Violence displaces communities in Tamaulipas

Miguel Aleman, Mexico –Until Nov. 6, there were not reports of refugees or communities displaced in Mexico because of the drug war. But that is not true anymore.

Since that day, hundreds of people left their homes and belongings in Ciudad Mier –in the northern state of Tamaulipas- to become refugees in Miguel Alemán, a city 20 minutes away from Cd. Mier and across the Roma, Texas U.S. border.

People fled from the violence that started on Feb. 22 –a day that the population remembers clearly–, when a fierce battle between the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel, the two criminal groups disputing the drug-trafficking routes in northern Mexico, erupted. 

“Since then, there were shootings lasting more than five hours every single day ”, said a mother of three children in an improvised shelter in Miguel Aleman. “One day, when I was taking my son to school we saw a mutilated body hanging from a tree. The body had no arms, no legs. My child is very affected since then, he has nightmares since then”.

The population of Ciudad Mier was 6,500 people before the violence erupted. But right now, just around 500 people live in the city. The rest has fled.

“We were considered a “pueblo mágico” –a town that has kept a style of life and traditions for so many years-, but now, we are a ghost town”, said an official from Cd. Mier.

There is not law, no authority in Cd. Mier. The local station police was burned and there is not presence of the state or federal police in the town. The schools were shut down since February because there were no safety conditions for the kids. People were kidnapped and terrorized.

“I hid with my four children inside the closet when the shootings started”, said another woman in the shelter. “One time we were there for six-hours”

Refugees from Cd. Mier are receiving help from the authorities of Miguel Aleman and from civil society groups. There are 280 families registered in the shelter and around 400 meals are distributed everyday. Many families that fled are not registered in the shelter because they are living with relatives in Miguel Aleman.

“I left my house, my hens, my pigeons, my dog, my son’s cat. They are going to die of starvation if we don’t get back soon”, said a 40-year-old woman and mother of three children “There is not jobs here (in Miguel Aleman) and the cost of renting a house is 1,000 or 2,000 pesos ($100-160)…I don’t know how we are going to live here”.

Mexico has not had a long history of displaced communities. In the ‘90s during the Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas, hundreds of indigenous people fled their impoverished communities in the forest after paramilitary groups massacred complete families from Chenalhó, Polhó and other surrounding communities.  Human rights organizations estimated that between 1,500 and 6,000 families were displaced as a result of the armed conflict.

It is true that in many other states of the country –as Chihuahua and particularly in Ciudad Juárez–, the violence associated to the drug war has prompted people to flee and to move to other cities. But Cd. Mier’s case is unique because people fled in groups and in just one week they became refugees in another town.

It has been one week since Cd. Mier’ exodus started and until now, there has not been strong word from the federal government on how they are going to deal with the situation. What are they waiting for?

“We are not having a good time here –in the shelter. We abandoned our belongings, our home, our furniture, said a 30-year-old woman while holding her 4-months-old daughter. “We had seen too much blood in the last months, too many death people, we don’t to die”.

 

 

Comments

[pgillenw]

My heart goes out to those suffering due to the cartels and the Mexican Gov't. However the U.S. must remain vigilant and not allow refugee camps to spill over our borders. The American people have given much, and still are, to the Illegal and our Gov't (U.S.) continues to bolster the corrupt Gov't of Mexico. The U.S. doesn't need to fight the war in Mexico. This is a fight the Mexican people need to wage against not only the cartels but the Mexican Gov't.

[Maria]

To: pgillenw
The US is not fighting the war in Mexico. The US only sells the weapons so Mexicans keep killing each other (It began with the Bush Sr. administration). Don't you pretend to care when your ignorant mind doesn't allow you to see the big picture. If you are going to blame it on the undocumented, then let me tell you that the day you have to pay real money for any repair or service done to your home you will understand how much hard-working immigrants are giving to this country in exchange for the oportunity to make a living in this great land. Please try to educate yourself a little and then give your opinio about it.