Central American Immigrants

The list of reasons why people decide to migrate is long, but tend to be predominant: threats, violence, economic opportunities, insecurity. "From an early age, one wonders... what am I doing here? If you are well, you don't migrate. But many of us don’t have a choice," shares Ana Maria (her name has changed to protect her identity), a Honduran migrant travelling with her 12-year-old daughter. Ana Maria left Honduras in February 2021, escaping violence in her country. Besides that, as if that was not enough, she says that there are no job opportunities, no possibility of progress. Ana Maria’s is one story among millions, but it perfectly reflects why TSF tried to ease access to information for these forcibly displaced populations and the importance of expanding the mission to other Latin American countries.

Due to limited financial means and the dangers of the migratory routes, people in mobility contexts have very limited access to information and communication means. They are left without information and thus become even more vulnerable during their journey. Moreover, migrants often have to deal with very uncertain scenarios. When they arrive in a transit or destination country, they lack information or rely on existing data from their country of origin. “I did not know that migrants were so protected here,” shares Ana Maria. The information displayed on the screens is something very new for her, she had never seen so much support. "There are people who come with fear and with zero information. It is very useful”. Without TSF’s support, many of them would probably not know or have very limited information about the most basic and important of things: their rights. Ana Maria confirms it: “I didn’t know that we, as migrants, had all these rights”.

When asked what information she considers most important, she says that for her it’s all important: “I have seized all the information displayed on the screen, such as that there is help from doctors, psychological help. There is also legal help.” The content displayed also helped her make informed decisions and consider all the options she has. "All this information encouraged me to think calmly, the phone numbers of the institutions allowed me to seek for help legally from the proper services” expresses Ana Maria with a hope-filled voice.

_{Source & credit:TSF}