Mexico lacks a thriving culture of volunteerism and philanthropy. That needs to change, and Trump could be the cause that helps rally Mexicans together from all backgrounds to help deportees.
“We have no organizational culture and we are not prepared to receive people,” Yolanda Varona, a Tijuana-based activist and founder of Dreamer Moms, told me.
Varona has been in talks with other organizations like Other Dreamers in Action (ODA) to come up with a programs to aid deportations. “We are trying to get cellphones for new arrivals and get a house so they can live together.”
She’s also led collection drives for basic household items like toothbrushes and towels, but says the community response is oftentimes underwhelming.
“There hasn’t really been a response. There’s no interest. It hurts me to say this as someone who got deported, but we are invisible to these people,” she said. “People who get deported are worthless in the eyes of society. They look at us like delinquents or traitors. Mexicans aren’t prepared mentally or socially to receive them, there’s no social conscience.”
Varona says there needs to be more outreach for people to get to know each other, because “today it happened to us and tomorrow it could happen to them.”
“We need to stop talking about stats and talk about real stories,” she said.
