The first day of the visit began with a Eucharistic celebration with the Salesian religious community. Later, Bro. Muller was able to have a moment of dialogue with the Salesians and, among other things, shared his views on the challenges of the Salesian presence in Tijuana with them. Among the profound problems this city faces is the situation of the migrants. Thousands of migrants are concentrated in Tijuana, either because they are still chasing the so-called "American dream", or because they have been turned away in their attempt to enter the United States. Often and at times unwillingly these people, fall into begging and are lost in substance abuse and addictions as they see their dreams of a better life vanish in a very short time.
On the first day, Bro. Muller, accompanied by Fr Agustín Novoa, Rector of the local Salesian community, was able to get a first-hand experience of the variety of services offered by the Salesians in different areas of the city. In fact, precisely because of its vastness, Bro. Muller was able to see only a part of the works done. The Salesian refectory "Father Chava", where every day hot meals are offered to about a thousand people, especially the migrants, as well as three oratories dedicated to St Frances de Sales, Dominic Savio, and Don Bosco, which also have a school and a reception center for people with refugee status, in particular women and children.
The visit allowed Bro. Muller to get closer to the reality of the many people living in poverty and marginalization on this frontier, which under normal circumstances, before the pandemic, constituted the largest flow of people between the two countries, with about 7.3 million people on foot, and over 25.5 million in cars crossing the border every year. Due to health restrictions, the United States closed the border for non-essential travel for 19 months, causing further hardship for people who are somehow dependent on the border economy. Finally, the border was reopened last Monday, 7 November.
The Salesian Economer General continued his visit to the Province, reaching Ciudad Juarez, another border town on Monday 7, with similar problems like that of Tijuana and few more of its own.
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