Migrants wait in line to receive breakfast outside a temporary shelter for members of the "migrant caravan" in Tijuana, Mexico. Getty Images

Warnings grow over unsanitary conditions in Tijuana shelter



Aid workers expressed concerns over unsanitary conditions at the sports complex in Tijuana where more than 6,000 Central American migrants are packed and where lice infestations and respiratory infections are rampant.

As a chill rain fell, the dust that coated everyone and everything in the open-air stadium turned to mud on Thursday, making the already miserable conditions worse.

On one side of the complex, a mud pit grew where people took outdoor showers next to a line of foul-smelling portable toilets.

The one large wedding-style tent pitched in the middle of a sports field and several smaller ones with a capacity for just a few hundred people were far from adequate for the swelling number of migrants who keep arriving daily.

The vast majority of the migrants were camped in makeshift enclosures made of blankets and sheets of plastic or flimsy tents. Another 200 people slept on pavements because they could not find space in the complex or decided it was more comfortable outside.

"The truth is there is no room there inside. We asked yesterday," said Astrid Yajaira, from Sonsonante, El Salvador. She spent the night with three friends on a pavement in front of a warehouse across the street from the stadium. She had a sore throat and had hoped to find shelter inside.

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Migrant caravan 

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_______________

The United Nations children's agency, Unicef, said it was "deeply concerned" for the well-being of more than 1,000 migrant children waiting in Tijuana or still moving north through Mexico.

According to local officials, of the more than 6,150 migrants at the shelter as of Wednesday, 1,068 were children.

"These children have limited access to many of the essential services they need for their well-being, including nutrition, education, psycho-social support and health care," Unicef said in a statement on  Wednesday.

The agency's workers had to remove colouring books, crayons and few other materials they had for children late on Wednesday, because the agency lost its space on a baseball field to the arrival of more migrants.

Mexico's National Human Rights Commission also urged the government to act on Thursday, noting that the sports complex was only planned to house 3,500 migrants and now had nearly twice that many.

"It's unmanageable," said Edgar Corzo, who heads the commission's migrant rights division. The overcrowding "can produce all kinds of infections, all kinds of things can spread and we have four cases of chicken pox. They are contained but it's a risk."

As night fell, authorities began moving about 200 migrants to a new shelter farther away from the border.

Miguel Angel Luna Biffano, a health volunteer with the Nazarene Church Compassion Ministries, which has been accompanying the caravan since the migrants crossed into southern Mexico, said his aid group was dealing with lice and nit infestations as well as many respiratory infections. In the tropical south they had mostly treated dehydration and feet damaged and blistered from walking hundreds of miles.

"The overcrowding here causes them to get into places where they shouldn't like under the bleachers" where it's filthy, Mr Luna said.

"There's overcrowding and very few hygiene norms. ... With the water and the cold there are going to be too many infections, a lot of fevers. There is going to be a need for antibiotics."

On Wednesday, a group of migrant volunteers joined municipal workers in bagging up garbage.

Wearing latex gloves, Darwin Doanin Bardales said he had offered to help because the unsanitary conditions were a health risk.

"If we let this garbage pile up, it will make us sicker than we already are," the 19-year-old Honduran said. "There are a lot of us who are already infected with cough, colds... If we let the garbage pile up it will put the children at risk, and all of us here."

Before the rain began, the Tijuana government distributed sheets of plastic to help the migrants prepare their makeshift shelters of intricately hung blankets and tarps. Tijuana officials have said they are working to open a new shelter, but they haven't said when or where, though it was likely to be much further from the border.

As rain pelted the area on Thursday, Alex Mendes gingerly picked up his small sopping wet tent and moved it to one side. He spread a large sheet of black plastic under it and then proceeded to completely wrap the tent in hopes that would keep him from another wet, sleepless night.

"It's a day's work but I don't want to get wet," the 29-year-old Honduran said of the 150 pesos ($7.50) he spent on the plastic.

Mr Mendes, who had just started working as a waiter in a local restaurant a day earlier, proudly showed his new Mexican humanitarian visa that allows him to work legally. At first he was happy to hear the city planned to open a new shelter, until he was told it wouldn't be nearby. "I'll stay here for work," he said.

Mr Luna, the health volunteer, said opening another shelter could help, but he wasn't sure how many of the migrants would go, especially if, as it's been rumored, it is located far from the border.

"The thing is, they don't like to separate from the larger group and the border here," he said, noting that the migrants feared being tricked and deported.

"They prefer to suffer to be here."

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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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Saturday: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, 8.15pm (UAE)
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Matches on Bein Sports

Results
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha

Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar

Director: Neeraj Pandey

Rating: 2.5/5

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Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar

Launched: 2017

Employees: 22

Based: Dubai and Muscat

Sector: Automobile retail

Funding to date: $5.5 million

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5pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic (PA) Prestige Dh 110,000 1.400m | Winner: AF Mouthirah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)

5.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic (PA) Prestige Dh 110,000 1,400m | Winner: AF Saab, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel

6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 1,600m | Winner: Majd Al Gharbia, Saif Al Balushi, Ridha ben Attia

6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (PA) Listed Dh 180,000 1,600m | Winner: RB Money To Burn, Pat Cosgrave, Eric Lemartinel

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh 70,000 2,200m | Winner: AF Kafu, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 2,400m | Winner: Brass Ring, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed

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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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Director: S Shankar

Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films

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Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Biography

Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related

Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.

Family: Wife and three children.

Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)

Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)

Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)

Wednesday

Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)

Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)

Norwich City v Everton (9pm)

Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)

Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)

Thursday

Burnley v Watford (9pm)

Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)

Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)

The specs

Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 400hp

Torque: 475Nm

Transmission: 9-speed automatic

Price: From Dh215,900

On sale: Now

OPTA'S PREDICTED TABLE

1. Liverpool 101 points

2. Manchester City 80 

3. Leicester 67

4. Chelsea 63

5. Manchester United 61

6. Tottenham 58

7. Wolves 56

8. Arsenal 56

9. Sheffield United 55

10. Everton 50

11. Burnley 49

12. Crystal Palace 49

13. Newcastle 46

14. Southampton 44

15. West Ham 39

16. Brighton 37

17. Watford 36

18. Bournemouth 36

19. Aston Villa 32

20. Norwich City 29