Final post

Nicaraguan Revolutionaries 1987

The setting took place in the third world country of Nicaragua in a small town called La Trinidad, Esteli; the year was 1988 and the country was in the middle of a revolutionary war. Life still had to go on, but there were curfews set in a town that once was covered in streets filled with a simple life was now a maze of bunkers.

 Dora Luz Mairena Suazo born July 20, 1963 to the parents of Dora and Asisclo the second child of five. She was the most unfavorable of the children for not being blonde with colored eyes like her older sister; instead, she was born with dark hair and dark eyes. Her life was full of hardships; growing up on a ranch where livestock was needed to feed the family and pay the bills. Growing up in a third world country was hard enough in its own poverty and war made it nearly impossible to survive.

“I was the one that had to cook and clean. My dad would come home from a full day of being at the ranch and I would have to wash his pants full of dirt and cow manure on a rock by the river.” She said in a somber voice.

Very few people would be able to understand what it was like to grow up and live during a war living in constant fear. Families would be massacred by their surname in their sleep. By morning you would see streams of blood running down the streets and you never knew when your family would be next. One day a family friend came running into the house to warn the Mairena’s their name was next on the hit list, without a second thought, the family gathered what they could and went into hiding, narrowly escaping death.

Fast forward a few years and Dora Luz is 23 years old, sitting in a doctor’s office with a positive pregnancy test. She was unmarried and pregnant, the biggest disgrace a woman could do during those times. This wasn’t planned and didn’t know what to do. Her only option was to tell the father of her unborn child hoping for some comforting words. Marvin was his name, tall, dark with big feet; nothing more is said of him, a time that should bring happiness to couples brought the complete opposite. The way he reacted haunts her to this day, never wanting to go into detail all she would say is he grabbed a knife and tried to stab the unborn child in her womb. She was able to escape from his wrath and once again had another chance at life. She had no one to turn to at this point, she knew she was alone and had to make a decision that would change the rest of her life.

She gathered her life savings which was roughly two hundred American dollars and in that moment decided her homeland had nothing else to offer her and set off to the United States. She would be risking her life and the one of her unborn child with no guarantee of making it to the other side as it was often referred to. She found a coyote which is a person that illegally transports migrants into the US, paid his fee and set off with a group of other people from all over Central America on the same journey to the land of the free.

Dora 7 months pregnant in Miami

What I believe is the most important reason as to why ignoring migration stories can be harmful is respect. It takes a lot of courage to uproot a life and move somewhere that is unknown. It is important to not let the sacrifices that ancestors made to provide an opportunity for their family. These stories should never live in vain and passing them down from generation to generation humbles people. This also creates a bond and determination with families to live and leave a positive legacy. Migration can be easily forgotten if the stories of how families came to settle where they are being lost with time, which can create people to feel privileged and entitled to certain things without realizing that everyone migrated from somewhere for their families.

What I am stating to the community is the goal of someday being able to give my mother a voice and tell her story so it doesn't live in vain. Reading The Distance Between Us gave me the inspiration to write of book of my mothers story and tell the world her courage, strength, and perseverance to create a new life in this country. I want to showcase a positive side to migration, where it can give someone hope in becoming someone regardless of how unwelcoming the government is.

Dora and Nicole(14 months) Christmas 1989