▲ Migrants consider that It was not an isolated event.
the fire that yesterday morning consumed seven rudimentary rooms in a camp set up in the Vallejo neighborhood.Photo Victor Camacho
Jared Laureles and Jessica Xantomila
La Jornada Newspaper
Friday, December 13, 2024, p. 9
Yesterday morning they were set on fire intentionally
about seven precarious wooden rooms where migrants lived, in the camp set up on the banks of the train tracks, in the Vallejo neighborhood.
The inhabitants of the place commented that before the conflagration occurred, which consumed their few belongings, they heard a motorcycle that circulated through the area and, immediately, the explosion of a rocket
around 3:30 in the morning.
Fearful of what happened, the undocumented immigrants affirm that it is not a isolated fact
because for at least a week there were threats that they were going to burn the camp where around 400 people live, including children, from countries such as Venezuela, Colombia, Honduras and El Salvador.
Faced with this situation of intimidation and risk to their integrity, they asked the National Migration Institute (INM) to give them permits to travel through the country, as it has done with the members of the caravans that have left the southern border, because their objective is to reach the northern states.
On the dirt floor, next to the railroad tracks, were the remains of seven rudimentary rooms that they call ranchitosmade with scraps of wood and plastics.
On a tour of The Day Among the rubble, remains of clothing, blankets, mattresses, food, documents and other humble belongings were observed.
When the fire started, most of the migrants were sleeping, but when they realized they fled as best they could, while others tried to put out the flames with the little water they had, but they quickly spread to other rooms because the materials with which they are built are flammable
.
I would be burnt
Karen, a Honduran, had lived in this place for at least five months. I was asleep and a classmate told me to get out. I was able to get the girl out, because the step was not that big and then the door got stuck. If it weren’t for him I would already be burnt
he commented.
His official documents, milk, pantry and the medications of his four-year-old daughter, diagnosed with neurodevelopmental delay, were also left in the ashes. It’s starting from scratch again
he lamented.
Firefighters arrived 20 minutes later and put out the flames. The police also arrived, and The only thing they told us was that I wish everything would burn down.
said an undocumented person who requested that his name be omitted. He mentioned that the only surveillance camera in C5, installed on a pole, was removed by the authorities.
“We want to go up to the border. What happened is like a threat, and I want the authorities to listen to us. Just as they gave a 20-day permit to the members of the caravans and they are arriving in bus to Mexico City, why don’t they give us one, if we have been here for a year and two months,” reproached another of those affected.
