MIMS Graduate Wins 2021 Academic Showcase
Congratulations Zefitret!
Zefitret Abera Molla (MA ‘21) was one of two winners selected by the Graduate Student Senate for this year’s Academic Showcase.
Her research project, “A Treacherous Journey Through Latin America: The Plight of Black African and Haitian Migrants Forced to Remain in Mexico,” will also be presented at the 2021 International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association in Vancouver on May 26–29.
A Treacherous Journey Through Latin America: The Plight of Black African and Haitian Migrants Forced to Remain in Mexico
The growing presence of Black African and Haitian migrants in Mexico poses a new set of challenges to a country that is already struggling to recognize the presence of Afro-Mexicans and where mestizaje still dominates the national discourse on race. Due to restrictive U.S. and Mexican immigration policies since 2016, many of these migrants have found themselves forced to remain in a country they had only intended to transit through on their journey northward to the U.S. Mexico has only recently taken the necessary steps to recognize its Afro-Mexican population which had been marginalized and erased from history.
This research aims to shed light on the specific issues affecting Black, non-Spanish speaking migrants in Mexico due to their intersecting identities by using a mixed-methods approach. It analyzes 80 responses obtained from an online survey administered in Spanish to Afro-Mexicans in order to learn about their experiences as Black Mexicans and to draw a connection between their experiences as Black Mexicans and those of Black African and Haitian migrants in Mexico. It also draws on 23 in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted in French and English with Black African and Haitian migrants in Tijuana and Mexico City and analyzes U.S. and Mexican immigration policies affecting these communities.
Black African and Haitian migrants face challenges due to their status as migrants, their race in a country where the majority of the population is not Black and their lack of Spanish which hinders their access to services and makes navigating Mexico harder. Appropriate measures should be taken by the Mexican government to provide assistance and support to these Black African and Haitian migrants, whose intersecting identities increase their vulnerabilities.
Register for the LASA2021 Virtual Congress to see Zefitret’s presentation featured in the Race, Identities, Migrations panel on Friday, May 29 from 9:00am - 10:45am.