WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE CZECH - news journal UPDATE - (en) Czech, AFED: Rabia Caracol Enclave (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 In the center of Tijuana, less than a kilometer from the San Ysidro port

of entry and a few blocks from the city's most popular nightlife and
tourist areas, migrants rest on the steps of a cafe while passers-by
lean against the bar and sip what may be the best and cheapest espresso
in town. ---- The cafe, called Enclave Rabia Caracol, is run by a
collective that is guided by anarchist values - the pursuit of
non-hierarchical relationships, autonomy, mutual aid and self-determination.
"The Enclave was founded on anarchist principles," says Betania, a
longtime volunteer and supporter of the project. "It rejected any kind
of authority or hierarchy and constantly tried to maintain its anarchist
principles and defend itself as an anarchist space."

The five-story building (including the basement and roof spaces) hosts
various projects on any given day, and dozens of people walk through its
open doors. "We have a cafe, a community kitchen where we prepare food
for free. In the basement we have a community bike shop and a space for
events, exhibitions, theater," explains Nat, a long-time organizer and
member of the Enclave collective. "We're trying to make the space
available to the community to use as they see fit."

Due to the aggressive US border militarization policy, Tijuana has
become a gathering place for migrants trying to reach the US through
Mexico; many of them get stuck in Tijuana and are in desperate need of
help. Since its inception (albeit in a slightly different form) in the
fall of 2015, Enclave has offered support to migrants and other people
living on the streets of Tijuana.

"Those who seek out our free services are mostly people who have been
deported from the United States," explains Nat. "They make up a large
portion of the homeless population in Tijuana. Also some migrants who
are stuck in Tijuana because of the 'Remain in Mexico' policy. These are
mostly people in need, who come here to use the toilet, use the
Internet, drink water, and eat."

But the Enclave isn't just a center for migrants and others in need -
it's also a space for creativity, experimentation and the exchange of
radical political ideas. Drag shows, reading groups, lectures, film
screenings and workshops on topics outside the political mainstream are
held here. At such events, those who come to the space primarily for
resources often stay to engage in discussion with those who come for
politics or to enjoy the safe space.

"The people who go to shows and who organize events are, I would say,
mostly punks and feminists and people from the LGBT community who have
also found a safe space where they know they're going to be respected no
matter what," she says Nat.

Enclave provides its services without the support of governments or
large foundations. They get by mostly on donations and fundraisers
organized by the same small group of people who work every day to keep
the doors open. "It's a project that has a lot of expenses," Nat
explains, mostly paying the rent. "Because we're paying rent, it's not a
squat."

The Enclave provides free food and drinking water to those who stop by
during the week. In Tijuana, drinking water is purchased in five-liter
canisters and is included in the center's operating costs.

"Also, our electricity bill has been crazy for the past few months," Nat
recounts. "None of our projects actually generate that much revenue, so
we rely on donations and volunteer work to keep us going." Enclave grew
out of Food Not Bombs, an international network of collectives committed
to serving free food to anyone who needs it, sometimes from 2015 to
2017. In the fall of 2015, Food Not Bombs Tijuana, or Comida No Bombas
as it is known there, began leasing a small commercial space north of
the Enclave's current headquarters in downtown Tijuana. The space was
small, but it hosted various events, lectures and reading groups, as
well as serving as a center for free food distribution. It wasn't called
Enclave yet, but the project already existed there in its embryonic form.

In late 2016, the group of people organized around Food Not Bombs moved
into the larger building that Enclave now occupies. After initial
confusion and, of course, conflicts, the Enclave finally emerged in
early 2017.

In 2017 and 2018, the Enclave was shaped and reshaped under the pressure
of the migrant caravan wave that hit Tijuana. Chris, one of the founders
of the Enclave, explained that the space hosted press conferences and
provided other small support to the first caravans of about 50 people
long before this practice of collective migration became headline news
in the US.

These early caravans were rather pilgrimages, as Chris explained, called
the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross), where groups of migrants and people
involved in spiritual movements for social justice traveled together in
a highly symbolic gesture of resistance against oppressive border
policies. By 2018, these campers had grown into the thousands, and the
Enclave had become a major hub of hospitality, especially for queer and
transgender campers: "A group of 500 people arrived first, and that was
the first 'big' camper of 2018," explains Chris. "Had trouble submitting
an application[for asylum], so camped in Chapparal, which is the port of
entry closest to the Enclave. So we organized with them the
establishment of a temporary camp right on the border."

This camp lasted a week before all the asylum seekers in the caravan
were cleared by US Customs and Border Protection or moved to other
locations in Tijuana.

"It was the first big community need that the Enclave was very helpful
in, but there were also a lot of other organizations around that time
that started coming together," says Chris.

Since then, the caravans have continued to grow, and so has the
Enclave's effort to support them. "The caravan that followed was I think
five thousand," continues Chris, "so it was something completely
different. And what preceded this caravan was the contingent of the LGBT
caravan, which numbered 80-90 people."

The Enclave hosted the LGBT contingent for a few days or a week before
the group moved on to another sanctuary. It was the Enclave's first
experience offering shelter to a large group of people in dire need, and
it was an experience that taught her a lot. "I think it was difficult
for everyone," assesses Chris. "A lot of people with a lot of different
needs that we weren't able to meet."

Larger nonprofits then stepped in and began supporting LGBT migrants in
Tijuana, while smaller community groups, including groups organized by
and for migrants, continued to work to alleviate the vast amount of
suffering caused by US border policies.

The caravans acted as a catalyst for the emergence of radical and
community organizations in Tijuana, many of which began in the Enclave
before growing and moving into their own spaces. "I think it's mainly
because of the Enclave that other activities have been born," believes
Chris. "Many collectives or organizations were created due to the fact
that people gathered there and then moved to do different things in the
world. I see that as a real inspiration."

Nearly a decade since its inception in a small space in an alley in
downtown Tijuana, Enclave continues to host events, distribute food to
the needy, and incubate radical projects and ideas. In a borderland that
has become dangerous and violent due to US policy, it offers a respite
from daily violence as well as a vision of a world without borders.

"It was important for us to create such a safe space," says Nat. "It was
hard. We just wantedx, given that the rest of society is so violent in
different ways, to be a safe space where anyone can come and take a
break from not only the sun and hunger, but the violence that we're
forced to live with every day."

VIDEO
Source:
https://unicornriot.ninja/2024/inside-enclave-rabia-caracol-an-anarchist-community-center-and-cafe-in-tijuana-mexico/

Translation of a report from an anarchist community center and cafe in
Tijuana, Mexico

https://www.afed.cz/text/8196/enclave-rabia-caracol
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