Next Wednesday, April 1, the federal government will send two aircraft of the Mexican Air Force to bring back at least 174 Mexicans, 30 of them university students.
This coming Wednesday, April 1, the federal government will send two aircraft of the Mexican Air Force to bring back at least 174 Mexicans, 30 of them university students, who until this Monday remain stranded in Argentina after the emergency by COVID- 19.
This Sunday, the nationals who are in Buenos Aires and other cities in this nation received an email from the Mexican embassy notifying them of the arrival of two “free and voluntary humanitarian flights” for those who wish to return to Mexico.
RISKY SITUATION
Meanwhile, Mexicans in this South American country face adverse health, economic, security, and even xenophobic act.
Alfredo Salamanca arrived in Argentina last February as a tourist and with a view to completing some job as a marketer, however, the health emergency forces him to try to return to Mexico. After several attempts to change their flights, commercial airlines have not responded.
At the Mexican embassy, which does not have a headline today after the resignation of Ambassador Óscar Ricardo Valero last December, they registered Mexicans for these flights, who by itinerary must have a special permit from the governments of Chile, Peru, and Ecuador to fly over their airspaces, today closed to commercial flights.
“I came from Mexico looking for new horizons, fleeing from violence. There are students who surely have one or two years to pay for a flight and lived and right now the only thing we are looking for is certainty, but if the government does not transmit certainty to us, we feel adrift, ”he said.
In an interview with Excelsior, the also photographer accused some acts of discrimination faced by those who are foreigners in Argentina.
“There is a very strong xenophobia, if you are Argentine it is easier for you to move, but if you are a foreigner you cannot move because you risk being mistaken for someone who has just arrived and they put you in a hotel and do not let you leave until 15 days ”, he highlighted.
Susana Jiménez is a student at UNAM, an exchange student at the University of Buenos Aires who faces the quarantine imposed by the local government that results in a lack of transportation, money in banks, and an increase in services.
“In the department where I am it cost us 14,500 Mexican pesos a month and we would distribute it among 4 students, but since my colleagues could not enter Argentina I would have to pay them alone and I already asked and they tell us that next month it will be 17 a thousand pesos, that with my scholarship I can’t even pay to eat, “he said.
To the lack of services, such as ATMs or money exchange offices, intolerance is added in some establishments.
“I went to a pizzeria and the man who attended us, went with two other Mexican colleagues and told us that if we were wrong and did not know the Argentine laws that we should be locked up, we have had negative responses for being foreigners,” he said.
In a phone conversation with Excelsior, the graduate student stressed that her family and also the Maximum House of Studies has supported her and the other students in this nation of exchange at all times.
Like Susana, at least 29 other university students remain scattered in different provinces without being able to get to Buenos Aires, because there is no public transportation.
Mexicans keep in touch through a WhatsApp group.
8,000 MEXICANS REPATRIATED
The Ministry of Foreign Relations reported that this weekend the return of 576 nationals was achieved on different special flights, which would add up to around 8,000 Mexicans who were affected in their transit by different nations of the world because of COVID-19.
He stressed that the repatriations were carried out in strict adherence to safety and health regulations, both from the countries where the returns began and on arrival in Mexico.
“In those regions of the world where open commercial options continue to exist, mainly in Europe, advice and assistance has been provided to Mexican people abroad.
“It works to streamline transits and connections. Also, it collaborates with airlines and charter companies to open additional spaces and flights, “he stressed.
The agency said that in the case of those who are still stranded, all possibilities for them to return home will continue to be explored and, in the event that it is not possible in the short term, that they have access to local options while the contingency passes.
Source: excelsior.com.mx
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