My Migration Story
Storyboard Text
- There have been any economic issues in Chiapas, Mexico. Including poverty, public insecurity, lack of resources and services, lack of education, and many dangers like crimes, drug wars, and lack of security.
- Anything Helps
- s
- Hi, my name is Valentina Hernandez, and this is my eldest brother Santiago. We both live with our grandparents in Chiapas Mexico. However, our lives here in Chiapas hasn't been very great.
- Mijos I don't think that you guys are safe living here.
- We have planned to send you with our neighbors to go to Los Estates Unidos
- WHAT?!
- It was a good idea for us to leave from all of Mexico's conflict, but Mexico was our home. We especially didn't want to leave our grandparents here. What would they do without us?
- Sorry mijo but we are too old to come with you.
- Why don't you guys just come with us?
- The plan was to walk with our neighbors la familia Martinez to the United States. When we end up at the border, we would find our relatives who live in the U.S, and then go through the process to get a "green card"
- Go with los Martinez and find your tia Ana and tio Diego, who live in Los Estates Unidos.
- We had no choice so the next day we packed up whatever we could take with us, and went off to our neighbors house.
- Our family hasn't always had money, but Santiago and I have had many jobs, enough for us to support our family. The family Martinez on the other hand, have a bit more than enough to provide food, clothing, and housing for their family. Mexicos conflict has affected many families especially the Martinez family. Mr. Martinez worked with the government until he got fired due to the governments debt after the war.
- Hola Santiago and Valentina!
- Hi I'm Maria and this is my brother Luis
- Since we were six people, Mr. Martinez had to get two taxis to drive us as close to the United States as possible.
- TAXI
- After driving for hours, the drivers told us that this was as far as they could go. So they ended up dropping us off on the road, making us walk the rest of the way. However, we were not that prepared for what was coming...
- TAXI
- Well, we are moving to the United States so Maria and Luis are safe with a better education.
- We ended up starting our walking journey in Tamaulipas, Mexico. As we were walking, we realized that we are running short on food. According to our maps, we still have about 180 miles left until el Rio Grande in Texas.
- So, what are your plans to do in the United States?
- It's also safer for us to live there than in Chiapas.
- We were forced to migrate, but I guess to help us have a better life, and escape from poverty.
- After walking for hours, we took a break. We ate some food, drank some water, and took a small nap. We had to do what we could to give us energy for the rest of our journey.
- For days, we walked countless hours and had very little rest. Until we finally arrived to el Rio Grande. We were so close, all we needed to do was cross the river and get our green card.
- We made it!
- We saw that there were many people crossing the border from many different areas of Mexico. When we went in the water, we realized how strong the current was. It was so strong that is almost washed Luis away. Gladly we were able to catch him in time.
- Luis!
- Papi!
- After our long journey of driving, walking, and swimming, we finally made it to the station in Texas for our visas and green cards. Good thing we had the qualifications (including a relative living in the US) to get our green cards.
- Fill out these forms with your relatives to apply for a green card. However, it will take months to get it if you're accepted in.
- We said our goodbyes to la familia Martinez and parted our ways...for now. After our journey to get to the U.S, we finally made it to our relatives house. We still had a lot to do to finish the application process.
- Years later, we end up being accepted and now live in our own places. Living our new best life. We do still communicate with the Martinez and do what we can to help our grandparents.
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