Haitian migrants stuck in Mexico

These people are stuck in the Mexican city of Tapachula. They are refugees from Haiti, who are trying to reach the USA.

They have spent weeks travelling to get here and have faced many dangers, but now, all they can do is wait.

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti caused 200,000 deaths and left many Haitians with nothing. The Chilean president invited any refugees from Haiti to come and live in Chile, as Murat Tilus explains.

Murat Tilus: "After the 2010 earthquake my house fell, my family died, there is nothing. Then I took the initiative with my wife to go to another country. The president of Chile opened the door for everyone to come to Chile, then I went to Chile to do something new."

Life for Haitian refugees in Chile became more difficult in 2018. New regulations meant getting a work permit was much harder. Many were persuaded by family, already in the US, to come and start a new life there.

The refugees travelled through 10 different countries on their long and often dangerous journey. The area between Colombia and Panama is especially dangerous, with drug gangs and gunmen. It is also where many died, crossing a deadly river.

Samuel is 11 and left Haiti with his mother and sister after one of his brothers was murdered.

Samuel Camille: "When we passed through the jungle and we arrived in Panama, not in the city but where the mountain of Panama was, there we crossed the river and people died there. The river was very strong."

So far in 2021, 77,559 permits for the US have been given through the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance. But, many more migrants are waiting in cities like Tapachula.

Some can't wait any longer and try to illegally enter the US. Others are like Samuel and wish they still lived in Chile. Weniger anzeigen