Every day, around 30,000 migrants gather in Tapachula, a city on Mexico’s southern border. They wait in squares and parks, in exchange offices or at the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance to obtain transit permits and continue their journey.
However, many migrants have experienced physical and mental trauma on their journey—in some cases extreme violence and torture. They are in urgent need of expert medical care. Miguel Gil, a psychologist with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), who has 10 years of experience working with migrants, describes the situation in this city and the challenges our teams face.
Our team here is made up of six psychologists, two doctors, two social workers, a psychosocial community involvement agent, a mental health supervisor, and a team leader. Initially, we visited migrant shelters and other places to identify victims of extreme violence and torture who could benefit from treatment provided at an MSF center in Mexico City. However, for the past year, we have also expanded our medical activities for migrants—providing wider mental health care, as well as support for victims of sexual violence. In 2022, we assisted 187 people.
Tapachula does not have sufficient capacity to assist all the people who come here. There are no basic services. Shelters run by other organizations can’t care for so many people and there is a lack of access to health care in general. MSF is the only organization that offers specialized health care for migrants who have been victims of violence or torture.
In the city, there are specific areas where people stay based on their nationalities. There are migrants everywhere, and they mainly live on the streets. The majority of people are Haitians and Hondurans, while the number of people from Venezuela has recently grown significantly. They tend to advance faster through small caravans to avoid arrest and deportation.
