Protect their Journey #GirlsWhoMigrate

Since the 2022 closure, there has been an increase in abuse by both authorities and organized crime against migrants. The capacity of shelters and refugees along the northern border has been overwhelmed by the arrival of asylum seekers and refugees from Haiti, Central America, and displaced people from Guerrero and Michoacán. 

This situation has caused many girls and women to remain on the streets day and night while waiting to cross the border. The resources raised by the platform, in collaboration with other donors, are contributing significantly to the financing, strengthening, and articulation of 14 organizations that work for the rights of girls and young women in situations of mobility along Mexico’s northern and southern borders.

We would like to share with you some examples of these groups’ work, which has grown stronger over time:

Some organizations work so that accompanied and unaccompanied girls, boys, and adolescents in contexts of transit migration or at their destination know their rights and can demand and access them. One example is the Colectiva Mujeres Acompañantes de Procesos por Autonomías Sororales (MAPAS), which builds spaces for political and community empowerment for the autonomy of migrant girls and adolescents. This is so that if they so decide, these individuals can be promoters of their rights in their communities based on their indigenous and rural identities.

Other groups work to improve the practices of institutions in favor of child migrants’ rights in order to have a greater impact at the governmental level. Groups such as Voces Mesoamericanas and the Institute for Women in Migration (IMUMI) advocate for public institutions at the state and municipal levels to implement a reform related to child and adolescent migrants, taking into account the best interests of the individual. This allows children and their needs to be considered from the beginning of any support process.

The Border Feminist Collective is designing and will be disseminating a protocol aimed at agencies that provide support for refugee and asylum applications in Mexico to strengthen care for the children of migrant women in Chiapas.

Finally, the groups are also working on social and cultural transformation against the racism and sexism experienced by migrant girls and young women. FOCA disseminates the rights of migrants in its community radio program and the Border Feminists Collective launched a campaign entitled: “No one is born racist. No one is born sexist,” in order to dismantle the idea that discrimination cannot be eradicated.

All of these groups and collectives have a common goal: to guarantee the rights of migrant children and youth in contexts where they continue to be rejected both in places of transit and destination. The work of awareness, advocacy, accompaniment, and reception that they carry out is thanks to the donations of people like you. Thank you for continuing to support this cause.

Statements:

 “From our organization Parterías y Medicinas Ancestrales A.C., we had an emergency that led us to request funding from Fondo Semillas to acquire tents and distribute them among the migrant population living on the streets or in shelters with worn-out tents. By allocating these resources, we were able to reach 35 migrant families and prevent them from continuing to sleep on the streets, which put their health and lives at risk during the passage of Hurricane Kay. This initiative gave us the opportunity to continue our work in favor of the human rights of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers arriving in the city of Tijuana.”