Today, we’re sharing just a few incredible resident stories, as part of a longer series from our Case Manager, Lily Dayanim. Lily is a talented photographer and digital storyteller who took the time to interview Casa residents and hear about their often terrifying, challenging and inspiring journeys to the United States. Each story is unique, yet every story is bound together by the fight, hope and struggle for a better life in the United States.
To read more resident stories, visit Lily’s Instagram: @lilydayanim_photography
“We had to leave because the government was after my father. What happened was that he was driving his car without a license and got into an accident. He was okay, but the woman in the other car was killed, and she was one of the president’s daughters. We had to leave very soon after that. We flew to Brazil and spent seven months in a favela in Rio de Janeiro called Barros Filho. In the favela, there were young children always walking around with guns ready to shoot. For money, people would resell items they had robbed on the street. If you told them you would not buy anything, they would shoot you. Just like that.” – Chedrine, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
“In Reynosa we were not let through with our documents so we went to the immigration office. They refused to help us and so we went back to our hotel in the town center. There we met a man who claimed to be a coyote. He said he could smuggle me and my friend across the U.S. border for $6,000 each. We did not have the money, so we said no. It turned out that the man worked for the mafia. The next day, he robbed us of everything we owned, stripped us naked, and stabbed my friend with a knife. Then the police showed up. At first I was relieved, but then I realized the police were working with the mafia and came to get their cut of the money. After that, I immediately got on a bus to Matamoros because Reynosa was too dangerous, especially for a black man.” – Fishaye, Eritrea
“One day, I was going grocery shopping with my mom. On the way, I was kidnapped by the military police. They put a bag over my head and took me into their van. They told me that sometime soon they would kill me, chop me into pieces, and put my remains in a bag deep in the forest. I was scared because I had seen a lot of transgender women disappear in my town. So, that day, I left.” – Sadie, Honduras
“In the jungle, I got an infection from a small insect. I did not think it was a big deal, but when I got to the U.S. they told me it was a very serious infection called leishmaniasis. After diagnosing me, they sent me to detention for two months without treatment. The infection started spreading but they told me that it was normal and the infection would go away on its own. Then, lymph nodes started to appear on my hand. That’s when they finally booked me an appointment to see the dermatologist. The doctor told me that the infection was spreading towards my heart and becoming fatal. He gave me a cheap drug to take. He said that there were better drugs, but the government wouldn’t pay for them so I had to take five times the normal dosage. After four months, I had seen the dermatologist just twice. On the 25th of September, I was released on parole. They said the reason was that the government no longer wanted to spend money on me. So, I had to go.” – Jona, Cameroon
Thank them for sharing their stories with us and to you for taking the time to document them!
Thank you for sharing these powerful stories with us. As an ESL teacher with over 10 years of experience working in the community, I would love to begin volunteering at casa Marienela in the near future.
Agree, thank them for sharing their lives with us. They are amazing and brave people. In awe of the journey they took and. so happy they found refuge there. And thank you Sonia for making it possible for us to learn more.