Christmas at the border

[Hermit-The-Prog]

Migrants stuck in Tijuana dream of US as they celebrate uncertain Christmas

Volunteers try to bring some cheer to Central Americans with traditional food and gifts but fear and anxiety haunt the holiday

[by] Sarah Kinosian in Tijuana 25 Dec 2018

“For us Christmas means tamales,” said Orbelina Orellana, mixing a cauldron of ingredients with a large wooden ladle.

In the background, punta music, from Honduras’s northern coast, played from a cellphone lying next to a pile of banana leaves that would later be used to wrap the traditional corn dish. “It’s more than food: it’s family, it’s home, it’s love, it’s us.”

Orellana is one of the thousands of Central Americans who arrived in Tijuana, just south of US border with the US state of California, in November. She came with the caravan of migrants and refugees who are spending their Christmas thousands of miles from home, in limbo, many of whom are unsure if or when they will ever make it into the US.

In preparation for 24 December, when Latin America celebrates Christmas, Orellana and three other women made 2,000 Honduran tamales in an empty dirt-floor lot with cinderblock walls, just around the corner from the old outdoor concert venue that is housing more than 1,200 caravan members.

“We wanted our new caravan family to be able to have our traditions. But being here is hard. I know my son and two daughters are sad right now. I keep reminding myself I’m here for their future,” Orellana, 26, says as she stirs, remembering her children back in Honduras. “They’re all pretty reserved kids, but on Christmas, they love to dance. I’ll miss that.”

[ ... ]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/25/central-american-migrants-tijuana-christmas

[underpants]

1. 2,000 tamales

[Ilsa]

2. Tamales and Christmas Eve go together

like marshmallows and hot chocolate!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

3. been a while since I had tamales

Digestive system issues have kept me a little wary of tamales, but they make it look awfully tempting.

[Ilsa]

4. Maybe you can find someone to make them

for you and exclude ingredients and spices that give you problems.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

5. why can't we let these folks in?

They don't scare me, at all. What am I missing?

[Mr. Quackers]

6. Their skin color