Alejandro Valdez, Valdez 1
Instructor: Adrienne Oliver,
ENG 1A,
27 February 2020.
Starting from scratch
It was mid August 2004 in Mexico City. Angeles was sitting in her living room, she could hear the wind blowing, leafs were being dragged all over the ground outside. Even though it was windy, she could feel some warmth. Maybe she didn’t feel warm, maybe it was the anxiety making her feel that way. Angeles was just sitting, sitting still without moving. All the thinking in her head was like if she was moving too fast, yet she wasn’t moving at all. She was analyzing a decision she will soon execute. She had decided to migrate to the United States with her two kids. Alejandro of eleven years of age and Javier of eight years of age. Javier was on board with this decision but Alejandro could not be more against it. Alejandro wanted to be left back with his grandparents. There was no way he was going but Angeles would never allow him to stay. After a year of separating from her husband, Angeles had been looking for a job. She had landed a couple of manufacturer jobs here and there but they were all low paying jobs. Jobs that she had to work graveyard. She felt unsafe working those hours; she didn’t drive, she had to take the bus at those hours of the night. She started to feel a little desperate, anxious, she didn’t know what to do. Angeles is a college graduate; she graduated with a degree in accounting. She worked for big companies handling their finances up until she had her second child. Her age being late thirties at the time, good paying companies would not hire her because of her age. In Mexico, companies don’t want to pay people for retirement; the older you are, the harder it is to land a good paying
Valdez 2
job. Even with a college degree in her hand, as soon as she was asked for her age, she immediately got ejected. Her mother did not want her to leave.
“Don’t go. Me and your dad can help out” said her mother.
“I love you mom, but you’re not always going to be around. I have to do this for my children”
Angeles called her two brothers living in California back in the beginning of the year. She asked them for help. They agreed to help her. They only asked her to be a little patient since it was going to take some time to collect all the money they needed for the crossing of her and her two children. She could not find a better solution at the time so the only thing left to do was to wait.
The crossing
On a Thursday night, Angeles got her family together. She said bye to each one of them, and so did her children. They didn’t know if they would ever be able to see them again since coming back was not really an option. Neither could their family go visit them. Angeles was conscious of the sacrifices she and her children had to make, but in her mind, there was no other way. Come Friday morning, Angeles got up really early and got her children ready. They got one bag which was all that they would be able to take and left for the airport. They flew out to Tijuana. A woman coyote (smuggler) was waiting for them in Tijuana to help them cross the border. They met up around noon. Angeles and her children were really nervous, they had never met this woman before this; they were going to have to trust her to cross them safely. The coyote had decided that it was best to wait until it got darker. The crossing consisted of two parts. Part
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one: Her children would pass through with the coyote in a car claiming they were the coyote’s children. Her kids have been studying the coyotes children's information for months just in case border patrol would ask them who they were. They were ready. Her children pass through without even opening their mouths. It went so smoothly they couldn’t believe that it happened so easily. Part two: Angeles would attempt to pass through walking pretending to be the coyote. This part was where it all failed. She got withhold at a station right at the border line. The patrol officers did not buy her disguise. She was obligated to return to Tijuana. It was night, she felt scared and cold. She didn’t know what to do. She walked back to the airport, where she ended up spending the night. The next day the coyote came back for her. Only after she had delivered Angeles’ children with her brothers. They were going to try another way.
The lady (coyote) handed her over to a more experienced coyote. Angeles had to stay at a hotel in Tijuana while the coyote waited for the best time to try and cross over. There, she met a guy named Mario.
“I have been trying to cross over for a month” Mario told Angeles.
Soon enough that became a problem. Angeles with that information started to feel anxious. She was stuck in Tijuana and her children were hundreds of miles away. Not only that but they were in a whole different country now. Angeles called her brothers.
“I’m going back home. Just send me my kids back. I cannot do this anymore”
Ismael (Angeles brother) calmed her down and told her to be patient. He assured her that everything was going to be ok. After waiting for about a month and two failed tries, she finally went for it and was able to cross over. She felt relieved as soon as she crossed over. In no time,
Valdez 4
she was finally heading over to Oakland to where her kids were located. She was in the car heading to Oakland, she could see the bright sky. She could see a lot of green, everything just seemed perfect at the time, but none of it matter because there was only one thing in her mind: seeing her kids again. Angeles arrived in late September 2004 to Oakland; a place that soon would become home for many many years.
Oakland
Angeles arrived at Oakland, she could not wait to see her kids. A month had already passed since she saw them last. As soon as she saw them she hugged them. Angeles was crying but she wasn’t sad crying, instead, tears were coming out of relief. She was finally with her kids again. This was just the beginning of a new life. This new life was hard at first, Angeles couldn’t find a job. After a month of looking she was finally hired in a restaurant. She had never worked in the restaurant industry; working there was hard for her. Angeles never quit, she had a big inspiration, to give her children a better future.
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