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Some 500 migrants from Honduras, Colombia and Venezuela, among other countries, participated in a procession to raise awareness of their situation.
Hundreds of migrants and refugees on Sunday asked Mexico’s president-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum , who takes office on October 1, for protection from violence as they cross the country’s southern border.
During a procession with agents from the Catholic Church’s human mobility ministry, attendees at the 110th World Day of Migrants and Refugees in Tapachula, in the state of Chiapas, called on the Mexican government to provide free and safe passage to travel to the border with the United States .
Evelin Leonel Villanueva, from Honduras , asked Sheinbaum for support to expedite appointments at the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comar), since she stated that there is a delay of about six months.
“We feel insecure, but at the same time we feel safe with the Mexicans who help us, who can give us free passage to the border and who provide transportation for low-income people, and it is difficult for us to reach the border with custody so we can reach our families,” said the migrant.
The migrant from Guatemala, identified as Rosalba, thanked the hospitality in the country, but at the same time asked for understanding and greater security, since it is difficult to survive without a job.
Rosalba entered Mexico in 2022, but was deported back to her country, which cost her the life of a son.
Noemi Martínez Zacarias, head of the Catholic Church, explained that the procession of migrants seeks to raise awareness and make visible that these are people who migrate in search of a better quality of life, since many leave their countries due to political and security problems.
Some 500 people from Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Haiti, El Salvador, Cuba, and Honduras participated in this group, seeking to reach the United States.
“There is not much sensitivity on the part of people, they still have rejection towards migrant brothers. That is why this week is being held to raise awareness of love and affection, through the faith of the Catholic Church towards people on the move, and for that reason, there are LGBTT migrants who have also joined,” he stressed.
The march started at the Tapachula Floral Clock, went along about 10 streets and ended at the church in the San José El Edén neighborhood, where a multicultural mass and other events were held.
