Deportees take refuge in Rosarito Beach

Translated by Fulano from an article in El Sol de Tijuana

Playas de Rosarito - The deportations from the United States to Mexico have caused migrants to search for some chance for a life in Rosarito, a "horizon of possibilities."

Some live on the beaches, others in the streets or under bridges. Many of them are persecuted by the police, either for their appearance or because they do not have any official identification to prove their identity.

The authorities do little to attend to the problem because they believe there are only a few who come to this municipality. The churches have a contrary opinion, as they are the ones who address this problem.

"There is a demand from the deportees, many of them come to the parish, they live in Tijuana or Rosarito and walk the streets," bemoaned Marcela Lara, a woman who is a part of the "Help the Immigrants" program in Rosarito.

The Missionary Church of the Blessed Sacrament of Guadalupe created this program to give a helping hand to those who were returned from the United States to Mexico, and have no documents.

"They all arrive destitute, hungry and with health problems," said Marcela. For her, the help extends not only to food, like soup and bread, but also spiritual substance so their faith does not falter and their hopes to start a new life becomes a reality.

The lack of support by the authorities is evident, according to her comments, as almost every day they receive some person looking for help, penniless, but with the hope and desire to get help.

"Every week we help around five people, some in families, others alone, and there are both men and women," said Marcela Lara.

This does not present a problem for the local government, they had earlier considered building an immigrant shelter, but according to information from Integral Family Development, there is little demand for it, for both them and the current municipal government headed by Javier Robles Aguirre, and the project will not be developed.

"We only have a very few cases and those who come are helped with some resources so they can return to their cities of origin," said Jorge Crosthwaite, director of Integral Family Development in Rosarito.

Meanwhile, they remain in the streets or living outdoors.

For Alejandro, 60 years old, his life changed when immigration returned him to his native country. Tijuana gave him a welcome, and without giving more details, he told the reporter for El Sol de Tijuana, he decided that Rosarito would be his home.

"I had everything: home, car, credit cards, but they're all gone," said the man. His voice broke off and although he tried to contain his sentiments, the tear that arose and ran down his cheek was noticeable. Now the beach is his home. The stars are his roof and if the cold grips him, he looks for another location "with some friends."

"And to eat, where do you get food?" the reporter asks.

Shyly the man said: "Well, here in this parking lot I help signal people who are driving so they don't collide, meanwhile when at the beach I give a helping hand for their cars, if I see they are very dirty I ask if I can wash them, and if the answer is no, then no. What I earn I use for my expenses."

Interviewed in front of the beaches of the Pacific Ocean, near Popotla Blvd., the man lamented that because of his appearance he is persecuted by the police. "Here, they arrest us all the time, they arrest me all the time and as soon as I finish by 24 or 36-hours of detention I am out on the street again."

The member of the "Help the Immigrants" program in Rosarito believes that some are cheated and robbed, "we see them listless and disillusioned."

Some immigrants are waiting for death to come, while others don't let die the hope of regaining what they once had: family, friends, a home and a life. Here in the soft sand of Rosarito's beaches not only do tourists come for enjoyment, this place has also become a home for those who were repatriated from the United States.

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