“This is the life of migrants here, we are treated like animals”

San Diego, California, July 7, 2022 – As we hear stories of migrants all around the world suffering from neglect and abuse, leading to much pain and suffering and sometimes death, Haitian Bridge Alliance mourns those Haitian men and women who died so far this year in Tijuana, Mexico. We mourn alongside the five families for whom we organized the funerals for their loved ones and for the others that we accompanied on their journey, and for all those who lost their lives unbeknownst to us in Mexico. We also mourn the countless lives lost at sea, including the forty Haitians who died off the coast of Puerto Rico in May 2022, for whom we have only been able to recover eleven bodies.
Below are profiles of seven tragic deaths in Tijuana. From medical negligence to targeted violence, their lives will not be forgotten in their tragic journey from Haiti to foreign lands in the hopes of reaching safety in the United States.
At 18 years old, a young Haitian woman named J.L. had just arrived in Tijuana to join her father, who was waiting for her before attempting to seek asylum in the United States. She was taken to the hospital when she complained of severe stomach pains. She spent two days in the hospital and was then released with prescriptions for medications. Three days later she died due to medical neglect. She should have never been released from the hospital.
M.I., a 35-year-old Haitian man, was vomiting blood. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance. He was released soon after and subsequently died at his home due to medical neglect. He should never have never been released from the hospital.
C.A., a 29-year-old Haitian man, was not feeling well and went to the hospital. The hospital employees did not consider his case to be serious and told him to return another day. He died later in his home. It was another case of medical neglect because he should never have been released from the hospital, yet, the tragedy did not end there. His sister called an ambulance. After much waiting, the ambulance arrived and took him to the morgue for an autopsy. When the family picked him up from the morgue, C.A. was unrecognizable. He had been completely disfigured, cut up, and mutilated. His eyes had been gouged out, there was a big hole in the side of his head and it looked as if his side had been ripped open. The injuries resembled a victim of organ trafficking in Mexican state-run morgues. Why? Because his life, just like his death, was thought to have no value. As his sister mourned his death due to medical negligence turned into the most grotesque of tragedies, she said, “This is the life of migrants here, we are treated like animals.”