I am going into my final year at McGill this fall and was given the opportunity through the AIO to work in Mexico City this summer! I am doing a Joint Honors in Latin American Studies and History, with a minor in Political Science, and spent the winter semester abroad in Mexico City at Tecnol贸gico de Monterrey.
My interests in politics, social movements, immigration, and Latin American culture in general led me to seek out an internship at Casa Refugiados, a local Mexico City nonprofit that houses, feeds, and works with recent immigrants and refugees from all over the world (but mostly Latin America). This felt like a very apt internship, as during the winter in between the end of McGill鈥檚 semester and the start of my exchange semester, I worked at a nonprofit in Los Angeles, Program for Torture Victims (PTV), that also works with refugees and those seeking asylum from violence in their home countries. Having worked a bit on the U.S. side of immigration with PTV, I was really curious about immigration from a Mexican perspective, as so many immigrants pass through Mexico to get to the United States border. Further, I took a class at Tecnol贸gico de Monterrey that focused on human rights in Mexico and Latin America, and my professor had worked in those circles and recommended Casa Refugiados to me in the spring.
When I first went to Casa Refugiados, I was especially nervous as I knew all my interactions would be Spanish, but everyone made me feel comfortable even when I went in simply for an interview. This welcoming atmosphere at Casa Refugiados is just one of many things the organization does so well. It collaborates with the UNHCR and aims to support the rights and integration of people on the move, such as refugees, asylum seekers, displaced persons, and migrants. The organization's mission is to create respectful and supportive environments, promoting a culture of peace and human rights. Their vision is to actively contribute to a world where everyone, regardless of differences, can thrive under the values of peace, human rights, and environmental respect.
Once I started my internship, I realized how lucky and rare this opportunity is to get paid to work at such a special grassroots organization. My duties ended up changing a bit from the initial list of responsibilities I was told earlier, but I think was for the best as my there was a new opening to start teaching an English as a Second Language (ESL) class. This was my favorite part of the internship, as it was something I had a lot of flexibility and freedom to teach how I wanted. My other responsibilities included helping with intake of new refugees鈥撯�揺xplaining rules, showing them the complex, taking down all their information鈥撯�揳long with working reception, and generally helping with whatever else needed to get done that day. The project I've been dedicating my efforts to involves creating a compilation of humanitarian, governmental, and non-profit entities situated in well-known refugee destinations within the United States and Canada. As I finish my internship this next week, I鈥檓 looking forward to sharing this guide as a resource for refugees.
The biggest challenge of my internship mainly was the language barrier, as Spanish is my second language, sometimes my coworkers or students would say things to me that I didn't understand. However, I think this was also what pushed me to really improve my Spanish鈥撯�搘hich was one of my main objectives of this internship. Though switching between English and Spanish was confusing, teaching my English class was by far the highlight of my experience as I got to meet and talk to so many people individually learn about their lives and their stories and teach them a valuable skill. I met so many amazing people, and I was so proud of all of my students as I could see their progress at the end of every class.
This internship has given me a lot of new perspectives to bring back to McGill. First and foremost it improved my Spanish immensely, and I'm looking forward to taking classes in Spanish at McGill this fall. It also gave me a lot of new ideas for my thesis which I have to write this year after hearing the stories and experiences of the refugees. I did not take this internship for academic credit, but I know it will help me in my academic career at McGill. Thank you to George Currie for making this experience possible!
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