money to send back for his 6-year-old son and family. He was deported, could not find work in Honduras, and felt his only choice was to risk the journey again. He had already been traveling for 8 days and had learned about the center from another center in Chiapas. He planned to travel by train but he said the journey was very dangerous, especially for women. He said many people will hold you at knife point or with a machete to your neck and want your money. He did not know how long the rest of his journey would take. He was generally very meek and said you could not trust anyone along the way. Anyone you met could take advantage of you or report you. I cannot imagine how hard his life must be to leave his family and risk his life to help his son? Some other people met some other men who were also staying at the shelter. One man would be there for another month. He had fallen from a train and lost his foot. He was awaiting a prosthesis from a woman named Olga. I read about her in Enrique’s Journey (an interesting read about a boy’s immigration story). She is a woman who has committed herself to helping immigrants. She works to save money for surgeries and prosthesis to people who have been injured along the way. We spent our morning learning about the center and organized the clothing donations. They have clothes of all shapes and sizes to donate to migrants as they pass through. Often people do not have much with them and this provides an alternative.
After a lunch of chicken with a cream sauce and steamed carrots, broccoli, and green beans (these are so rare in Guatemala), we trekked through the down pour rain to our afternoon meeting. Somehow in traversing the flooded corners and the speed of the front of the pack, we lost our way. Five of us walked to the CASA house in hopes that someone would have Andrea’s number or know where we were supposed to go. Fortunately, an adorable old woman lent us her phone and we were able to call Kate (our Guatemalan phones do not work in Mexico). We found our way and arrived sopping wet. This presentation was from an organization called Nueve Lunas. They are a group of 3 women who work with local promotores de salud (midwives) to educate them, provide services to the community, and advocate for the mother’s rights. In the medical system in Mexico, the birthing process is very impersonal and limits the connection between mother and baby. A campaign of Nueve Lunas is to promote the mother’s choice in birthing position and to put the baby in the mother’s arms before the umbilical cord is cut. They have research that shows positive correlation between this and the baby’s health. Just like in Guatemala, the indigenous communities and midwives have years of experience that show success in alternative approaches.
In the ongoing rain, we returned to the hostel. I was eager to change out of my wet clothes and took a nap. During our trip, we developed the tendency to eat dinner quite late. We ate lunch at 2pm everyday and usually had a conference until 6. With the cold and raining evenings, most people were eager to change into comfy clothes and go to bed. For dinner, we checked out a few places Molly and Sarita found. We ultimately ended at a place called Buenas Marias. I ate a wonderful quesadilla with quesillo (the local Oaxacan cheese – so gooey and wonderful) and drank two margaritas. Mezcal is the local liquor of choice in Oaxaca but I am still crazy about my tequila. Aeja and Logan ate some tender steak (so delicious) and Jefe ate tongue (actually not too bad). Sarita ate a quesadilla with flor de calabasas (flower of pumpkin plant) and Diana ate stuff flor de calabasas – both of which are local specialties as well. We left in the rain when the kitchen stopped serving and headed out to find a bar. Unfortunately, Tuesday nights are not hopping in Oaxaca (not a surprise, they aren’t in Xela either). We found a bar that made super sweet brightly colored drinks. We didn’t stay too long and headed home for bed, yet again in the rain.
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