Roberto lives that reality all too often, existing in a region with some of Mexico’s highest
rates of
unemployment and informal labor. As he waits, he is required to sign a COMAR attendance form to
confirm that he wants to continue seeking asylum. Failure to complete the form, in COMAR’s eyes,
means the applicant has left the arriving state and, therefore, abandoned their case.
Roberto, the native of
gang-ravaged town
— a notoriously gang-ravaged town just outside Haiti’s capital — would not mind waiting so long
if
he could work while doing so. Last November, he was sitting at a park in
Tapachula’s downtown plaza
, where scores of Haitians often wait to find odd jobs or talk with each other, when he
shared
his frustration.
“Every day I’m on the street looking for work, but I can’t find anything,” he said. “Without
documents, we can’t work, and we are people who strongly believe in working.”
Unable to find jobs in ironworking, his specialization in Haiti, Roberto seeks out construction
sites. But jobs are sporadic. Often, he worries about paying his part of the $120 room he shares
with two other people, and supporting his four siblings, the reason Roberto said he left Haiti
in
the first place.
“Every month you have rent to pay, you need to eat and you’re not working,” Roberto said.
A month later, when Roberto next spoke to The Haitian Times, he was still struggling. “I’m here
without any help,” he said. “I can’t think straight. My siblings call me asking for help, but I
can’t help them because I can’t even help myself.”
