Los Zetas to Priest: "So You Don't Think We Can Kill you"?

Borderland Beat

“They thought that they were going to find information that will demolish my moral authority, but they will not find anything else than the word of Jesus. Hope it is useful”….Stated  by Fr. Solalinde after Zetas stole his laptop

o  Zetas prefer that the shelter of Ixtepec stay open

o  PRI Government spread negative images of Central Americans, he points out.

o  He insists that he will not accept a bureaucratic position in the Church

Ixtepec, Oaxaca  “Two members of the Zeta Cartel told me here, inside the shelter: “Do you think that we cannot kill you? We don’t do it because if we do, the shelter will close and then the migrants will go to other places, we will have to look for them everywhere!  We prefer that they stay here” the catholic  priest Alejandro Solalinde Guerra, stated in an interview. Solalinde is responsible for  the shelter Hermanos Del Camino.

“It is different here than in Lecheria (passing point of immigrants in the state of Mexico). One of those responsible for causing us many problems is drug traffickers. We are not perusing them, because we are not police. I am not a policeman; I wasn’t placed here to chase drug traffickers. But, they are the ones that harm the immigrants  and I have had to intervene,” he adds.

The criminalization against the migrants has been very high. However, one positive change is the PRD town city council has changed their attitude.

He notes that the PRI government, spread in the media a very bad image of the immigrants.   Central Americans that are passing by the shelter, are targeted by the government and organized crime groups.

His computer was stolen

After travelling through Europe for about a month he returned  to Mexico,  after receiving 6 death threats on June 9^th.  The priest is  the coordinator of the Human Mobility of Social Pastoral of the diocese of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca and founder of the migrants shelter Hermanos Del Camino. He returned to Ixtepec,  Mexico on July 12^th, to continue with the defense of the Immigrants.

The day that he returned to that municipality of Oaxaca, as signal of the territory that he is stepping on and despite that being safeguarded by police, his laptop computer was stolen.

“They thought that they were going to find information that will demolish my moral authority, but they will not find anything else than letter of Jesus. Hope it is useful”, Solalinde Guerra highlights. He mentions that the most confidential and critical information is on 60 notebooks that are in a safe place in Mexico City.

The generalized opinion between the people of Ixtepec about Priest Alejandro Solalinde is positive, although some of them don’t know much about his work or know the shelter. He is only questioned about the fact he doesn’t officiate mass.

He will leave the coordination of the pastoral of the diocese of Tehuantepec. Regarding that, he points out that he will not accept any bureaucratic or office position, instead he will continue with his mission, which is  greater dignity for migrants.

He explains that security protocol of the shelter was designed by the United Nations Organization and that he as well as the members of his work team count with precautionary measures.

There are guards with assault rifles are inside and out of the shelter. There is a perimeter wall build with church resources and surveillance cameras. We are still working with the illumination of the train tracks knows as La Bestia (the beast).

“I opened this shelter as a space for freedom. It is no use to just turn it into a plain kitchen. They should have their house here, the house of the migrants, but the security is necessary for now, because if not the maras, zetas or whomever would get in and we wouldn’t be able to control that if it is not coordinated with the authorities”, he expose.

He assures that the behavior of the migrants in the shelter is good; they participate in the cleaning chores and cook, some of them clean the train tracks, others participate in the construction of the walls and dormitories. A female group attends the train arrival.

                               Atop "The Beast"El Norte bound  in search of the American Dream (Source Bartlett)

Going home: depleted resources, 3 Guatemalan brothers give up after being dumped by the US
 at the Mexican POE, for the 3rd time, they decide to go home (source:Chivis-Borderland Beat)

They, he continues, register the people that will stay in the shelter in a data base with photographs, to have a record of the people that pass by. That is how is done in the other shelters in the route north of Mexico. Women separate from men; some that are pregnant decide to stay until the give birth.

The joy of not being "essential"

I am intransigent (inflexible) so the police respect the migrants. But it is also true that we are still in danger; for that reason we need the police. I would say that our shelter is safer today because it is the only place where the police can socialize (with migrants) and become  aware of the situation, Solalinde says.

After being in Europe, I realized that I needed to rest. My nerves were destroyed. I rested, praying comforted me. It is very hard, it is the cross that I have to carry, but there is no Jesus without the cross, he shares.

While I was out, the shelter functioned well. The volunteer team and Medicos sin Fronteras (Doctors with no borders) took charge. That is when I realize that I am not essential and that gave me joy, he concluded.

Source: La Jornada

Two videos below depict the journey of the Central American economic migrant.  In the moving top video I was struck by "Frank", a bit cocky initially, but he melts by emotion when describing the journey migrants make, "porque es duro, es duro" (its hard) says Frank, as he dissolves into tears....Paz, Chivis