Guatemala / Mexico: Radio spots in indigenous languages with “Practical Advice for Migrants”

FGER recording studio. Through the radio spots in indigenous languages, the ICRC aims to reach more communities in the region. Image: courtesy of FGER

Every year, hundreds of people leave their home communities in Mexico and Central America to embark on an uncertain journey in search of a better future. To help make them less vulnerable, the ICRC has helped to produce a series of radio spots with Practical Advice for Migrants in various indigenous languages.

To cater for the linguistic diversity of the region's population, these radio spots have been translated into the Náhuatl, Mixteco and Tzotzil languages of Mexico and the Q'eqchi', Mam, Kaqchikel, K'iche' languages of Guatemala. Through these translations, we aim to reach more communities and contribute to the protection of migrants by providing information in their own languages.

The translation and production of the audios has been carried out with the support of the National Institute of Indigenous Languages in Mexico (INALI) and the Guatemalan Federation of Radiophonic Schools (FGER).

The radio spots offer practical advice to prevent accidents, illnesses or loss of contact with loved ones, plus emergency phone numbers and the locations of assistance points. The Practical Advice for Migrants, and the humanitarian action of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Movement, do not seek either to prevent or encourage migration. The aims is to meet some of the basic needs of these people and help to protect them along the migration route.

Download the radio spots in indigenous languages: