Migrants deported from the United States, along with activists and religious leaders, staged the “Migrant Way of the Cross” on Monday, reenacting the Passion of Christ to raise awareness of the migration phenomenon in southern Mexico.
The protesters demonstrated against the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump, which led to their deportation to Tapachula, Chiapas, where they burned a piñata to express their discontent and the uncertainty they face.
Father Heyman Vázquez Medina, parish priest of San Andrés Apóstol in Hidalgo, said that accompanying migrants on their journey is a “Way of the Cross” filled with suffering.
“From the government’s perspective, it’s still the same; there’s no interest in treating migrants well. When there’s an opportunity to rob them, when there’s an opportunity to extort them, they extort them. There’s no concern from the authorities or the civilian population; unfortunately, they take advantage of the migrants,” he stated.
Luis Rey García Villagrán, director of the Center for Human Dignity (CDH), stated that no migrant wants to stay in Tapachula, where tens of thousands of foreigners are “stranded,” while also denouncing the negligence of the authorities responsible for assisting them.
“Today we are going to tell the people of Tapachula that no migrant wants to stay in Tapachula. They can continue hating, but today the migrants should put the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comar) and the relevant agencies to work,” he said.
Orlando Guillén Moro, a Cuban man deported from the United States, reported that he arrived in Tapachula separated from his family due to Trump’s policies, sending him to a third country where they feel “trapped” and face adverse situations such as hatred and discrimination.
“It means going through what our Lord, Jesus Christ, went through. We are going through the same thing as migrants, and we need God’s help. We ask the president to put herself in our place. We have lost money, family, jobs, and an entire life—in my case, 35 years—and we need a light to help us feel like human beings again,” he expressed.
Raúl, another Cuban migrant, insisted that he participated in this “Migrant Way of the Cross” so that Mexican authorities would become aware of our plight and allow us to obtain legal status to remain in this region of southern Mexico.
“We are going to walk so that they give us the opportunity to stay in this country and have a job. We are truly on the cross, prisoners. Supposedly we are free, but there is no assistance of any kind,” he said.
During their walk, some Haitian migrants who are stranded also asked for help with more jobs and better wages, which are “far too low” in Tapachula.
Source: latinus.us
