Our History
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Casa Marianella opened its doors on January
6, 1986. The Austin Interfaith Task Force for Central America initiated
the project in response to the arrival in Austin of refugees fleeing
from Central America. Marianella Garcia Villas, for whom the house
is named, was a human rights lawyer in El Salvador who was slain by
death squads in 1983. The actual building used as the Casa was donated
by developer Ed Wendler to the Diocese of Austin for use as a shelter.
As the wars in Central America began to resolve
in the late 1980’s, Casa began to serve less refugees and more immigrants.
The clients of Casa Marianella arrive from the following countries:
Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Cuba, and Nicaragua. Priority
is still given to political refugees, and there have been occasional
clients from as far away as Bosnia and Africa.
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| Casa Marianella’s history has
mirrored the history of immigrants in Texas during the 1985-2000 period.
As the wave of political refugees in the mid 1980’s dissipated, an
economic crisis hit Texas. Oil and housing prices dropped dramatically,
and unemployment for workers in contruction industries was very high.
During this period, immigrants had a hard time finding work and there
was resentment of immigrants refected in public attitudes. As the
economy of Austin has gone from recovery to its current boom, work
availability has increased steadily. Immigrants now enjoy good access
to work opportunities.
In October, 1998 a hurricane hit Central America.
Honduras was particularly hard hit, with large areas completely washed
into the ocean. Many Hondurans were left homeless, and a tremendous
number of jobs were lost. The gigantic Chiquita banana plant was totally
destroyed. In the aftermath of this disaster, thousands of Hondurans
headed north to find work in the United States. During this period,
Casa Marianella had a policy of turning away no hurricane victims.
At times even the dining room was filled with mattresses.
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