Life in the Mesa Grande Refugee Camp

Isabel describes the difficulties of life in the Mesa Grande refugee camp in Honduras.

Chapter:: Chapter 4: Refugee Experiences
Interviewee:: Isabel
Places:: Mesa Grande Honduras; San Marcos
Topics:: Displacement; Refugee; Refugee Camp; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Transcription

Look, life [in the Mesa Grande refugee camp] was not as good as they say. Everyone says that it was good, but it wasn’t, because the military kept us on a short leash. They disappeared two people during the time I was there. Just like that. They disappeared them quickly. They pulled them off the truck and they were lost. The people couldn’t leave the refugee camp, to go buy things elsewhere, in the valleys or in San Marcos. If the UNHCR wasn’t with you no one could leave. That’s why it wasn’t easy in the refugee camp, either.