Maria came with her family from Oaxaca to work in Michigan during the
Winter of 1995. Her family was composed of her mother, father and four
brothers. She was seven years old and the smallest of the family. Maria lived
in a small village where she had many friends her age. Her family lived in a
small house but she had plenty of space to run and play around the trees and
forest. The temperature was always warm but with enough breeze to make it
very comfortable. Work was not very easy for Maria's father because he had
to travel many miles to the Socalo to sell his crafts at a small price to the
tourists. Maria's mother had to stay at home to take care of all the children
because baby sitters were not as easy to find in Mexico if you didn't have the
resources.
One day an american farmer offered her father was offered a job in Michigan.
As part of the job agreement he accepted to travel to the United States by car
with all the family. Maria did not like the idea at the beginning because she
would have to leave the place she felt secure, had all her friends, had the
birds and trees to play with, and all that was going to stay back home. After
several weeks they all packed and headed to Michigan. The trip was very
long and all the children got tired very quick.
This forced Maria's father
to stop many times so that the children could stretch and play a little bit.
Trips to the bathroom were also very popular. After several days they arrived
to the border of Mexico. Maria could not comprehend why these men were
so mean to her family and why they asked so many questions. Plus it was the
first time she saw anyone with rifles and machine guns. After several hours
they had permission to cross the border and head to Michigan. Maria had
never been to the states.
She started to see all these signs in English
trying to identify what it said by looking at the pictures was fun for her and
her brothers. At least there was something to do during the long trip. They
traveled for many hours until they made it to Hope, Arkansas to sleep at the
migrant rest stop. There they found a lot of information about the states plus
they received some extra clothes because it was starting to get cold during the
night for her and the family. She had never been to a cold country. Maria
had only seen snow in pictures and television programs. But this was only
one of the many situations she had to face in the United States. The next
morning they woke up and took off to Michigan.
Her father had said
that he would travel all the necessary hours until they made it to Michigan.
The trip was very tough for them because one of their brothers got sick and
they had to stop at one of the hospitals. This was a unique experience for her
family because they did not understand English and nobody at the hospital
knew Spanish. Finally, a patient from Nicaragua heard the ordeal and came
to the rescue. The old man helped serve as an interpreter so that the nurse
could understand that Maria's father did not have health insurance, and
wanted treatment for his son. The boy had a stomach ache and was feeling
dizzy. After several waiting hours the doctor saw Maria's brother and gave
him some medicine.
Once again, they continued the trip to Michigan. It
must have been two o'clock in the morning when they arrived to Benton
Harbor, Michigan. It was very cold, the road was slippery and everyone was
tired. Maria never thought that any place could be so cold. They rented a
motel room and all walked quickly with their things to the place they would
spend the night. What a change, thought Maria. After all the sun and nice
weather. Now she had to get use to this change. She would have to change a
large green field for a room that was ten by ten. For her it felt like another life
in which no child could even go out for a breath of fresh air. Because there
was the worry about child security and plus it was too cold to stay out. The
next morning her father went to work and returned late afternoon.
He
was very tired because he had been shoveling snow all day as part of his work.
Maria's mom suggested going to MacDonalds which had a nice play ground
with many colorful toys and rides for children. They had seen this on
television during the day. Finally her father accepted and they all had lots of
fun. Maria was happy because she had found a place to run, to be free, a place
that reminded her of her place back home.
Now she dreams every day
about this place. Her mother even caught her talking in her sleep. Maria
whispered, Mom Take me To MacDonalds. Her mother burst into tears and
gave Maria a big hug.....