La 72 Is First Shelter in Mexico to Cater to the Needs of LGBTI Refugees Elisabet Diaz Sanmartin - UNHCR
go to original August 26, 2017

The Mexican Friar providing a safe haven for refugees (UNHCR)

An unusual shelter for migrants and refugees near the Guatemalan border in southeast Mexico is providing a discrimination-free place of safety for LGBTI refugees fleeing violence and homophobia in Central America.

The shelter, known as La 72, is run by Friar Tomás González Castillo, a member of the Christian religious order of Franciscans. Friar Tomás has championed the rights of asylum-seekers in Mexico, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, collectively known as LGBTI.

Every evening, Friar Tomás, addresses residents before lights out, welcoming any new arrivals, announcing forthcoming events and observing a minute’s silence for those suffering during their flight. Tonight he tells them: “Tomorrow the LGBTI collective will organize a party to celebrate pride and you are all invited.”

Since Friar Tomás founded the shelter in Tenosique in 2011, it has provided protection and humanitarian assistance to more than 50,000 people fleeing violence, extortion, forced recruitment and human rights violations in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

It was the first shelter in Mexico to cater to the needs of LGBTI refugees. Others in Mexico City and Guadalajara have also opened dedicated safe spaces for LGBTI people.

. It accommodates up to 250 people at a time, including single mothers, minors and a growing number of families. In 2016, it received 43 LGBTI refugees, of whom 13 applied for asylum. This year, it welcomed 20 up to June 30.

Lilly, 20, a Honduran trans-sexual woman, who stumbled barefoot and exhausted into La 72 after a two-day walk from the border, recalls her first night in the shelter: “I slept long hours for the first time in years. It was heaven”.

Her ordeal started long before, when she was kidnapped in Guatemala, forced into sexual slavery and constantly beaten and raped by the traffickers. She was finally set free by the Guatemalan authorities.

“Everyone we receive in the shelter is victim of discrimination but the LGBTI people are more vulnerable to intolerance and homophobia,” said Friar Tomás. “They have suffered a lot.”

Maria, a student who is one of the team of Mexican and international volunteers that help run the shelter, said: “The first rule we tell anyone arriving at the shelter is that violence is not tolerated. We are also very explicit that we host men, women and teenagers who belong to the LGBTI community.

“Discrimination is a form of violence. Any type of discrimination against them is not allowed here.”

Read the rest at UNHCR

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