CIUDAD NEZAHUALCOYOTL, Mexico (AP) — Last year, the Hernández Pacheco family began to notice a number of Haitians arriving at an apartment across the street from their medical clinic on the outskirts of Mexico City. Their two-story, mint-green office sits on a small street in working class Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl. The Haitians stood out among the tamal vendors and street merchants, sitting out in the sun to warm up in the chilled high-elevation air.
One day, Dr. Sarahí Hernández Pacheco, who speaks French, approached a 15-year-old Haitian boy who often looked sad and bored. “I have two nephews, do you want to play with them?” she asked.
Nearly a year later, Haitian migrants make up a good portion of the medical practice of the clinic, which is staffed by Hernández Pacheco and her mother and two of her siblings who are also doctors. The Bassuary clinic offers free consultations, and the family also began giving food to the Haitians, and eventually helped some find work, including at the clinic. Hernández Pacheco wants the clinic to be a safe haven for Haitian migrants whether they are planning to stay in Mexico or continue the journey north to the U.
S. border. “I can’t even imagine what it must be like to be in another country where there are so many limitations,” she said.
“My clinic’s doors are open to help them in everything we can. Not just as a doctor, but as a friend.” One of these patients, Bellantta Lubin, 23, originally came to the doctor whe.