More than 150 Haitian migrants from Mexico City were abandoned adrift for a week in the coastal city of Acapulco, in the south of the country.
This happened after personnel from the National Migration Institute (INM) transferred them to that destination in the Mexican Pacific, the same place where they would be issued a permit.
“We were in (City of) Mexico, they filled a bus and brought us to the plaza (Acapulco). They only told us one thing when we got here on Monday, that on Tuesday they would take us back and sign the paper,” he said. Gerisma, a Haitian who had to leave his country and his family 10 months ago after an assassination attempt and the seizure of his home.
In the first quarter of 2023, the crime rate in Haiti has been on the rise, registering more than 1,600 incidents, compared to 692 in the same period last year, according to data compiled by the Haitian National Police and the United Nations. .
For these migrants, the “paper” or “little piece of paper” they are looking for is the work permit or immigration stay permit issued by the INM to foreigners in order to remain in Mexican territory on a regular basis.
However, their situation has become complicated, since many left without documents to support their identity.
Yvens, a civil engineer, left his country a few years ago due to the political and economic crisis in which his country of origin is involved.
During his migrant journey, he also passed through countries like Brazil and Chile, places where he also had to emigrate to have a better life.
go to another country
“Now we don’t have a destination because if we have the paper here, we stay to work here, but if we don’t have something to work for or a better life, we go to another country to look for it because that’s why we leave our country,” said Yvens, who together his wife and son have had to sleep on the street while waiting for a response from the immigration authorities.
Although they assure that the United States is the best destination for migrants, they hope that Mexico can provide them with the help they need at this time to work.
The migrants trust that, although the Acapulco population is showing solidarity with them by donating a little food, what they need is money to survive.
work to stay
“What we want is to work to support ourselves, because to bathe we have to pay and to go to the bathroom too. That is why we need to work, to be able to live, because the way we are living is very bad, we cannot be living like this,” Gerisma pointed out.
For many of them, their stay in the city in the Mexican state of Guerrero has been made very difficult by not speaking Spanish.
Despite this, a word has become popular among them: “wait”, since they say that it is the only thing they have left.
In this situation, the profession or social status does not matter, since everyone is in the same immigration status.
Children, young people and adults wait under the sun for a favorable response that gives them a second chance to redirect their lives.
With a face of despair and unable to communicate with the Mexicans, Tondereau Jean Max, a Haitian cameraman, asks everyone who can help him get a residence or permit so that he can work and support his family who comes with the.
The migrant asserted that being outside the migration offices is no longer an option, while hundreds of Haitians continue to endure high temperatures and sleep outdoors.
So far, no authority has ruled on this situation, so the migrants continue adrift.