Posted on Oct 14, 2023
A survivor recalls horrors of Mexico's migrant center fire that almost killed him
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https://www.npr.org/2023/10/14/ [login to see] /mexico-migration-detention-fire-survivor
Just a few feet away from the U.S. border, inside the crammed cell of a makeshift jail, something terrible was building. A 28-year-old man in the filthy, mass cell watched with growing dread as more and more people were led into the room where they were being held in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
All were migrants from other countries, some caught crossing the border into the United States, others picked up in sweeps by Mexican officials as part of ongoing U.S.-Mexico collaboration.
There was no water and scant food. There was no toilet paper and no running water in the two open-air toilets. Sewage spilled onto the floor. The migrants were getting desperate, clamoring for help and pleading to not be deported home, but guards from Mexico's immigration agency were increasingly
Just a few feet away from the U.S. border, inside the crammed cell of a makeshift jail, something terrible was building. A 28-year-old man in the filthy, mass cell watched with growing dread as more and more people were led into the room where they were being held in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
All were migrants from other countries, some caught crossing the border into the United States, others picked up in sweeps by Mexican officials as part of ongoing U.S.-Mexico collaboration.
There was no water and scant food. There was no toilet paper and no running water in the two open-air toilets. Sewage spilled onto the floor. The migrants were getting desperate, clamoring for help and pleading to not be deported home, but guards from Mexico's immigration agency were increasingly
A survivor recalls horrors of Mexico's migrant center fire that almost killed him
Posted from npr.org
Mexico
Immigration
Refugees
Posted 7 mo ago
Responses: 3
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Hours after the fire, six survivors in critical condition were airlifted to hospitals in the Mexican capital. One died days later.
Having blacked out during the fire, the Salvadoran migrant eventually woke up confused under bright lights. He couldn't move. There was a tube down his throat.
Doctors explained he was in Mexico City and had been in a coma for the last month. He had serious damage to his lungs and one kidney, and had third-degree burns on his arms and back.
"My mother was there and I cried when I saw her," he says. She had been granted a special visa to be with her son in Mexico. She was overjoyed to see him open his eyes, but she had bad news: His two cousins had died in the fire.
"Only God knows why I was left alive," he says through tears.
He gave a statement to state prosecutors investigating the case.
As he began his recovery, regaining strength in his legs and lungs that would allow him to walk again, something strange was happening.
"It was migration agents driving me everywhere, in the same" armored vans used to transport detained migrants, he says.
They drove him between public hospitals where he was being treated and a hotel, where they were paying for lodging for the fire survivors.
After major human rights violations occur, experts say, Mexico's Executive Commission for Victim Assistance provides services to handle medical, psychological, financial and other survivors' needs."...
..."Hours after the fire, six survivors in critical condition were airlifted to hospitals in the Mexican capital. One died days later.
Having blacked out during the fire, the Salvadoran migrant eventually woke up confused under bright lights. He couldn't move. There was a tube down his throat.
Doctors explained he was in Mexico City and had been in a coma for the last month. He had serious damage to his lungs and one kidney, and had third-degree burns on his arms and back.
"My mother was there and I cried when I saw her," he says. She had been granted a special visa to be with her son in Mexico. She was overjoyed to see him open his eyes, but she had bad news: His two cousins had died in the fire.
"Only God knows why I was left alive," he says through tears.
He gave a statement to state prosecutors investigating the case.
As he began his recovery, regaining strength in his legs and lungs that would allow him to walk again, something strange was happening.
"It was migration agents driving me everywhere, in the same" armored vans used to transport detained migrants, he says.
They drove him between public hospitals where he was being treated and a hotel, where they were paying for lodging for the fire survivors.
After major human rights violations occur, experts say, Mexico's Executive Commission for Victim Assistance provides services to handle medical, psychological, financial and other survivors' needs."...
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Really makes you think about why they will face all this rather than go back to the countries they came from.
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