Casa de los Amigos opens its doors to Haitian families

Dear Friends,

Since we wrote to you on December 25th, our region has two million more displaced people. A Haitian family of three arrived at the Casa last weekend and stayed with us for five days. Another couple from Haiti arrived on Wednesday, and on Friday night a family of four arrived with all of their belongings.

We are shuffling around reservations and making space wherever possible to accommodate these families. They arrived to the Casa via one of our partner organizations, Sin Fronteras. They will stay at the Casa in addition to guests sponsored by our new agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The UNHCR rooms have been full since October.  The two men currently in those rooms are from Guinea and Congo, and both speak French. They have been busy translating and assisting our new, mostly French-speaking guests.

Much of the cost of housing Haitian individuals and families while they get on their feet will fall largely to organizations like Sin Fronteras and Casa de los Amigos. Upon the urging of civil society, the Mexican government has granted emergency Humanitarian Visas and taken steps to facilitate the regularization of Haitians already inside Mexico. While the government has been commended for this, they have also been sharply criticized for not backing up these worthy measures with sufficient funds to provide emergency support. Because of the magnitude of the disaster in Port-au-Prince, we expect to receive more families at the Casa throughout the Spring.

The family of four arrived on Friday night. They sat in the Casa comedor to rest amidst piles of suitcases and plastic bags. The children were in a good mood. Their mother was wearing a cast on her foot, which was broken in the earthquake. The six-year old daughter tried out some of her newly-learned Spanish phrases, while the eleven-year old son waited on his mother. The next day, their father asked if they could stay at the Casa more permanently. Upon learning that we offer temporary hospitality during critical transitions, he nodded and said, “Oh, of course, there are more families coming after us.”

Thank you for your support for the Casa, which has allowed us to provide hospitality to refugees, migrants and others in need alongside Quakers, social justice workers, backpackers, academics, and volunteers. If you have any questions or comments about our Hospedaje Solidario program and our response to the arrival of displaced Haitians in Mexico City, please get in touch with Jill Anderson at her new Casa email address: codirectora@casadelosamigos.org.

En paz y amistad,

Jill, Nico y Agnita Clay Wright Anderson
y todo el equipo de la Casa de los Amigos

Our PayPal account is up and running! You can donate directly to the Casa and our work with displaced persons by visiting our website: www.casadelosamigos.org.

In the United States, you can send a tax-deductible contribution payable to Orange Grove Monthly Meeting, with “Casa de los Amigos” noted on the check, to
Casa de los Amigos
c/o Orange Grove Monthly Meeting
520 East Orange Grove Boulevard
Pasadena, CA  91104

In Mexico, you can also make a direct deposit to Banamex Account Number 01250306039.

¡Gracias amigos!