Journey For Justice Dec 13th, Day 13 Walking Tour Nogales: 4 Shelters to provide for thousands of refugees

We go to the two 'best' shelters in Nogales, Mexico.

The first I mentioned previously is a shelter built by the jesuits and is a $10 million dollar building that houses up to 150 refugees both adults and children. Even at this shelter, children are not allowed to play outside or they are in danger of being groomed and then stolen. We do not take pictures so we do not inadvertently put refugees into harms way - whether that be from ICE or border patrol, or cartels, coyotes, 'traffickers'.

The second shelter of the best is a converted bus depot. When we arrive, our guide asks Anna, the womon who staffs this shelter, if she can hand out pieces of candy to the children from the bag of candy she has brought. Anna says only if there are 30 pieces, one for each child.

Anna tell us that operating tour buses around Mexico used to be her family business but four or five years ago, when the refugee 'problem' was exasperated to such a dreadful inhuman level, her family decided to do something about it. So they moved their buses to the side, and turned every inch of their depot into a shelter for refugees.

There are no grand structures here but there is the tiny, cement-floored office space and then other small areas forming 4 walls and a ceiling, cobbled together with a variety of found materials from cinder blocks to sheets of cardboard and/or metal. We stay at the edge of this shelter, standing around on the dirt as the refugees look curiously at us. Their homes are small enclaves without heat - remember it went down to 27 degrees last night - nor running water let alone sewerage.

But the buses have bathrooms and sometimes space for people to gather.

Presently 30 children at being 'housed' here along with their mothers and some fathers or grandparents as well.

Most of the refugee womyn are involved in embroidery, art, and making bracelets in order to make a little money. They have to come up with $25 u.s. dollars a week in order to stay here, although Anna says she doesn't kick anyone out, especially womyn with children.

The other shelters are often worse than sleeping on the streets, one of the womyn tells us. We don't go to those and don't want to imagine. There is no shelter in Nogales on the other side of the border - not until Tucson which is a good hour north.