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The Big Picture

Five million Haitians, nearly half the population, are struggling to feed themselves, according to a new report from the World Food Program ([link removed]). Facing violence, hunger, and chaos, Haitians leave their country. In Venezuela, violence and poverty have caused 8 million people to displace. Families acrossCentral America, especially Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, cite poverty, violence and food insecurity as the reasons they leave their homes.Weapons illegally trafficked out of the United States arm gangs and cartels who terrorize local communities and transiting migrants. And according to UNICEF ([link removed]), 4.1 million children will need humanitarian assistance in Mexico and Central America in 2024.

If we were in the shoes of the millions upon millions of people across the Western Hemisphere facing this situation, wouldn't we also seek a better life for our kids? The migration tragedy is the thread that weaves all of Quixote Center's work together. Our economic development programs in Haiti and Nicaragua address poverty, food insecurity, and lack of economic opportunity. In the US we have focused our advocacy to end the illegal trafficking of weapons and ammunition from our own country to the cartels inflicting violence in Haiti, Mexico, and across the hemisphere. Our partnership with the Franciscan Network on Migration supports providing a safe, humane and dignified welcome to migrants journeying north, with an emphasis on Panama and Mexico.

Most migrants do not end up at the US border. Many end up internally displaced, or they seek refuge in neighboring countries, many of which also suffer from gang violence and limited economic opportunity. The journey is treacherous and expensive ([link removed]). The Quixote Center has documented the brutality migrants experience when passing through Panama's Darien Gap. Migrants report that Mexico is just as perilous, with gangs and cartels targeting them for theft and sexual assault. Many never reach their destination; many that do emerge traumatized for life. Quixote Center's work aims to change that

 

Fronteras de Paz y Bien/
Borders of Peace and Good

Darien is Panama's largest and least-developed province. Its southern border with Colombia is the location of the Darien Gap, a 60-mile-deep jungle, one of the most dangerous in the world. The dense tropical forest is a transit location for refugees and migrants from across the globe, with the majority from Venezuela, Ecuador, and Haiti. Over 1,100,000 migrants crossed this area between 2021 and 2024.

Migrants trekking through the jungle emerge in the small village of Bajo Chiquito and encounter long lines to process them into government reception camps, where they are then asked to pay to board buses that will take them through Panama to Costa Rica. Quixote Center has visited this area twice, with our Franciscan Network for Migration (RFM) partners

Boat emerging from the Darien Gap

Migrant camp at Bajo Chiquito

The reception areas are chaotic and the migrants are traumatized. Many have lost everything, including family members, in the jungle. The survivors regroup at Bajo Chiquito.

In the face of this human tragedy, RFM Panama's response is the Fronteras de Paz y Bien program. They are planning a permanent presence of accompaniment and observation at Bajo Chiquito, creating a space where migrants can find spiritual help, information, and kindness. The volunteers will also defend the human rights of migrants in Panama, by observing government operations, learning from the experience of migrants, and advocating for Fronteras de Paz y Bien with their own government. They expect to initiate their presence in early 2025.

Quixote Center is supporting this effort, initially through helping to arrange and cover the cost for training: a "train-the trainers" experience for about 15 volunteers in non-violence and human rights observation. The training will create a volunteer corps that is professional and safe.

Quixote Center and RFM Panama team

 

The Miraculous Medal Home

Our partners in Panama, the Franciscan Network on Migration, named it Hogar Medalla Milagrosa--Miraculous Medal Home. And for the hundreds of migrant women, men and children who spend time there, it really is a "place of miracles." Medalla Milagrosa is a way station for migrants who have survived the journey through the Darien Gap.

Dedicated shelter staff attend to the migrants' (many of whom are women and children) physical needs: health care, food, clothing, etc. They also offer psychological support and counseling. Assistance with the immigration process is available as well. Equally important, they offer hope and kindness.

RFM Panama Team

Quixote Center's first response was to give the shelter emergency funds for what was needed most at the time, to purchase basic hygiene supplies--soap, shampoo, etc. Today, our goal is to provide Milagrosa with more robust support. As the shelter serves increasing numbers of migrants, our funds provide for the administration of the shelter: internet, phones, office equipment, and staff compensation. Our support also provides an emergency fund to cover things like funeral expenses or medical care for migrants who do not have the means.

Medalla Milagrosa

Medalla Milagrosa

 

A New Shelter in Queretaro, Mexico

RFM General Assembly

Queretaro is on the main route used by thousands of migrants as they pursue a better life for themselves and their children. It also is an economic center, as well as a hotbed of organized crime. The migrant population is a frequent target of the cartels. Human trafficking, robbery and other types of violence threaten migrants daily there. Neither the government of Queretaro nor any non-government organization seem willing or able to protect or aid this most vulnerable group of people.

Not surprising, though, the Mexican Franciscans have chosen to stand with migrants as they travel through Queretaro. And so has the Quixote Center. With our help and that from other groups, the order aims to create a place of safety in the midst of this volatile area for migrants as they journey north.

Now in the planning phase, the Queretaro shelter will provide weary, defenseless travelers with the basic essentials: food, security and counseling.

 

Stop Illegal Weapons Trafficking
to Haiti Advocacy Days Recap

Quixote Center and colleagues outside of Congress

On September 26, Quixote Center took this message to Congress: Haiti is facing a particularly challenging time. Violence has reached alarming levels, leading to a pervasive fear that prevents Haitians from moving freely and going about their lives.

According to the United Nations, nearly 700,000 Haitians have been displaced internally, many barely surviving in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions. Some depart and find their way to the U.S.-Mexico border, where they risk deportation.

Weapons illegally trafficked from the United States fuel the violence. Ending the flow of weapons and ammunition will improve security, enable democratic elections to take place, and make it possible for people to remain in their homes and communities without fear.

Quixote Center, together with 40 organizational partners, took this message to Congress. We scheduled and hosted 25 meetings with Senate offices, with nearly 200 people participating from across the country, both virtually and in-person. And, our supporters sent more than 2100 letters to Congress and the White House.We told them that Haitians deserve better than to be victims of U.S. gun dealers who sell weapons to criminals.

Quixote Center meeting with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Thank you to each of you for supporting this work, with your letters, your phone calls, your in-person meetings, and your donations. We will continue this advocacy unit the flow of weapons ends, guns are destroyed, the ammunition is gone, and Haiti can begin to rebuild.

 

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Quixote Center
PO Box 1950
Greenbelt, MD 20768
[email protected]

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PO Box 1950 Greenbelt, MD 20770