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Haydi Consuelo thought she had arrived in the promised land when she walked across the US-Mexico border into Texas with her two-year-old son and other Central American migrants.

She thought she would be given shelter but instead she was put on an airplane and sent back to Mexico, where she was shepherded onto a bus and driven to Guatemala without ever passing through a migration check point.

It was a trick because we were given the impression we would be able to pass. And, suddenly they put us in airplanes and we were deported, said Consuelo, 23, from the Migrant House in El Ceibo near the Mexican border, some 550 kilometers (340 miles) from Guatemala City.

Mexico is using this deserted border area to return migrants who have been deported to its territory from the United States.

Humanitarian organizations helping these migrants say that up to 600 a day are brought in from Mexico over the unguarded crossing.

Missionaries who run the Migrant House in El Ceibo are struggling to cope with the sudden influx.

In order to make space for new arrivals, migrants are allowed to spend just one night in the courtyard, surrounded by their suitcases, rucksacks and shoes.

Hondurans, Nicaraguans, El Salvadorans are returning. There is a perverse strategy of hiding population groups, because we noticed that firstly the Guatemalans were brought and then in the last buses came Hondurans and Nicaraguans, Leonel Dubon, executive director of the Refugio NGO, told AFP.

It seems to be bad faith on the part of the Mexican government.

In El Ceibo, there is no migration infrastructure or health measures to test new arrivals for Covid-19.

The Guatemalan foreign affairs ministry has requested official information from Mexico and the United States about these migratory movements, said the government of Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, which was taken by surprise.

The government said it has two authorized deportation centers: one at the international airport in the capital, and another at a land border in Tecun Uman, some 300 kilometers southwest of Guatemala City.

The migrant crisis in Central America has worsened due to increased unemployment triggered by the pandemic.

After the hardline immigration policies of former president Donald Trump, Central Americans had hoped for a softening stance under the Joe Biden administration, but it has sent out a clear stay away message.

Honduran teacher Gloria Amador Gutierrez, 32, left on July 30 with a group of around 20 migrants by land heading for the United States. On August 19 she was deported to Guatemala.

Amongst those being deported there are also lawyers, graduates. Theres no work and we decided to fight for our children and to give them a better education by going abroad, said Gutierrez, who vowed to regroup in Honduras before trying again.

We have family members in the US that are still waiting for us.

Everything was going well when we arrived in Guatemala, but it was a different story when we reached Mexico, said Onan Gutierrez, 32, a cousin of Glorias who was traveling with his daughter.

Its really not easy pursuing the American dream. We were 15 minutes from achieving our objective but they caught us out in the open, he added, saying he was not sure if he would try again.

Guatemalan farmer Jose Jimenezcrossed into the US with his son but was caught and deported.

He had saved up $1,300 and borrowed another $5,5000 to pay people traffickers, known as coyotes, for his passage into the US. He lost everything.

The coyotes tell you the passage into the US is open and all they do is demand money to cross the river into the US while threatening to kill you, said Jimenez.

If you dont pay, they hand you over to the mafia and the deal is done.

He will not try again.

Its tough, we all suffer, most of all the children, he said.

The rest is here:
The shattered dreams of migrants sent back from US to Guatemala : - The Tico Times

In Chile, tensions between the central government and the border regions are increasing due to the increase in the flow of irregular migrants. From the Tarapac region they denounce the failure of the government of Sebastin Piera to address the migratory crisis, specifically with the deployment of the armed forces at the transitory point of Colchane.

The governor of Tarapac, Jos Miguel Carvajal, maintains a quite critical opinion and maintains that the decision to launch the program to bring order to the border did not generate any impact within its territory: We believe that the plan has been a failure of the Piera government, he says.

Javier Garca, mayor of Colchane, one of the municipalities most affected by the current crisis, believes that the Colchane plan does not exist. He says that the border has been militarized, but what the army has done in practice is control mobility or movementof the Chilean settlers and denounces that there is no concrete action that prevents the entry of immigrants.

In addition, irritation with Pieras policy has been exacerbated by the death of a Venezuelan migrant who tried to cross the border near Colchane on foot. The 56-year-old man died while trying to enter Chile from Bolivia through this cold highland region.

In total, there are already 11 migrants who have died in this non-authorized step so far in 2021.

In addition, it is worrying that of the 6,000 migrants estimated to have entered the country irregularly since the beginning of the year, more than 2,000 are children, many of them unaccompanied.

The situation is affecting the local population, as the journalist Rodrigo Martnez denounces, who tell how moved by the need to cover basic needs, such as hunger or cold, some migrants are entering houses of the local inhabitants.

Although most occupy the public space: the streets, avenues, squares or beaches. There is no basic service for them, there are no bathrooms, they cook outdoors. This is what, in one way or another, is causing the population some concern and there is outrage at the lack of response from the authorities, both the regional and national government in this regard, says Martnez.

See more here:
Regional authorities denounce the failure of the Piera government to stop the migration crisis on the Chi... - Market Research Telecast

Greece has been stepping up work on new facilities to house asylum seekers on its Aegean islands. The Migration Minister said his government had 'delivered on its promises' on migration.

Greece's Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis says that his country will be ready "to face the next crisis when it comes" and will offer more dignified living conditions to asylum seekers on the Aegean islands.

As construction work continues on several new reception centers which Greek authorities say will be "closed and controlled," developments in Afghanistan have prompted concerns that progress needs to be swift in anticipation of potentially large number of people seeking protection in Europe throughTurkey.

Mitarakis visited the site of the Vial Reception and Identification Center migrant camp, where clearing works are underway outside the perimeter of the facility.

"We are here at Vial with the Mayor of Chios, Mr Stamatis Karmantzis, to oversee the clearing of areas outside the perimeter, which in the past were used for the needs of residents," said Mitarakis. "Clearly, Vial is now in a completely different situation, as there are only 293 asylum seekers remaining here at a site which can host 1,014 people."

"You all saw the shantytown-style structures we have destroyed; [they were] unacceptable living conditions, you will agree," he added in a media statement.

The new facility to be built on Chios island will cater for up to 1,800 people, while all other sites on the island will be shut down.

"The new structures will offer dignified living conditions for all, but also greatly increased security measures for both residents, employees, and for local communities. The government has implemented everything it has promised to do. We can look at the public with confidence and tell them that we will face the next crisis when it comes," Mitarakis said.

Mitarakis added that 71 asylum seekers left several apartments in the city and on the outskirts of Chios on Wednesday as the government's efforts in decongesting the migrant populations on the Aegean islands continues.

"For the first time in eight years, Chios will have less than 500 asylum seekers in total; this shows that we have delivered on what we promised," continued Mitarakis.

He added: "The guarding of our borders, with the reduction of the flows of people to our islands being reduced by 97% in the last 12 months, and with the complete decongestion of the structures in our islands, this means that in total in all the Aegean islands we now have less than 5,000 asylum seekers."

Asked by reporters whether he anticipated opposition and strong reactions - which has been the case on some islands with locals resisting the plans - to the new camps being built, Mitarakis insisted he was not worried.

"There are no reasons for such reactions, since trust between Greek citizens and the government has been restored because of the fact that the government has delivered on our pre-election promises on migration."

As well as the new site on Chios, which will be opened in 2022 as part of the government's new national migration reception system, a new facility in Samos will be inaugurated on September 18, with the old site to be closed 12 days later. A similar plan is in place for Leros and Kos by the end of this year, as well as for Lesbos in 2022.

"This is all especially important as we see that there are still tensions in the wider region, and so we must be prepared, so that our islands - and this is a commitment of ours - never have to relive images of chaos that we saw in 2015."

Mitarakis and other Greek government officials have been at pains to hammer home the message that Greece is focusing on bolstering defences at its borders. Over the weekend, Greece's head of the country's Armed Forces claimed that Greece's northeastern border with Turkey is "impregnable," following a visit to the Evros region along with Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos.

Such comments have drawn widespread criticism, including from the Greek opposition party Syriza, for their perceived insensitivity at a time when a humanitarian crisis is developing in Afghanistan.

Mitarakis had previously hit back at such claims, however, saying: "Syriza does not stop reminding us of its past, with painful results in all areas. The effects on immigration were devastating for our islands and the country in general."

Read the original post:
Greece's new camps to offer 'dignified living conditions' - InfoMigrants

CONTROVERSIAL army barracks ruled unsafe by the High Court will be used to house migrants for another four years.

Ministers have defied judges and are set to ink a new deal to keep the Channel crossing migrants at Napier Barracks until 2025.

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The base, in Folkstone, Kent were ruled to be squalid and unsafe by judges earlier this year after a Covid outbreak, but insiders say the new deal has only been signed off following improvements to make it safe and secure.

It comes as the Home Office confirmed that last Saturday was another record breaking day for crossings.

Officials said 828 people managed to make the perilous journey, smashing the previous daily record of 592 for a single day.

It takes the number making the crossing this year to over 12,000.

Migrants arriving on English beaches have been housed at the camp since September last year, and The Sun understands that will continue for years to come.

One source said: We dont want people staying in hotels when weve got perfectly good military barracks to house arrivals.

They were good enough for our brave boys, and they're good enough for them.

They added: Its certainly better than a camp in Calais.

Home Office insiders said the decision was made before the crisis in Afghanistan, and that the barracks will not use used to house people escaping the Taliban.

Arrivals on small boats will however be placed in the facilities, regardless of their country of origin.

Over 11,000 people have successfully crossed the Channel this year with councils struggling to find places for them to live.

Many are in hotels or temporary accommodation.

However Dover MP Natalie Elphicke slammed the Home Office for making long term plans to house the migrants.

She told The Sun: This sends entirely the wrong message.

"All efforts should be made on bringing the small boats crisis to an end, not accepting it will continue for many years to come.

No-one should be put anywhere near Dover, as it risks creating another migrant magnet.

In June judges ruled that the accommodation was unsuitable during Covid because of migrants slept in dormitories.

Residents started a riot back in January at the former military camp after some were relocated when they tested positive for the virus - leading to others demanding to be moved out too.

Around 200 residents caught the deadly bug after an outbreak at the start of the year and seven have attempted suicide during their time at the Barracks, which can house around 400 people.

A spokesman for the Home Office declined to comment.

Read more from the original source:
Army barracks used to house migrants will stay open for another FOUR years to deal with Channel crossings... - The Sun

In 2020, we all watched history being made in streets all across America and the globe as the Black Lives Matter movement brought thousands of people of all ages, races, genders and backgrounds together to stand up for social reform.

What first started as a hashtag in 2013 grew into a movement thats a testament to the power of protests in America and lead author Veronica Chambers along with Jennifer Harlan wanted to break it all down to teach young readers about it in their new book, Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter.

The book uses photographs, quotes and informative text to look at how a moment became a movement over the last eight years starting with looking at how Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi first came together to start Black Lives Matter.

Because this book is for young readers and their parents, teachers, and librarians, Chambers felt it was important to take a step back and look at the activist's early lives.

"It was just interesting to see how these three really disparate girls growing up in different parts of the country kind of come together from like student activism to grown-up activism, and what started as a hashtag became a movement," she says.

Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter

The Black Lives Matter protests hit their peak in the United States on June 6, 2020, when close to half a million people rallied in 550 locations in once day, Chambers explains. As a journalist, this moment had her asking, "How did so many people come to this moment where they literally took to the streets around this issue, and a really diverse group?" she notes.

That lead her to a bigger question why do people protest and why does it matter?

"One of the things that I found out in researching the book is that between 1900 and 2016 over 50% of peaceful protests have had significant change in government. It has become the mode of change ... and so I wanted to contextualize for people that this is really like part of a long history in America of peaceful protests coming together to make meaningful change," Chambers explains.

Chambers not only wanted to contextualize this modern movement, but use it as a way to show young readers what protest is, why it matters and how they can use your voice for whatever cause they believe in no matter how old they are.

Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter

From citizen journalism, photojournalism, murals, music, defining and addressing systemic racism to bake sales for Black Lives Matter, Chambers says showing the many ways people can protest was key. "We wanted to create a document that would keep the conversations going, and that's partly why we call the book Call and Response," she says. " ... It's about a conversation, and what we really hope is that the book is a start of some really great conversations for people."

See the original post here:
'Call And Response: The Story Of Black Lives Matter' Aims To Keep The Conversations About The Power Of Protest Going - WUWM