Help Keep Autonomous Space El Comedor Operating

Call to support El Comedor, an autonomous space in Tijuana, Mexico which has been a central hub of support for those coming from the caravans.

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Since February, El Comedor, an autonomous space in Tijuana Mexico centered around a kitchen has been providing vital resources for caravaners and others in need. This space has been made possible due to financial support from comrades and by the dedicated cavaners that run the space themselves. Though trying to meet as much of its needs as possible through mutual aid, the rent still doesn’t pay itself. With help from supporters we’ve managed to secure a continuous six months of rent for El Comedor with all excess funds going to infrastructure and food needs. El Comedor is currently one of the only places, if not the only place, serving hot meals everyday in Tijuana. Though “the caravan” is out of the news, thousands still pass through Tijuana on their way north hoping to escape violence.

As racist and xenophobic policies and actions of the US and Mexican state intensify many have been stranded in Tijuana. Without everything El Comedor provides many of these people would have to throw themselves over “the wall” risking separation, brutality, and in some cases even death. Along with the lack of media attention donations too have began to drop. El Comedor is one of the few caravan related projects that has some staying power and food security is one of the most vital needs. With your help we can continue to feed hundreds a day while we all get a foot hold for a better future for us all.

On top of meals El Comedor is also home to a donation center where resources like clothes and toiletries can be distributed. There’s also a small garden that’s had a postive affect on many who’ve encountered it. Along with sustenance, information, and material aid El Comedor also gives people an chance to act autonomously; it gives them space to build their own power autonomous of the state and NGOs. This autonomous power can be a major uplifting force for people’s emotional well being. TNot only does El Comedor and the support it receives make evident that they are indeed not alone, it also let’s them take power over their lives. El Comedor is a space of encounter that gives life changing potential for those who’ve been forced into abject poverty, both within the current systems of socioeconomic subjugation and in the cracks that glitter with the potential of a world outside of such oppressive systems.

El Comedor was born out of Contra Viento y Marea an autonomous movement with the larger caravan movement. The name roughly translates to “against the odds.” Like a flower blooming in the desert or an herb growing through cracks the concrete Contra Viento y Marea is life bursting forth and spreading its infectious beautiful hope in inhospitable terrain.