NORTON META TAG

11 November 2010

Act now for Father Solalinde, Mexico from AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL 11NOV10

MEXICO suffers horribly from drug cartel violence, yet here is a man, a priest, providing support and shelter for migrants in southern Mexico who is being attacked and threatened. Please participate in this campaign calling on the Mexican government to protect Father Solalinde and his work by clicking the header or the link.
Father Alejandro Solalinde Guerra is a Catholic priest who has dedicated his life to providing a place of safety for migrants, away from the criminal gangs who exploit and abuse them. Because of his work, Father Solalinde has been continuously threatened and intimidated by local gangs and officials. His life is at risk.

Father Solalinde is the co-ordinator of the Catholic Pastoral Care Centre for Migrants in Southwestern Mexico (Pastoral de Movilidad Humana Pacifico Sur del Episcopado Mexicano) and director of a migrants’ shelter that was set up to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants who get injured or need help. This solidarity with migrants has provoked attacks and harassment from xenophobic members of local communities, often encouraged by criminal gangs and local officials. Father Solalinde has regularly been threatened and intimidated,and the authorities have done little to protect him, or investigate the threats against him.

On 24 June 2008, a group of about 50 residents of Ciudad Ixtepec, the city where Father Solalinde works, broke into the migrants’ shelter. The group, led by municipal officials, including the Mayor and 14 municipal police, threatened to set the building on fire if it was not shut down within 48 hours. This followed the arrest of a Central American migrant over the rape of a six-year-old girl in the city a few days earlier. In interviews with local newspapers, Father Solalinde had condemned the rape, but clarified that the arrested man had not been staying at his shelter. Father Solalinde told journalists that the rape had led to increased resentment against Central American migrants travelling through the area. The authorities did not investigate the break-in and threat from the municipal officials, and although the shelter was not attacked, the incident increased fears for the safety of Father Solalinde and the migrants at his shelter.

Since 2008 Father Solalinde has faced frequent intimidation. Local media often report false stories blaming the shelter for housing migrants who are suspected of committing criminal offences. Father Solalinde has publicly condemned Mexican officials’ treatment of irregular migrants, making himself increasingly vulnerable to attack and intimidation.

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