During the Ch’abajel summit: Building Safer and More Equitable Societies, Regina de la Portilla Guevara, senior external relations officer of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Mexico, warned that Yucatán, due to its security conditions and hospitality, has the potential to become a destination for displaced people seeking to rebuild their lives.
De la Portilla stressed the importance of the active participation of host communities in the refugee integration and displaced people.
“Communities can prevent violence by organizing and making their needs public. In this way, organizations like UNHCR can intervene productively,” he explained.
He noted that for this process to work, constant dialogue between host communities and refugees. Also, collaboration with the government and civil society is essential.
Mexico has received refugee applications from 177 different countries, and most of them are fleeing violence or life-threatening situations. De la Portilla said that displaced people arrive in new neighborhoods with the need to integrate quickly, which can avoid conflicts if the needs of both parties are properly managed.
“If the receiving communities do not identify their needs and we do not ask the right questions, it is very difficult for integration to be effective,” he acknowledged.
Although Yucatán is not currently a state with a high presence of refugees, De la Portilla believes this could change in the future:
“Yucatán, being a safe state with a supportive population, has the potential to become a destination for people who have been forced to leave their countries. If the state identified the need to fill jobs or integrate refugees, we would be happy to collaborate to make that happen,” he said.
Regarding the preparation of society to receive these people, De la Portilla stressed the importance of understanding the trauma with which refugees arrive.
“These people do not choose to leave their countries, they do so because they have no other option. What we can plan, as a host society, is that there are places where they can arrive, that children can go to school, and that they can access health services, even if they do not have the same documents as ours,” he stated. Finally, the UNHCR representative offered the agency’s support to provide information, advice, and training to communities and authorities in Yucatán who wish to prepare to host refugees: “Preparing as a host society is valuable, and UNHCR is here to help. in that process,” he concluded.
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