Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Mexico City, Nov 6.- A caravan of more than 3,500 migrants left Tapachula, in the Mexican state of Chiapas, early this Sunday, heading towards the United States (USA) with the interest of reaching another group of between five thousand and six thousand people that started the previous week towards the same destination.
According to Reuters, the meeting of the two contingents will take place in the Chiapas town of Huixtla, about 40 kilometers from Tapachula and from there they will continue en bloc towards northern Mexico, where they aspire to cross the border.
Irineo Mujica, a human rights defender who organizes and accompanies the caravans, told the US agency The Associated Press (AP) that this situation is the result of the delays of the Mexican authorities in regularizing the immigration status of foreigners, who They often have to choose between living on the streets in extremely difficult conditions or joining a caravan.
"With this type of actions we are trying to save lives (...). They [the authorities] have ignored the problem and have left the migrants stranded," said the activist, quoted by Diario Tribuna Chiapas.
Local media point out that the more than 10,000 people who have joined the caravan during the last week hope that this November 6, the Mexican authorities will rule on the issuance of documents that will allow them to remain legally in Mexico and continue towards the USA
The previous week, Mujica told the press that to unblock the bureaucratic situation, the migrants proposed helping in the reconstruction of the port of Acapulco – which was severely damaged by the passage of Hurricane Otis – in exchange for transit documentation, but their request was not answered.
Risk of collapse
On the other hand, the volume of the caravan has raised alarm among those responsible for the shelters and migrant reception organizations, who fear that, unlike what has happened at other times, the group of people will remain united until the border with the US and cannot receive humanitarian assistance during the journey.
"We don't know how many of those people will come to our city, let's remember that there are many borders on the northern side, Juárez is one of the most important in recent years (…). We have to see what our limits are. As a Church, we cannot respond to the entire migratory phenomenon," Father Francisco Bueno Guillén, director of the Casa del Migrante in Ciudad Juárez, warned last week.
For his part, the prelate of Juárez, José Guadalupe Torres Campos, assured that the 60 houses intended for the care of migrants scattered throughout the Mexican territory show overcrowding.
In some cases, he stated, the centers house more than double the number of people than their installed capacity establishes. "We are overwhelmed, but the idea, as a Church, is to welcome them," he added. (RT) (Photo: AFP)
