UNHCR / GRANDI MEXICO

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi Friday visited a factory in northern Mexico which employs 70 Central American refugees as part of a innovative programme between the UN refugee agency UNHCR, local authorities and the private sector. UNHCR

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:03:48
• Production Date: 30 September 2019
• Asset Language: English
• Personal Subject: FILIPPO GRANDI
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: REFUGEES
• Geographic Subject: MEXICO
• MAMS Id: 2460439
• Parent Id: 2460439
• Alternate Title: unifeed190930c

Description

STORY: UNHCR / GRANDI MEXICO
TRT: 3:48
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / SPANISH / NATS

DATELINE: 27 SEPTEMBER 2019, SALTILLO, MEXICO

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, Grandi and MABE executives walking into factory
2. Wide shot, Grandi and MABE executives walking inside factory
3. Med shot, factory floor, worker dragging cart
4. Med shot, workers assembling washing machine
5. Close up, worker assembling parts of washing machine
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, UNHCR High Commissioner for Refugees:
“I am very happy and proud to see that people that had to flee their homes because of violence, insecurity, lack of opportunities, find themselves in the opposite situation, a stable situation where they live dignified lives. I’ve spoken to many of them. And where they see a future for them and even more importantly for their children.”
7. Pan left, Grandi and MABE executives watching as machine is assembled
8. Med shot, MABE factory worker as delegation walks by
9. Med shot, workers on factory floor
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, UNHCR High Commissioner for Refugees:
“The refugees are not perceived as competing with nationals because there is enough employment for everyone and they are a small minority anyway compared to the Mexicans that also gain employment here. But there are opportunities and therefore there is a need for this workforce. I think it’s absolutely replicable in other places. I understand from MABE that they want to try and replicate this model in other plants they have across the nation, across Mexico. But I think it is a model that can be replicated with other companies, in other parts of the country, but also in other countries.”
11. Wide shot, factory floor
12. Med shot, workers assembling washing machine
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, UNHCR High Commissioner for Refugees:
“The cooperation for the public authorities is also extremely important. This is not something that can simply be the result of a partnership between UNHCR and the private sector. You need an important role of government. For example, to give people the necessary documentation. This is still quite a challenge. And then to insure the families have access to services. So, it’s a positive multiplier but you need all actors working together.”
14. Wide shot, factory floor
15. Med shot, Grandi speaking to refugee worker (face blurred) in Spanish

Storyline

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi Friday (27 Sep) visited a factory in northern Mexico which employs 70 Central American refugees as part of a innovative programme between the UN refugee agency UNHCR, local authorities and the private sector.

MABE is a multinational enterprise manufacturing consumer goods. Its factory in Saltillo, in northern Mexico, employs 70 Central American refugees as part of an innovative joint programme between UNHCR, the local authorities and the private sector to provide work opportunities for refugees in order to facilitate their local integration.

UNHCR’s Relocation, Employment and Local Integration programme in Saltillo sees about 40 refugees relocated each week from cities in southern Mexico, where they had slim education and job prospects. Here, the opposite is the case. Some 92 per cent of the refugees coming here find a job, 100 per cent of school-age children are enrolled in class and 60 per cent are out of poverty within the first year.

For refugees relocated in Saltillo, UNHCR identifies suitable jobs for adults, assists in enrolling children in school and provides psychosocial support. Refugees also get legal help in acquiring naturalization, which normally happens within two years, and in obtaining their own home, which happens within three.

Initiatives like the one in Saltillo will be discussed at a landmark meeting in Geneva this December.

The Global Refugee Forum (GRF) will bring together governments, international organizations, local authorities, civil society, the private sector, host community members and refugees themselves with the aim of easing the burden of hosting refugees for host communities, boosting refugee self-help and reliance, and increasing opportunities for resettlement. Education and jobs are critical to the successful integration of refugees to host communities and can lead to win-win outcomes for both sides.