“Al año nos devolvemos para México” is the phrase of many immigrants who decide to stay in the U.S. because they have made progress
There are countries where socio-economic problems are abundant. Countries where cities are devastated by violence, famine and need. Such is the case of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and in this case, Mexico. Now, my dear reader, you can imagine what these problems are like in rural life? in places where commonly the presence of the State is scarce if not non-existent? on many occasions this is the reality of Central and Latin American countries. Where economic inequalities are more pronounced in these rural places, thanks to the oblivion of a society that believes that its peasants are not indispensable to subsist in the big cities.
That is why when people from the countryside have the opportunity to leave the country, they do so without hesitation, they do so without thinking about the risk they may run, only believing in the firm conviction that there, on the other side of the wall (Mexico - USA), they can ease their economic burdens and achieve not only economic but also psychological stability.
She is Hortencia, who decided to come with her husband to the United States bringing a backpack with a pair of underwear, a T-shirt, a pair of pants, and many, many illusions. Initially they wanted to come for a year to save money, and to be able to pay some debts they had in Mexico, and then to live quietly in the countryside, with no one or anything to disturb their tranquility; but it has been twenty years since then and they are still in the United States.
She is Hortencia an old Mexican farmer who has invited us to her home to tell us about her experience crossing the Mexican-American border. Mrs. Torres meets us at her home, a beautiful two-story building in northern New Jersey almost on the border with New York City. The first impression upon entering your home is one of cleanliness, order and some silence. We all take off our shoes at the entrance of the house as is the custom in American homes. Right in front of the main door, there are two stairs, one leading to the second floor, and the other going down to the lower floor of the house.
Once inside, in the distance you can hear "hola bienvenidos" with an unmistakable Mexican accent, despite the fact that she has been living far from her roots for twenty years. Behind the voice, there appears instantly upstairs a woman, 150 centimeters tall, with black, wavy hair, thick but small hands, and barefoot, like everyone else in the house, Mrs. Torres.
After sharing homemade tacos with the pastor, as I haven't done since I left my country, the occasional vegetarian taco by our non-meat eating friends, and entering into trust, my team and I set up the first floor of the house to do our interview. In front of me and in different chairs sit xxxx, Junior as they call their son because he is named the same as his father, Raimundo his husband, and Janet his other daughter. All of them staring at me as if it were an interrogation. After asking their permission to record our conversation, Mrs. Torres, who has her hands interlocked, begins: "It was only his cousin and uncle (referring to Raimundo, her husband) who told us to come with them."
How long ago was that? Twenty-two years ago...
Didn't you have Janet (your daughter)?
No, I was pregnant. But I didn't tell my husband because he wouldn't bring me. - Laughs - I told him I was two months pregnant, but I was five - the laughs came back - I've always been like that, chubby (referring to her thick build) and I couldn't see anything (...)
So they decided to come together, it was a unanimous decision?
Yes, my father-in-law is the type who says that marriage should be together. If the man eats meat, the woman eats it, and if the man eats beans, the woman eats them. So he said if you leave, the day you want to leave, you take your wife. So that's why we came.
How did you guys get across the border?
We walked for about ten minutes in the desert, right? she asks her husband, then we passed a Parkway where on the other side of the road there was someone signaling yes and no (while making a brief movement from right to left explaining how the person mentioned was doing) because migración was passing and passing (she repeats the same movement with her arms) and when migración moved away they signaled. We passed the road, got into a car, and drove to Los Angeles. We left through Mexicali (that trip could have taken at least three hours).
This border crossing, different from what is believed, did not have dramatic parts as it is usually seen in movies and as it tends to be generalized. Of course, this case is one in a million where you also go through difficulties. However, the Torres family's trip was by bus from their hometown to Mexico City, from there a flight to Tijuana and finally they arrived at their departure ticket which was in Mexicali in a car that would drive them to Los Angeles California where according to Hortencia they had a week to make cars before moving to New Jersey where they currently reside. Before, you didn't suffer, it was super easy. In fact - continues Hortencia - many people say that they come in the trunk, or uncomfortable. No, I came sitting in a van and they sat me in the back, and they took the seat out of the way to give more space, right? there were like four people who did come lying down, and there were like two or three who came sitting down.
As he continues his story, I am encouraged to know that this is not the typical case where those who cross the border do so in extreme conditions, where human dignity and even their lives are at risk. The newspapers are infested with stories of migrants being found in parts of carts, crammed into a cargo van for several days, or even drowned, as is the very famous case of the father and daughter who were found that day, June 24, 2019, in the muddy waters of the Rio Bravo.
What all stories have in common, from the "easiest" to the most difficult, is the desire to be better, to move forward, to keep going, and this many people do not know. In many cases it is the ultimate expression of despair, of fear, of uncertainty about what is to come. I escape from my thoughts to return to Mrs. Torres' story...
Everything was super comfortable, they treated us super well, they gave us all three meals. Very quiet.
What was it like to face the language barrier?
I never really had to use the language much even when my daughter was born because I always had someone to help me. My brother-in-law's wife was American, so she always helped me with all the procedures in the clinic and she was always there.
And although Hortencia never felt discriminated against or segregated even when working with people who only spoke English, the thought of not fitting in and her discomfort when invited to"American" style events has always been present until now.