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Luis, a child from Guatemala, misses the river near his home. There were many rocks in the river, perfect for stepping on to cast his fishing net. On lucky days, he used to bring home little fish, and his family would make soup. They used to enjoy the meal with chimolito (pico de gallo) and tortillas.
“I would like to go back there again, but I can’t,” says Luis. He was recently forced to flee Guatemala—where gang violence has escalated to a severity on par with that of warzones.
These days, Luis dreams of home from the Senda de Vida shelter in Reynosa, Mexico, near the southern US border. Here, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides physical and mental health care to people whose lives have been uprooted. A majority of people at the shelter have fled their home countries in Central America, just like Luis, to escape violence, poverty, and climate disasters that have destroyed entire communities.
We interviewed seven children at the Senda de Vida shelter—including Luis. They described their journeys so far, the challenges they’ve endured along the way, and their dreams for the future.
The journey to reach border cities in Mexico, such as Reynosa, is far from safe or easy. It affects migrants’ physical and emotional well-being. Families from Central American countries including Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala often decide it’s worth the risk.
Inhumane US border policies and inadequate humanitarian responses from the US and Mexican governments have caused terrible conditions for migrant families. Many people seeking entry into the United States have been stranded at the border without access to basic necessities like food, water, or shelter. In early 2023, at least one out of every three migrants stopped or detained by authorities in Mexico was a minor—and these numbers continue to rise. About half of children are traveling without their parents.
In Reynosa, along the migration route through Central America, and in over 70 countries around the world, MSF provides routine medical care, vital mental health care, and aid to anyone who needs it—regardless of where they’re from or their immigration status. Because MSF’s lifesaving care goes beyond borders.
This email was sent from the U.S. section of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, and exclusion from health care.
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