Support Vanesa & Chloe's Work in Tijuana
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What's happening?
As you may know, on October of 2018 one of the largest caravans organized by folks from Honduras began to make its way to the U.S.-Mexico border, joined by thousands of Central Americans along the way. This is not the first caravan, nor the last one. The caravan folks flee poverty, lack of work and decent employment, lack of medical care and education, widespread violence and a State that does not work to protect its citizens. Because of these realities, today's caravans are a resource for whole families, the elderly, women and children, who, when arriving at the border, find themselves involved in a racist and xenophobic immigration system, which refers to them as a "danger" to the United States. This violent rhetoric treats our migrant brothers and sisters as dangerous criminals, denying them the right to safe entry into this country by seeking asylum.
My experience:
On January of 2019, I traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border to learn first-hand how things were unfolding on the ground, assess the needs of the caravan folks and provide support. Many reasons led to embark on this journey-- I myself am a migrant from Peru. But more importantly, I come to this work as a community organizer who has supported migrant/immigrant/asylum seekers and workers rights in New Haven, CT. My community and I have fiercely defended the rights of all our migrant brothers and sisters to migrate through the Americas as our ancestors have for hundreds of years.
While in Tijuana, I assisted in translation services and case management with the intention of not only meeting basic needs as best but also walking folks through the process so they could be informed and prepared as possible, and support them even after crossing. My time on the ground in Tijuana allowed me to take a closer look into the way the U.S. government and the Mexican government are working together to deny refugees the right to asylum. I learned how the perverse and illegal number system is being implemented to deny refugees safe and speedy entry into this country. I saw how families struggled as they waited anxiously for their number to be called, many times worried about a family member who had become ill during the incredibly long journey. They feared their loved ones would die waiting on the Mexico side for their number to be called. They feared they would die in detention due to lack of proper medical attention, because as we know, children, women and men are dying in these detention centers. They feared they would be deported back to a country they left in order to survive.
Our mission:
It is for these reasons and so many more, that I am returning to Tijuana. This time I will be accompanied by my dear friend Chloe, an incredible woman with training and experience as a street medic and currently a nursing student. Chloe and I will work to provide direct support on the ground for asylum seekers and assist them in connecting with further resources working toward stability. We will be working with a larger group of volunteers supporting medical, housing and other needs. We have prepared for medical and harm reduction supplies and are coordinating a system to be able to source these directly more consistently, beyond our time there.
Our ask:
We ask for your support to continue to build out this work and make it sustainable.
Funds collected here will be used to purchase medical supplies, basic resources, housing and other needs. We will provide updates on how the funds are being managed as well as continue to do report backs for the work we do on the ground and what we learn.
Directly funding work of this kind means that money and supplies go directly to those who most need it. Every dollar counts!
As you may know, on October of 2018 one of the largest caravans organized by folks from Honduras began to make its way to the U.S.-Mexico border, joined by thousands of Central Americans along the way. This is not the first caravan, nor the last one. The caravan folks flee poverty, lack of work and decent employment, lack of medical care and education, widespread violence and a State that does not work to protect its citizens. Because of these realities, today's caravans are a resource for whole families, the elderly, women and children, who, when arriving at the border, find themselves involved in a racist and xenophobic immigration system, which refers to them as a "danger" to the United States. This violent rhetoric treats our migrant brothers and sisters as dangerous criminals, denying them the right to safe entry into this country by seeking asylum.
My experience:
On January of 2019, I traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border to learn first-hand how things were unfolding on the ground, assess the needs of the caravan folks and provide support. Many reasons led to embark on this journey-- I myself am a migrant from Peru. But more importantly, I come to this work as a community organizer who has supported migrant/immigrant/asylum seekers and workers rights in New Haven, CT. My community and I have fiercely defended the rights of all our migrant brothers and sisters to migrate through the Americas as our ancestors have for hundreds of years.
While in Tijuana, I assisted in translation services and case management with the intention of not only meeting basic needs as best but also walking folks through the process so they could be informed and prepared as possible, and support them even after crossing. My time on the ground in Tijuana allowed me to take a closer look into the way the U.S. government and the Mexican government are working together to deny refugees the right to asylum. I learned how the perverse and illegal number system is being implemented to deny refugees safe and speedy entry into this country. I saw how families struggled as they waited anxiously for their number to be called, many times worried about a family member who had become ill during the incredibly long journey. They feared their loved ones would die waiting on the Mexico side for their number to be called. They feared they would die in detention due to lack of proper medical attention, because as we know, children, women and men are dying in these detention centers. They feared they would be deported back to a country they left in order to survive.
Our mission:
It is for these reasons and so many more, that I am returning to Tijuana. This time I will be accompanied by my dear friend Chloe, an incredible woman with training and experience as a street medic and currently a nursing student. Chloe and I will work to provide direct support on the ground for asylum seekers and assist them in connecting with further resources working toward stability. We will be working with a larger group of volunteers supporting medical, housing and other needs. We have prepared for medical and harm reduction supplies and are coordinating a system to be able to source these directly more consistently, beyond our time there.
Our ask:
We ask for your support to continue to build out this work and make it sustainable.
Funds collected here will be used to purchase medical supplies, basic resources, housing and other needs. We will provide updates on how the funds are being managed as well as continue to do report backs for the work we do on the ground and what we learn.
Directly funding work of this kind means that money and supplies go directly to those who most need it. Every dollar counts!
Fundraising team (3)
Chloe Andree
Organizer
New Haven, CT
Vanesa Suarez
Team member
Evan Serio
Team member