ATIK | Confederation of Workers from Turkey in Europe | AHM-ATIK News Center
MEXICO | 08 – 12 – 2010 | First of all, would you please introduce yourself and also tell us about the house and its projects and its main objectives when it was found.
CB: My name is Clay Boggs and I am one of the main coordinator from the Casa de los Amigos, the Casa de los Amigos is a center for Peace and International understanding.
It was founded in 1956.over the course of its history it has engaged in various types of programs and projects. In the beginning there were nationwide projects which later on became part of international projects such as on poverty, human rights and eventually migration. Than in the 70’s there was a youth committee, Mexicans here in the casa did a lot of projects in the cultural and social-justice area. From the 80’s onward the main work of the Casa de Los Amigos was the work with refugees coming from Central-America. Many of them fled from dictatorships and civil wars. We offered hospitality programs and social projects to help them. In the 90’s we started to have an education program from groups of the US to come to Mexico in order for them to learn about certain social-justice programs and objectives. Right now, currently we have programs on hospitality, migration and economic-justice. We are hosting the refugees and migrants in the Casa along with international delegations as you, volunteers and activists of International Aid Organizations and Qu[1]akers. Also the economic justice work focuses on development and collaboration with world cooperatives.
What kinds of assistance and help do refugees receive ones there here? Is there also any legal assistance that they get? How do you promote sufficient legal aid?
CB: Sure, in terms of oppression it really depends in where they are. Often people from Central-America do not flee so much from political repression as they are from generalized disorder and more specifically from gangs. What happens is that frequently someone will show up and tell the people that they have to pay if not than they will get killed or beaten. Mostly the amount is anyway too high for the person to pay so they will get killed. The person chooses to leave the country because the government can’t protect them from the gangs. In the case of Africa it could be political repression, civil war or government repression, sometimes; its individuals, sometimes its people that belong to a certain class or social group. People that come from India or Nepal are mostly political asylum seekers.
This means that you have migrants coming from all over the world especially coming from depending countries like Africa, Nepal and India. That’s interesting mostly refugees and asylum seekers go to the US or Europe why Mexico??
It depends’ many see Mexico as a transit country, some if they get a permanent residence they stay in Mexico City and then later on decide to go to the US. But if not then usually they try to go illegally to the US or if they are held in refugee camps try to escape from them.
Is there any message you would like to give to the migrant communities in Europe?
Of course, International Solidarity is very important. I am not supposed to have political opinion as a foreigner that lives in Mexico. But I want to express my solidarity with the migrant communities of course.
Thanks you very much
I thank you for the interview
[1] Quaker essentially means ‘religious society of friends. But it also refers o people and places that are familiar with the Quakers for example Pennsylvania is also called a Quakers state. (This note is merely for the Turkish reading audience to understand what the term Quaker means since there is no existing word that could be used in explaining Quaker.
