24 Hours at the FM4
(Originally posted February 2017)
The FM4 has been a place continual change. In the past year of volunteering at the migrant shelter, I’ve seen the place transform into a 24-hour facility serving the needs of migrants in transit and refugees. I love being a part of the family of volunteers and staff that makes this place run. Here now is how the FM4 changes in the course of a single day. 24 hours at the FM4.
Just a note: Identifying info about specific migrants has been changed to protect their anonymity.
9:00 am
The solid metal door opens and closes over and over again as the day warms up on the patio of the FM4. While those that spent the night are sipping their coffee with galletas maria, other migrants arrive. Some return from the previous day, having been unable to board the quickly moving train, others freshly arrive to the city.
10:00 am
On this morning, students, teachers, other members of the community flow in for special clean up event. Every couple of months, the FM4 leads a “Clean Up Brigade” of the tracks. Coming together for the trash pick-up educates and creates sensitivity regarding immigration for the Guadalajara community, especially the neighbors near the tracks. Together, we build a more conscientious and caring city towards those traveling through.
11:00 am
The clean up brigade shuffles out of the FM4 and walks to the train tracks, just around the corner. This is one of the biggest turnouts that I’ve seen, including a few teachers and students from ASFG. The teams spread out and load up dozens of bags of trash. Some trash comes from migrants, some from the permanent homeless population in the area, some from kids that hang out in the strip of park lining the tracks and some is dumped by other city residents.
12:00 pm
Walking the vias, we stop and talk to people along the way. Some of the men are migrants and we direct them to the services at the FM4. Today we chat with a group of men from Jamaica, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. Another pair has recently been repatriated from the United States and are looking for work in Guadalajara to return home further south.
If you continue walking, 45 minutes further down the track is the curve in the tracks. There the migrants run and jump to board the moving train going north. They prefer this location because the train conductor must slow down for the curve in the tracks.
1:00 pm
To close the clean up brigade, we all meet at the starting point, under the shade of a big tree. A couple of guys pass out water to the volunteers, hot and sweaty from the trash pickup. There’s no shade on the tracks. Two migrants and two volunteers share their words. They speak words of appreciation and understanding. They remind everyone that no human is illegal.
2:00 pm
Technically, my weekly shift is starting now. Last year, I joined the Saturday afternoon team and I look forward to working with them each week. Together the team trusts each other, we learn and support one another, and have quite a bit of fun along the way. You can often hear the laughter of the nuns preparing kits or our shift-leader joking around in the kitchen.
I sit on the patio with a couple of guys and we chat for a while before the lunch is served. Occasionally, we answer the door for a donor, an arriving volunteer or migrant. Mostly, we converse. We talk about the journey, their families back home, the time they have spent in the United States. We talk about Trump and immigration politics. We talk about the economy, education, sports. I value these conversations and I have learned far more from them than they have gained from my little advice and information about life in the U.S.
Today I sit on the bench with a man from Honduras, a few years younger than me. He lived in the US for several years and has two young children there. Now he’s returning north with a younger cousin, the boy’s first trip. Another few guys listen in, also on their way for the first time.
3:00 pm
Lunch is served midafternoon. The teams that prepare the meals at the FM4 are creative and flexible, never knowing what foods will arrive in donations or how many people will be sharing the meal.
Before lining up, everyone gathering in a circle for a few reminders, sign ups to wash dishes or scrub pots and a moment of reflection. Someone will usually share a prayer or a few words for the group. The FM4’s dog, Guardian, barks with excitement at the applause at the end. Guardian arrived one day with a group of migrants and has since become a part of the family.
Today the kitchen crew prepares plates of rice, beans and chicken and serves cucumber-flavored water. Everyone sits in plastic chairs; volunteers and migrants mix together around the tables and enjoy conversations together.
4:00 pm
After lunch, there are a few interviews with recently arriving migrants. Volunteers complete an individual interview with each migrant on his or her first day. By recording their experiences, the FM4 can give a voice to the migrants in our city. Individual cases receive follow through and the human rights of migrants gain protection. The stories of the migrants are often heavy as they describe the journey. Their stories include the robberies, the raids, the attacks, the accidents and even kidnappings that migrants endure crossing Mexico. Many are fleeing difficult situations in their home countries, violence from the maras, or gangs, and lack of employment to support their families.
5:00 pm
Each migrant can make a phone call during their stay at the FM4. For some, this is the first time they have contacted their family back home since their departure. Their families are pleased to hear that they are safe and have made it journey as far as Guadalajara. Occasionally, we pick up exciting news like a new baby, a high score on a child’s math test or word that another travel companion is safe. The men line up outside the cubicle waiting their turn. One migrant sets the brakes and hops out of his wheelchair for his turn to call. Two years ago, his legs were amputated by la bestia, the train. Just before another call, we pause for a moment as the train thunders down the tracks just a block away and we feel a slight tremble in the cubicle.
6:00 pm
In the late afternoon, some guys pack up their bags and reroll their blankets as they prepare to leave. Others will leave later before the main door closes for the night. Each migrant takes a “to-go” bag with a water bottle or electrolyte, a can of tuna, a sandwich or fruit, crackers, some toilet paper and sometimes a sweet. Upon leaving the FM4, many don’t know when or where their next meal will come from.
The door knocks again as another group of three arrive. They came in from the north on the train that just rattled through the neighborhood. Last week they were repatriated from the United States. Two had been returned on entry through the desert, the other had resided sometime in Colorado. While most of the migrants in transit through the FM4 are headed north, there are a few returning from the States to their families and places of origin.
7:00 pm
The afternoon shift closes up and the evening team takes over. Along with becoming a 24-hour facility, several volunteers have committed to full time service for months at a time to meet the needs of the migrants and refugees at the FM4. Tonight I join the team because several of the full timers have their night off. I throw my backpack in the dormitory for female volunteers and walk back to the kitchen area.
8:00 pm
As with most dinners in Mexico, tonight’s evening meal is served late and light. Tonight we have toast with strawberry jam and chilaquiles. One volunteer scoops up warm atole, a hot corn-masa beverage. Dinnertime is relaxed and we sit around, sipping our warm drinks and chat about the day. One man talks about returning to New York to see his daughter, getting ready to start Kindergarten. Another recounts his experiences in a detention center in Texas.
9:00 pm
Evening rolls on and we eventually get up from the table to clean the dinner plates and cups. In the evening, everyone relaxes. Some play checkers at the patio tables, another couple strum the guitar. A small group plays foosball at the recently donated table, a huge hit with migrants and volunteers alike.
I sit at one of the dining room tables and explain “Spoons” to a small group. This fast paced card game bring me back to nights at the Casa YMCA in Tijuana and at the summer camp in Wisconsin. We laugh and try to let go of the stresses the guys face on their journey. Laugh, to alleviate the heartache of leaving home. Laugh, to pause the fears and dreams of the next few weeks. Laugh, to be in the moment and just let go.
10:00 pm
The evening closes up with a few words from the shift leader, a moment to appreciate the day, one more day. Along with a few other reminders and formalities, everyone walks up the stairs to the dormitories. Soon, the lights are out for the night.
11:00 pm
After the migrants head off to bed, the volunteers close up the FM4. The kitchen gets scrubbed and paperwork filed. After the work is done, the volunteers enjoy each other’s company and this time together. The FM4 is like a family.
12:00 am
After several games of cards, the volunteers head off to bed. I crawl up to the top bunk, one of those moments when I wonder if I’m too old for this, and click off my light.
2:00 am
At some point during the night, I hear and feel the train come past again. I know that this train comes from Irapuato and likely carries many migrants on the gondolas, the preferred seats for most.
Later in my sleepy fog, I see the light of a flashlight of the rounds of security. Security and safety are tops at the FM4. Such attention to details allows everyone in the FM4 to feel safe and secure, to feel at home. Migrants can get a solid night of rest before continuing their journey. Along the journey, they may catch a night or two here or there at a migrant house, but mostly they’re sleeping in shifts along the tracks, behind buildings, or going without sleep, holding onto the metal bars of the train through the night, exhausted. Tonight, everyone rests well.
6:00 am
I hear a few quiet voices of early risers. One of the men in the refugee process has a job outside of the FM4. He slips out early and will return in the late afternoon with an extra bucket of fruit from his harvesting job.
7:30 am
The lights flip on in the FM4 as the day begins. The guys sweep and mop the whole warehouse after roll call. Then, everyone sips steaming coffee and snacks on sweet bread.
8:00 am
The knocks on the door start early. The newest arriving migrants begin entering the FM4 and rest on the benches on the patio, surrounded by plants and flowers. They arrived in the city on the train in the early hours of the morning. They are tired and hungry. We pass out hot coffee, bananas, bread and cookies to hold them over until breakfast. Soon they’ll all be registered, go through revision and be a part of the FM4 during their time in Guadalajara.
One of the guys from inside in the FM4 recognizes a few of the new arrivals. He met this group of Hondurans on the route further south. They smile and shake hands, happy to see that the others have made it this far on the journey.
9:00 am
Once the next shift of volunteers comes on duty, I take off my vest. It’s been a busy 24 hours and I’m ready to head home.
The FM4 provides an indispensible service to the migrants and refugees in Guadalajara. The family of staff and volunteers is whole-heartedly committed to providing a safe place, meeting needs of those coming through our community with dignity and respect. I feel honored to be a part of this family.
