Click image to watch “Life in the Deportee Slums of Mexico” documentary
The U.S. may be pulling out of a depression and the unemployment rate in the country may be higher than in the past, but in other parts of the world, shit is really real.
It doesn’t get realer than in Tijuana, Mexico.
The city has been seeing a growing number of Mexican deportees from the U.S. in recent years, and it has caused an out of control spiral in crime and drugs as a result. A bulk of those deported are ex-convicts, taken out of U.S. prisons and brought back to Mexico or people who are caught trying to cross the border. Some who are deported, even had decent paying jobs (and/or their own businesses) and are brought to Tijuana, without their families, to make a way for themselves under horrible conditions.
The deportees have found a “home” in a canal nicknamed “El Bordo” and live underground or in tents that are often bulldozed or burned by the police. 100% of them consume drugs, including some who inject Speedy’s, a mix crystal meth and heroin.
You can also see the other side of things, from the Police’s perspective, who have to battle with the gang activity and drug trafficking that the ex-convict deportees bring to the city. Especially because they’re vulnerable, can’t find work, are in desperate need of money and fall into the traps of the streets to make a way for themselves. The documentary also shows some people who work at shelters that help the deportees, and their opinion on what it would take to fix this problem and help these people become active citizens.
If you think you’re in a tough situation, think again. This video should put your struggle into perspective real quick. Some of these people haven’t seen their families in years and had to lose their homes and nice living in the US to survive in these humiliating living conditions with no hope in sight.