PAY THE FEDERALES AND GET LOST

DE TIERRA BLANCA NADA

    The group of 14 traveled by train or by bus, without any luggage, aiming to look and act like locals. They are split into small groups by the coyote, who would also give advise and pep talks to the group before each stop. The 14 trusted their well being to Coyote without question, even if they only met him the day they departed their country. If an unknown person approached any of them and quietly mentioned Coyote’s name, they instantly followed his instructions blindly and trusted their life to the coyote representative. For no one had any idea of who the coyote knew in this journey, but it was evident that the coyote had knowledge, contacts and means way beyond any of them.

Therefore, when Alicia received word to get off the train in the next stop at the Distrito Federal, she did not hesitate. Her instructions were to say if asked, she was a local from Tierra Blanca. So she exited the train, and tried to follow the rest of the pack. She soon realized she had nervously rushed ahead of  the slower moving part of the group, and was behind the faster moving group ahead. She thought, I’m between both groups, better speed up and catch up with the lead group.

She heard someone say, Usted detengase, ordering her to stop. She ignored him twice, but he caught up and tapped her shoulder.

-Oiga, le estoy hablando! Sus documentos. De donde viene? He said as he stopped her cold. It was a Federal, she guessed because of his shiny shield.

-De Tierra Blaancaaaa, she replied trying to mimic the local accent as best she could. It was not good enough.

-Usted no viene de Tierra Blanca nada, usted viene de Honduras. Documentos ahora. 

Just like that, Alicia was hopelessly trapped. Her accent had not been successful at all, she was not making it to second base with this Federal. Quietly but forcefully, he demanded her documents now.

-Es que yo no tengo papeles… she mumbled, as the rest of the group ahead continued their exit and avoided looking back at her. I have no papers.

-Como? Viaja sola ? Con quien anda?  What?, alone? who is travelling with you?
Alicia thought, I’m going to left here, what am I going to do, no one is going to help me…Her ears were ringing, she was freezing and burning at the same time. Time stopped. At the same time, she became completely aware of the surroundings. 

She did not replied in words, her eyes and lips pointed the Federal towards the second group as they continued on their way out of the station. She rolled her eyeballs once, twice, to make it clear without a word. The Federal caught on and quickly stopped three more of her group, those who had the misfortune of walking the slowest. It was her friend Alita, and a husband and wife couple that always walked together.

-Detenganse. Sus documentos ahora.

Alita found courage from who knows where, and instantly became the leader.

-No tenemos documentos, cuanto quiere?, How much? she said, instantly taking charge and becoming the lead negotiator. The Federal may have liked this, for he was alone and they were all in the center of a train station in the Distrito Federal no less, and surrounded by travelers oblivious to this incident. He looked at Alicia, who murmured –no tengo plata- as if hinting not to ask for too much. He looked at each, assessing the possibilities, looking for clues, and finally said,

-300 for todos. They looked at each other. Alita winked at Alicia.

-Y mas nadie nos va a detener? No tenemos plata para seguir pagando todo el camino! Alita said, in a no nonsense manner.

-300 y se me desaparecen antes de que cuente a tres, the federal said convincingly. After all, no one else had come to join the Federal. Without attracting attention, women quietly put their hands into their brassieres, and came up with the 300 in a second. Alita handed him a crumpled handful of bills, looking at his eyes.

-Se me pierden, ya. Get lost, now.

As the federal quietly instructed them to get lost, he also turned around as to lose sight of them faster. On cue, they turned and rushed towards the exit. Together they walked out without any idea which way to go, but in perfect coordination. Alicia just followed them instantly at each and every turn; they moved as if they were one.

Outside they slowed down a little as they distanced the station, in relief, then in disbelief. No one was more shocked than Alicia, who had seemingly just survived a Federal encounter, without any money or ransom. She had given away three of her friends, did they realize this as they negotiated payment of the bribe? To this day, Alicia feels she had no choice, she did what she had to do, she is without remorse.
Down the block, a guy runs to join them. Once he says the magic phrase –Coyote sent me, he watched the whole thing-, together they grab a taxi to the bus station. They catch a bus to the designated hotel, where the group of 14 meets again.
The mood is cautiously celebratory, everyone is too nervous to lay back, there is a long way in front of them all. In the large hotel room they eat together, shower and prepare to leave next day. The next stop, Guadalajara would be fortunately uneventful, just an overnight stop on the way to the important destination, Tijuana.

AL VS LA BESTIA TRAIN AND THE WIDOW

TO STAY OR NOT TO STAY?

You would have thought that after risking his life to get to the US, now that everything was starting to look good, Al would not have seriously considered returning back home. I figured I would not, but what do I know? 

Al had finally made it to Miami, where he a had a few relatives. He now could spend holidays with family, and they certainly were eager to invite him at any and all family events. For charming Al was the life of the party. He was liked by adults and children, he was liked by co-workers… everyone loved the guy! He helped people on the bus, in the neighborhood, at work. He would come from work, and go help someone paint their home, or help them move, whatever.
Al was chased off the train La Bestia by Federales (he guesses); he and some buddies had to jump off the train into bushes of spines, thorns and prickles, where horse-riding Federales would not follow them. About riding the train,"la bestia", you don’t wish that kind of hell on anyone. To start with, you have to run to catch the train, grab a handle and jump up into a wagon. Of course, you only get one chance of doing this right, and no training. Then, you get to ride on top of the wagons, and sleep there too. You tie yourself to the roof, because some fall asleep and fall off. Some guys take turns sleeping, to protect the rest of the group. Someone has to watch obstacles and Federales. You could lose everything you have by falling asleep in front of the wrong crowd, even if you don't fall off.
Having jumped into prickles bushes to escape federales, hardly able to walk, having lost all possessions, Al was fortunately not left behind by his buddies. He would have to remain in hiding in the general vicinity, until able to chase the train again, in order to continue his trip. Turns out, all of them having dispersed at the escape, cautiously started returning to the area. Those without any money had to beg for food, steal clothes from clothesline, shower in rivers, move and hide until who knows when.
Al befriended a woman selling fast food in the street, for days frequenting her taco stand, until having charmed her and won her trust, she took the whole gang into her home. He appears to have won her trust, soon right into her bedroom, right into her bed. The widow  even gave him the clothes of deceased Mr. Fastfood; he was the right size in many ways, apparently. Anyway, you know where this episode is leading to, and it does go there.
In Miami, after a string of temporary jobs, he found a pretty steady stream of jobs doing construction work. So he learned – on the job – a little carpentry, a little masonry. He did what he was told to do, arrived on time, brought his own tools, worked hard, stayed out of trouble. Got in great shape, thanks to his line of work. He even picked up some English skills, and often would speak realistic English-sounding gibberish with a straight face, to everyone’s amusement.
Back home, all were appreciative of the money he sent generously and pretty consistently. I wondered, isn’t that what he hoped to accomplish in the US? Everyone agreed that he could not provide for his loved ones working back home, not like the money he made over here… and the thing is, Al already made it over here! No more risks involved ( well, ok, no more life-threatening risks ).
We all miss Al. Buddy, I raise my Corona to you, cheers!    

He had previously spent some time in Texas, where he never felt comfortable walking the streets. But he did find work and appreciation at his new job. Mind you, that's without speaking English! Afterwards, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he also found work, but he did not like the town. Throughout these periods, he sent most of his money to his ex-wife to support their two kids, and to his mother.
Once I asked him how did he decide to come to the US, and he explained that after a night of binge drinking with his buddies, someone dared him. The next morning a few of them were still talking about doing it, and he decided to go too. He left his wife some of his money, so he says, packed a bag, met his friends and off they went. About a year later, he made it to Miami.

As you would expect, for these migrants a lot of horror stories take place while crossing Mexico. That’s what you heard, right? But some of the most generous, charitable acts happen in Mexico too, and we hardly hear about those. 

One day, Al and the backhome gang (now joined by a local) sneak out in the middle of the night, hop onto la Bestia once more... putting an end to the honeymoon of Mr. Charming Passerby and the generous widow Ms. FastFood.

Fast forward to months later, skip Texas, skip NYC, and skip DC… 

Occasionally he would get drunk, and I mean DRUNK, this guy could drink. Problem is, he mixed any liquor and beer freely, to predictable results. It was at those moments where he would break down, and cry at his fortune, of missing everything he left behind…  His ex-wife was still in communication with him, and waited for his return, and he missed their children.

One day, around Christmas time, he announced he was returning home, that he would walk right into the immigration office and turn himself in. He gave away his tools and possesions, sent some money home, said goodbye to everybody, and just like that, he left. 

START OF AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRIP

   FIRST POST...       

     I aim to respectfully present these illegal / undocumented migration tales of crossing the U.S. southern border, told from the subject's own voices, and will try not to judge subjects nor acts (if such objectivity were possible). I can make no claim about how factual these stories are; there is no way to know for sure which details are embellished or left out… so I will use my best judgment and will try to stick to "common sense". 
     These chronicles are not meant to be fiction stories, and I don't intend to publish someone else's fictional accounts. I mean to avoid publishing stories when I think said stories are fantasies.

     To protect the privacy of  friends who have generously trusted in me, of course their real names will be changed. Also, in the interest of keeping the action moving and the tales short, stories' details may not necessarily  be completely complete or factual. Places and dates may be changed if necessary. However, the main points of each story remain as told.
     The author has made no promise to those who chose to tell their stories, other than the promise to allow their story to be told without harm. 
     I have learned to admire the character and quiet determination of these chronicles' principals, and it is my sincere desire that in reading these stories, others get to meet and understand them too… 

ALICIA's STORY,  part 1

    It’s hard to tell whether Alicia’s decision to migrate was an act of courage or naiveté. She certainly had no bright she future at home, was going through marital problems, she certainly wanted to find a way to turn her life around and feed her five children… but she really had not really thought about emigrating, and had no concrete foundation to do so. In her world, women could aspire at most to a maquiladora factory job, sewing for export, jeans, underwear, shirts, sneakers… men could aspire to Chiquita Banana or Dole’s type of farming. You know, good jobs with a future and retirement!  Alicia had no future, no money, no skills, no plans. In general, she is not an aggressive type but rather passive, not determined but hesitant, more of a pessimist than a optimist. Events - or fate- had conspired to entice her.

Alita, a female friend of moderate means, had decided to take the trip. Alita’s mom convinced Alicia to accompany her daughter, gave Alicia a little cash for the trip, and arranged with a local coyote to be kind enough to make space for Alicia. Alita's family would pay part of the coyote's fee, and would use their influence or credit to convince the coyote to accept Alicia, at some kind of reduced rate. Tati, an old friend now living in the states, encouraged Alicia further by offering to pay part of the coyote’s fee, and to take Alicia in once she arrived in US. Tati was doing well, in addition to her hotel cleaning job she sold gold jewelry and brand clothes to her friends and co-workers. Back home, Alicia’s mom would help and watch for the kids, raising the grandchildren as she did her own children. There were no jobs left behind, factory  kind of employment were not Alicia's destiny. As people start announcing their migration, no one tries to convince you not to go: there is no argument to be made. Everyone accepts that you must leave if you can, and accepts your departure sadly, probably wishing it was their departure.       

Once the constellations aligned in her favor, Alicia, a most unlikely candidate to emigrate, the least prepared potential candidate in town, was indeed off to the USA. She would not see her mom or children again in over 12 years. Her youngest child, 2 years old, would grow up with only a faint memory of her biological mother. Her oldest female who always had the closest bond to Alicia, would marry and have two children on Alicia's absence. Her oldest male, about 12 at the time, was left to raise himself, finding room and food at home but nothing else. He would himself make an unannounced entrance into USA about 10 years later. No one reminded Alicia she might not see them again, it was something left unsaid. 

The trip from Central America to California would take Alicia a few months. Cash funds only lasted a few days. She was really lucky, she explained.

     (to be continued)