Far from Hurricane Matthew, a Haitian crisis flares in Mexicali

Record ID: 81937

  • Title: Far from Hurricane Matthew, a Haitian crisis flares in Mexicali
  • Date: 18th October 2016
  • Summary: MEXICALI, BAJA CALIFORNIA NORTH STATE, MEXICO (OCTOBER 17, 2016) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR MIGRANT HOTEL HAITIANS WAITING OUTSIDE HOTEL COUPLE OF HAITIANS SIGN THAT READS: "MIGRANT HOTEL" HAITIAN MEN SITTING OUTSIDE HOTEL HAITIAN FATHER AND SON TENTS INSIDE HOTEL VARIOUS OF HAITIAN WOMEN DOING EACH OTHERS HAIR SOCIAL WORKER TALKING TO HAITIAN COUPLE HAITIAN FATHER AND BABY DAUGHTER HOTEL INTERIOR WITH TENTS SET UP (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HAITIAN MIGRANT WOMAN, LINA OMOVIEN, SAYING: "The first time I paid 900 dollars and then 800 and I did not lose out because the police did not find me. I went through difficult moments but I got here, paying people who know the way, guiding us whenever someone got here, they would pay and were helped through." HAITIAN MEN WALKING INSIDE MIGRANT HOTEL (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HAITIAN MIGRANT WOMAN, LINA OMOVIEN, SAYING: "My dream is to get to the United States and to work for my daughter and son. I have two children and to help my family. That's my dream." VARIOUS OF HAITIANS WASHING CLOTHES VARIOUS OF MAN CUTTING FRIEND’S HAIR HAITIANS CLEANING UP VARIOUS OF HOTEL COORDINATOR, SERGIO TAMAI QUINTERO, SHOWING POSTER DEMANDING CAMPS / SHELTER FOR FOREIGNERS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HOTEL COORDINATOR, SERGIO TAMAI QUINTERO, SAYING: "That's why we have told the president that he declare a humanitarian emergency, a migration humanitarian crisis, so that federal funds or international funding of the United Nations arrive, so that they can set up camps as they have done in parts of other countries." HAITIANS WITH MATTRESSES ON FLOOR IN ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HOTEL COORDINATOR, SERGIO TAMAI QUINTERO, SAYING: "But especially if the United States does not open the door, they are causing a problem. The United States must give asylum to them. Apart from the fact that right now, the hurricane that hit Haiti destroyed Haiti again and we feel the United States should remember they should open the door to all of them." VARIOUS OF HAITIANS RECEIVING MEDICAL CARE
  • Embargoed: 2nd November 2016 13:22
  • Keywords: Haitians migrants border crisis
  • Location: MEXICALI, BAJA CALIFORNIA NORTH STATE,MEXICO
  • City: MEXICALI, BAJA CALIFORNIA NORTH STATE,MEXICO
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA00154J8LZB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The havoc wreaked by Hurricane Matthew has strengthened the resolve of thousands of Haitians stuck on the U.S.-Mexico border to make it to the United States even though new rules mean they will likely be deported to their shattered homeland.
    A surge in the number of Haitians seeking asylum this year prompted the U.S. government to end special protections dating back to Haiti's last major disaster, a 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people.
    That means Haitian migrants arriving on a daily basis to the northern Mexican city of Mexicali, located a few meters from the border with the United States, are now far more likely to be deported home if they cross the border from Mexico.
    But as news filtered in of the death of some 1,000 people from Hurricane Matthew and the loss of family homes and property, these migrants have refused to give up.
    Despite tighter U.S. controls, dozens of Haitians show up at the "Migrant Hotel," every day, almost all of them arriving after an arduous months-long trip. This hotel was opened by activist, Sergio Tamai Quintero, who coordinates an organisation dealing with deported migrants "Angels without borders."
    Tamai Quintero offers Haitians, Central American, African and Mexican migrants free shelter but conditions are harsh.
    Due to the arrival of a greater number of Haitians each day, Tamai Quintero has opted for installing tents inside the hotel to accommodate more migrants.
    Lack of resources have prevented activists from providing food, meaning migrants have to take to the streets to try to find food.
    And the government has not responded to emergency calls for resources to meet the needs of migrants living here.
    A Haitian migrant woman, Lina Omovien, described how she arrived at the shelter.
    "The first time I paid 900 dollars and then 800 and I did not lose out because the police did not find me. I went through difficult moments but I got here, paying people who know the way, guiding us whenever someone got here, they would pay and were helped through," Omovien said.
    The migrant hotel houses about 500 mostly Haitian migrants, who are unsure whether they will be received in the United States.
    "My dream is to get to the United States and to work for my daughter and son. I have two children and to help my family. That's my dream," added Omovien.
    They spend long hours in the hope of being able to meet with immigration authorities of the United States to obtain a coveted asylum permit.
    Their future is unsure.
    Tamai Quintero said federal or UN funds were urgently needed.
    "That's why we have told the president that he declare a humanitarian emergency, a migration humanitarian crisis, so that federal funds or international funding of the United Nations arrive, so that they can set up camps as they have done in parts of other countries," he said.
    He urged the US to provide asylum to Haitians in light of the passing of Hurricane Matthew, after 1,000 people were killed in Haiti, which has a population of about 10 million and is the poorest country in the Americas.
    "But especially if the United States does not open the door, they are causing a problem. The United States must give asylum to them. Apart from the fact that right now, the hurricane that hit Haiti destroyed Haiti again and we feel the United States should remember they should open the door to all of them," he added.
    Tamai Quintero hopes the Mexican government and the United Nations recognise the humanitarian migrant crisis in the north of Mexico and address the difficult situation of migrants stranded on the border with the United States.
    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said it is monitoring the situation and "will assess its impact on current policies as appropriate."
    The crisis comes at a sensitive time for the U.S. government, wary of fanning Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's accusations that President Barack Obama is soft on immigration, or worse.
    Mexico's human rights ombudsman last week said 300 Haitians and Africans were now crossing Mexico's southern border every day, and that 13,000 had arrived this year. Some Haitians tell migration authorities they are from Congo or other French-speaking African nations with which Mexico has few diplomatic ties, making deportation from this side more difficult.
    They are given a 20-day pass to leave the country, which they take to try to cross to the US.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register