{"id":40682,"date":"2019-06-07T10:44:02","date_gmt":"2019-06-07T17:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltecolote.org\/content\/?p=40682"},"modified":"2020-07-07T16:21:45","modified_gmt":"2020-07-07T23:21:45","slug":"queer-in-the-caravan-the-dangers-lgbt-migrants-face-in-search-for-asylum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltecolote.org\/content\/en\/queer-in-the-caravan-the-dangers-lgbt-migrants-face-in-search-for-asylum\/","title":{"rendered":"Queer in the caravan: The dangers LGBT migrants face in search for asylum"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Irving Mondrag\u00f3n, a caravan leader who has accompanied LGBT contingents in the caravans traveling through Mexico, poses for a portrait at Casa de Luz, an LGBT friendly migrant shelter, March 15, 2019. Photo: Mabel Jim\u00e9nez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The journey north for migrants traveling through Mexico carries multiple risks\u2014food insecurity, exposure to elements, assault, injury and more. Traveling with a caravan offers a measure of safety against some of these dangers.<\/p>\n

But for LGBT migrants making the 2,400-mile journey north, there are yet additional risks like discrimination and harassment from homophobic government officials, service providers and even from within the caravans themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn different caravans, we\u2019ve suffered a lot of bullying, discrimination,\u201d said Irving Mondrag\u00f3n, a caravan leader. \u201cPeople have suffered rape and kidnapping attempts, or had everything stolen, or were forced off the path.\u201d<\/p>\n

A network of support has emerged, somewhat spontaneously, to advocate for the safety and rights of migrants traveling in the caravans. This network is largely made up of organizations and agencies. There are also individual volunteers who simply take it upon themselves to travel with the caravans to offer support. To the migrants these individuals are surrogate guardian angels. They provide moral support through accompaniment and procure resources for migrants as needs come up.<\/p>\n

Mondrag\u00f3n is one of these guardian angels. He has traversed Mexico with the caravans at least three times\u2014upon completing his second round, he turned around the following day and headed back to Honduras to immediately continue his third journey. Through all this traveling, Mondrag\u00f3n, who is a gay man himself, has tried out different strategies to guard the safety of LGBT contingents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people at the front of the caravans\u2014generally men who are healthy, traveling alone, with no family, no responsibility\u2014these were the ones who often bullied us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

To stay away from these types, LGBT contingents intentionally lag behind (at times for up to three weeks) along with other more vulnerable members of the caravan, like single mothers with young children. But when they finally reach the shelters and free kitchens scattered along the migrant route, most have been depleted by the first waves of the caravan. \u201cSince we were always last, there was no more support, there were no more blankets, no more beds,\u201d said Mondrag\u00f3n.<\/p>\n

During the most recent caravan, Mondrag\u00f3n and other members of the LGBT contingent set up a GoFundMe page to organize a traveling kitchen. The group offered up to three meals a day when possible, and cooked their way from the Guatemalan border city of Tecun Uman, all through Mexico City.<\/p>\n

Besides filling empty stomachs, the kitchen had an unintended effect. \u201cWe achieved a respect we had not had yet,\u201d said Mondrag\u00f3n. \u201cPeople would say: \u2018It\u2019s the faggots that are making the food, meanwhile we are the ones who discriminate them.\u2019 I think under different circumstances there would not have been this kind of empathy. The situation forced us to unite.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the struggle for LGBT migrants doesn\u2019t end upon reaching Mexico\u2019s northern border. In much of Latin America, homophobia remains deeply ingrained because of machismo culture, making discrimination rampant at every level of public and private life.<\/p>\n

In May of last year, Mondrag\u00f3n was traveling with a group that had planned to stay at a shelter for LGBT migrants in Tijuana called C\u00e1ritas. But just days before their arrival, C\u00e1ritas was rendered uninhabitable after being the target of burglary, then arson on consecutive days.<\/p>\n

The contingent had to scramble to find a new place to stay. Mondrag\u00f3n said the organization Pueblo Sin Fronteras, which travels with the caravans offering support and advocacy, directed his group to a remote church in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey told us we would be accepted,\u201d Mondrag\u00f3n remembered. \u201cThey put us in some transport traveling very far away. We reached some lost church.\u201d But as soon as they entered the church, they were told by a female pastor, \u201cYou know that we don\u2019t accept people like you.\u201d<\/p>\n

They turned to leave but the bus that had dropped them off was already gone. \u201cThey left us there,\u201d Mondrag\u00f3n said. \u201cWe had to walk back the whole way.\u201d The group eventually reached downtown, where they pooled together their limited funds to rent a hotel room.<\/p>\n

Instances like these speak to the need for safe spaces in Tijuana for LGBT migrants. A few of these spaces, such as Casa de Luz, have opened in recent years, but these shelters face unique challenges.<\/p>\n

Casa de Luz<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before Casa de Luz shelter opened its doors last March, the property where it stands had been unoccupied for more than a year. The owner, Teresa Garcia Lopez, who has several properties in Mexico, was following news of the caravans arriving to Tijuana, and she felt obliged to help.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what country we\u2019re from, or what color we are, we are all children of God,\u201d said Garcia. \u201cI\u2019d rather they be here, than for my house to be abandoned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia talked to her friend David Klages, a designer and builder, about her idea to turn one of her properties in Tijuana into a migrant shelter. Klages, a Californian, has been coming to Tijuana to do volunteer work for the last 30 years. He alternates between doing expensive renovations for U.S. clients and volunteering his time in Mexico with orphanages and shelters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was raised as a quaker,\u201d said Klages. \u201cI don\u2019t believe in the religion any longer, but the teachings of Christ stuck. You\u2019re supposed to help people, everybody is supposed to be your neighbor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klages was excited to transform Garcia\u2019s property into a shelter, but they needed capital. That\u2019s when Klages thought about his friend Vivian Farmery, a New Yorker he met when she was visiting Tijuana last fall to volunteer at the shelters.<\/p>\n

Farmery has spent 30 years as a trauma social worker with a talent for fundraising. After witnessing Tijuana\u2019s overburdened shelter system last year, she returned to New York and formed a nonprofit, Safe Shelters Inc., specifically to raise support and funding for the shelters.<\/p>\n

The trio formed a perfect team: Farmery on fundraising and mental health services; Garcia managing everyday operations; and Klages on reconstruction and repairs.<\/p>\n

With all the pieces falling into place, the three were eager to meet at the site and get things ready for their first group of residents. They only had about a week to prepare before Mondrag\u00f3n and the LGBT contingent arrived in Tijuana with the next caravan.<\/p>\n

But they were shocked to find that squatters had taken advantage of Garcia\u2019s prolonged absence from the property. The place had been turned into a drug den and the main house was full of trash. Doors, windows, sinks and other fixtures had been stolen.<\/p>\n

On the day of March 11, the shelter was a whirlwind of energy. Klages and his construction workers were surveying the property and drawing up projects. Garcia was organizing the home and getting the new residents settled in.<\/p>\n

The LGBT contingent led by Mondrag\u00f3n had arrived less than 48 hours prior and the shelter still needed a lot of work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cleaned the house \u2026 boarded up windows and put on doors and secured the house in eight days, and the people arrived two nights ago,\u201d said Farmery. \u201cLast night we got a stove and hot water, so we\u2019re making a lot of progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

They still needed beds, blankets and towels. They had no washing machine. Rain leaked through a rotting roof on the third floor. People had to sleep on cold tile floors, protected only by whatever cardboard or blankets that could be found.<\/p>\n

Still, the group of 18 new arrivals seemed elated to be there. After weeks of a dangerous journey and sleeping in the street, they had a safe place to call home.<\/p>\n

The new residents kept themselves busy organizing donations, chopping vegetables and doing small repairs. One person hand-washed clothes on a concrete slab using cold water from a hose. Another mopped the floors underneath the leaky roof. Everyone worked with a smile on their face.<\/p>\n

Most shelters in Tijuana are set up as crisis shelters and meant to be short term, and are filled with people waiting for their U.S. asylum process. But Klages, Garcia and Farmery have a vision for Casa de Luz as a long-term community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis crisis shelter mentality doesn\u2019t allow people to settle and to heal the trauma,\u201d said Farmery. \u201cThe trauma of the voyage they\u2019ve been through, as well as in their home countries has created a need for a stable healing community where they can…heal and recover and really find their true self, maybe some people for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Almost three months since its opening, Casa de Luz still needs some work, but a lot has improved. The leaky roof is still in need of repair but a tarp now keeps the rain out. Doors and windows have been installed and a tomato plant thrives in the garden. And many from the contingent that arrived in March have been granted permission to continue their asylum process from within the United States.<\/p>\n

Mondrag\u00f3n has emerged as a leader in the home, helping residents with their asylum applications, taking people to health appointments, procuring donations and generally ironing out the best way to organize and share the housework.<\/p>\n

Recently though, disagreements have emerged about the best way to run the home.<\/p>\n

While Casa de Luz is a safe space for LGBT migrants, the idea was never to separate that community from other populations.<\/p>\n

When traveling in the caravans, LGBT contingents often welcome single mothers with small children. When the first group arrived at Casa in March, they were joined by a single mother and her two-year-old son with special needs. Soon, several mothers and their children were staying at Casa de Luz.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt turns out that the LGBT community have excellent maternal instincts,\u201d said Klages. \u201cThey help the families and the single moms a lot and it helps everybody\u2019s mental health because it\u2019s a nurturing environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as Farmery has sought to legitimize Casa\u2019s non-profit status in Tijuana, she discovered the city\u2019s shelter system is rigid about keeping different demographics separate. \u201cOne of the rules for shelters in Tijuana is that you can only serve one population,\u201d Farmery said.<\/p>\n

Officially recognized shelters are listed by the Tijuana Strategic Committee for Humanitarian Aid (CEAHT). Being recognized by the organization would give Farmery \u201cthe ability to raise attention and funds in bigger networks and potential to scale-up dramatically to help many more people than the little shelters can.\u201d<\/p>\n

But for Casa to be recognized by CEAHT, it would have to follow the city\u2019s shelter rules and separate the single mothers and their children from the LGBT community they\u2019ve come to know as a family.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs there are numerous family shelters and few LGBT ones, we are dedicated to the LGBT community,\u201d said Farmery. \u201cIt would not be our preference [to separate populations] but it is a necessity in order to go forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Mondrag\u00f3n doesn\u2019t think separating the group in order to gain access to more funds is a good trade-off. \u201cWe are community, we are inclusive, and that\u2019s how life should be,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe there are really good reasons and good causes but I\u2019m lacking the understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knows that compliance with the city\u2019s shelter rules would mean greater access to resources, but he feels the rules imposed by CEAHT come from a heteronormative, homophobic perspective that insists children and LGBT residents should not mix.<\/p>\n

Being recognized by CEAHT would also mean adhering to a traditional shelter structure where rules come from the top and residents must abide. But Mondrag\u00f3n prefers a co-op system of running the home, where decisions and rules are agreed upon democratically.<\/p>\n

In the almost three months since the contingent arrived to Casa, the residents have built a routine that integrates the needs of both the LGBT community and the single mothers and children who share the space. They even set up a classroom for the children who have to miss school during their journey north.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t get paid, my friends don\u2019t get paid,\u201d said Mondrag\u00f3n. \u201cWe\u2019re cleaning, developing the house because we have arms, legs, motivation, because we want a home \u2026 because we thought that they were really going to allow us to have these people there.\u201d<\/p>\n

On June 5, Farmery told El Tecolote that she could not reach an agreement with the residents at Casa de Luz. She didn\u2019t achieve the shelter listing under the CEATH rules due to what she described as an inability in \u201ccomplying with regulations in the present circumstances,\u201d said Farmery. \u201cWe have ended our involvement there.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, her nonprofit Safe Shelters Inc., will \u201ccontinue to be committed to supporting LGBTQ asylum seekers in Tijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mondrag\u00f3n said he was grateful for the initial support Casa de Luz received from Farmery, but he looks forward to keeping the community together, even if they now have to go forward without the support of Safe Shelters, Inc.<\/p>\n

Across town another space serving a similarly marginalized population of LGBT communities and migrants is Jard\u00edn de las Mariposas.<\/p>\n

Jardin de las Mariposas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before she opened Jard\u00edn de las Mariposas\u2014Tijuana\u2019s first drug and alcohol rehab center for the LGBT community\u2014Director Yolanda Rocha remembers a conversation that made it shockingly clear how much a place like hers was needed.<\/p>\n

A friend of Rocha\u2019s who ran a rehab space once called her asking for help: \u201cHurry up and open your [LGBT] center, because something just arrived here and I don\u2019t know where to put \u2018it,\u2019 with the men or with the women,\u201d said Rocha\u2019s friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis hurt me very much, because she was a transgender woman,\u201d said Rocha. \u201cThat\u2019s when I realized that many of these rehab centers do not understand. They\u2019re not prepared for sexual diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n

A lot of recovery programs in Tijuana are faith-based. They receive people from the LGBT community, but they treat them as if they have dual diseases: addiction and homosexuality. Bullying and harassment are common.<\/p>\n

The experience can be especially traumatic for trans women in recovery. They are told they are men, that they have to dress and act like men if they want to be part of a program.<\/p>\n

Before she came to work at Jard\u00edn\u2019s kitchen, Angie had a hard time finding a job where she wasn\u2019t told to suppress her gender identity. This led her to sex work in Tijuana\u2019s red light district as her only option, which led her to drug abuse.<\/p>\n

She tried recovery programs that denied her gender identity. \u201cThey wanted me to cut my hair, they wanted me to talk about God,\u201d remembered Angie. Five years ago, a friend told her about Jard\u00edn. \u201cI came here and doors were opened to me, they told me I could wear makeup, I could be who I wanted to be, express myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while the center was focused on meeting the needs of people in recovery, they soon expanded to include other services that can be hard to procure for poor LGBT folks, like HIV testing and access to hormone treatment for those undergoing gender transition.<\/p>\n

When the caravans started arriving in Tijuana, it was difficult for LGBT migrants to feel welcome at many of the available shelters. About a year and a half ago, some of these asylum seekers started messaging Jard\u00edn\u2019s Facebook page asking for help.<\/p>\n

Soon after, Rocha started coordinating with leaders of the caravan\u2019s LGBT contingents and made connections with organizations like Al Otro Lado to offer legal assistance to those applying for asylum in the United States. Rocha estimates 400 migrants have stayed at Jard\u00edn since she started receiving members of the caravans.<\/p>\n

And while the two main populations served by Jard\u00edn (migrants and people in recovery) have very different needs, Rocha focuses on their commonalities under the LGBT spectrum to build a bridge between the two groups.<\/p>\n

Both are \u201ccoming from rejection, from humiliation, discriminated against,\u201d said Rocha. Migrants staying at Jard\u00edn must also stay sober, even if they didn\u2019t come to Jard\u00edn with an addiction.<\/p>\n

Avoiding drugs means avoiding trouble with the law. For those planning on seeking asylum in the United States, this can set them on a positive path towards their goal. \u201cThe United States is a country of laws, if they\u2019re drunk, drugged, they\u2019re gonna get sent back,\u201d said Rocha.<\/p>\n

As one of the first organizations of its kind to serve the LGBT community, the center has gradually expanded their range of services to respond to the needs of a population that is chronically underserved. As a result, the population served by Jardin has grown faster than its resources.<\/p>\n

Most residents are unable to contribute financially to the center-turned-shelter. Many migrants don\u2019t have a Mexican work permit. People in the early stages of recovery can\u2019t leave the center, and it can take them three to four months to detox and get to a place where they can reintegrate into society.<\/p>\n

Rocha is constantly networking for support, but it takes its toll. \u201cI can\u2019t do this by myself, sometimes I\u2019ve wanted to throw [in] the towel, said Rocha. \u201cBut then I think, \u2018Where would I leave them, in the street?\u201d<\/p>\n

The center has an ideal capacity for 25 people, but when a caravan arrives, the number of residents can swell up to 70. A few weeks ago, Jard\u00edn received a generous donation that will solve at least one problem: the lack of space.<\/p>\n

In mid April, Equality California led a delegation of more than 30 LGBT representatives, including elected officials, artists and activists, through a visit of several shelters in Tijuana.<\/p>\n

In the delegation was Scott Wiener, California State Senator and former San Francisco District 8 Supervisor. Others included California Insurance Commissioner (and the state\u2019s first openly gay person of color elected to the California State Senate) Ricardo Lara; NBA star (and first active NBA player to come out as gay) Jason Collins; and interior design power couple Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent.<\/p>\n

Berkus and Brent were so moved by the extreme need and resiliency of the people at Jard\u00edn, they made a pledge to pay two years worth of rent for a new, larger home for Jard\u00edn.<\/p>\n

But financial resources alone can\u2019t guarantee equal treatment in a country where homophobia and prejudice against Central Americans are still rampant. \u201cSearching for a home is very draining. And then to get rejected… us LGBT\u2019s can\u2019t now imagine adding migrant diversity. This is why we have to lie,\u201d Rocha said, explaining her decision not to tell a prospective landlord that Jard\u00edn serves Central American migrants and the LGBT community.<\/p>\n

She said only that it was a rehab home and made an agreement with the landlord. Then, on the week they were set to move, the landlord contacted Rocha to take back the offer. Rocha believes it was due to prejudice against either Central American migrants, or the LGBT community, or both.<\/p>\n

But Rocha persisted and just a few days later found another landlord who is accepting of Jard\u00edn and all of its residents. She was getting desperate and had to choose a place that\u2019s over budget. The donation from Berkus and Brent covered two years worth of rent at $1000 per month, but the place Rocha found is $1600, which means the donation will only cover 15 months of rent instead of 24.<\/p>\n

There will also be new expenses associated with the move, like additional furniture and appliances. Rocha hopes to eventually move towards a more self-sustaining model.<\/p>\n

After a meeting with Jard\u00edn’s residents, there was a vote to establish their own beauty salon. \u201cThis way we don\u2019t have to rely on government, or donations so much, because sometimes we run out of everything and we wait and wait,\u201d Rocha said.<\/p>\n

Another long-term goal of Rocha\u2019s is to purchase a property for Jard\u00edn so they don\u2019t have to worry about rent anymore. She dreams of \u201ca place that is fenced, where we won\u2019t be bothered. And we won\u2019t bother anyone, we\u2019re peaceful people who just want to be well, live well and be at peace.\u201d <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The journey north for migrants traveling through Mexico carries multiple risks\u2014food insecurity, exposure to elements, assault, injury and more. Traveling with a caravan offers a measure of safety against some of these dangers. But for LGBT migrants making the 2,400-mile journey north, there are yet additional risks like discrimination and harassment from homophobic government officials, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":40850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3929],"tags":[17260,17488,4241,17868,12725,8235],"coauthors":[18445],"class_list":["post-40682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","tag-caravan","tag-central-american-migrants","tag-lgbt-en","tag-lgbt-shelters","tag-tijuana-en","tag-u-s-mexico-border","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nQueer in the caravan: The dangers LGBT migrants face in search for asylum - El Tecolote<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The journey north for migrants traveling through Mexico carries multiple risks\u2014food insecurity, exposure to elements, assault, injury and more. 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