“I was not like this before, I knew how to cope with problems, but now I find it hard,” says Camila*, tears running down

her face as she sits in a shelter for migrants in Matamoros, Taumalipas state. Camila carries, in both her body and mind, the atrocities experienced in northeast Mexico by many people seeking safety and economic security across the border in the United States.

Camila fled her home in Nicaragua in August 2023 because of political persecution against her and her family. Apart from the illegal demands for money at several checkpoints along the route, her journey went smoothly until Camila arrived in San Luis Potosi, northeast Mexico. “The bus was full and they took us all off,” she says. “Only one Mexican family was left on. They put us on some buses and sent us back to Guatemala.”

“During the trip we were kidnapped, and that’s when the worst started.”

Camila made a second attempt to reach the U.S. and got as far as Monterrey, Mexico, where she and several others bought bus tickets to the border city of Reynosa. “During the trip, we were kidnapped, and that’s when the worst started,” she says.

“They took us to a house where they separated the men and women. We had to stand because there was no room. At night, some men came and took the women out of the house. They raped us continually, one after another. They had no mercy.”

After 17 days, Camila was released. She found a place to stay at one of the few shelters in Matamoros.

“I came to MSF [Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières] because I was feeling very bad,” she says. “I could not reconcile the moments of tranquility [with what I had experienced]. I have moments of crisis, for example, when I am having a coffee and can’t hold back my tears when I remember what happened to me. I am having treatment and know I still have a long way to go before I can return to how I was.”

Unfortunately, MSF staff in Reynosa and Matamoros hear stories like Camila’s every day.

“In recent months, we have seen an increase in cases related to kidnapping and sexual violence against migrants,” says MSF project coordinator Pooja Iyer. “Our patients tell us they are mistreated during captivity, they do not receive sufficient or quality food, and most of the women are survivors of sexual abuse and violence.”

These dangers affect migrants across the region. In Piedras Negras, Coahuila state, MSF teams have also witnessed the impact of violence and sexual violence on people on the move.

Rosaura*, from Venezuela, was kidnapped for a week and sexually abused by her captors. Unable to pay the kidnappers for her release, she missed a vital appointment with the U.S. immigration authorities and was left with serious mental health issues.

“We found her at a terminal in Rio Bravo

where [we] were distributing winter kits to deal with the cold temperatures,” says MSF logistics coordinator Gustavo Marangoni. “When they saw us, the 15 people who had been with her waiting to continue their journey denied they were migrants, afraid they would be sent back.”

MSF teams assisted 395 survivors of violence between October 2023 and January 2024.

In Reynosa and Matamoros, MSF recorded a 70 per cent increase in consultations for sexual violence in the last three months of 2023, compared to the previous three months. In January 2024, MSF assisted 28 survivors of sexual violence – more than any month in the previous year. MSF’s mental health and social work teams in Reynosa and Matamoros assisted 395 survivors of violence between October 2023 and January 2024, as well as 129 people who had been kidnapped and later released.

In 2023, MSF teams in Piedras Negras assisted 95 survivors of sexual violence and 177 people who had experienced other types of violence, including kidnappings, beatings, threats and the forced disappearance of family members.

“These violent events have a serious impact on people’s physical and emotional health,” says MSF project coordinator Ryan Ginter.

“The consequences range from bruises and physical trauma to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, to symptoms of anxiety, depression, acute stress and post-traumatic stress, among others. These require comprehensive and immediate attention to avoid greater impacts in the future. [But] on arrival in the U.S., most migrants are turned away.”

INDEFINITE WAITING IN HOSTILE CITIES

Many migrants find themselves having to wait indefinitely to obtain an appointment with U.S. immigration authorities after applying online through the CBP One app.

“Many people cannot access a smartphone […] or pay the costs of the internet connection, while others cannot speak Spanish or have difficulties reading and writing,” says Iyer. “Although the CBP One process undoubtedly represents a small step forward in the objective of organizing migratory flows, this tool has proved inadequate for managing the processes of legal entry for people seeking welfare and security in the U.S.”

In the meantime, it is extremely challenging for migrants to find safe places to sleep as well as access food, water, hygiene items and medical care.

Given the seriousness of the situation and the violence experienced by migrants in northeast Mexico, MSF calls on Mexican and U.S. authorities to increase their efforts to provide comprehensive care to migrants, expand legal migration channels and provide better shelter, with adequate and dignified services for people on the move.

*Names changed to protect identities.