Journey to the States

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SETTING: You live in Juarez Mexico with your family. Your husband's name is Javier and you have two daughters Belén who is 8 and Abril who is 12. Both your daughters perform well in school and you are proud of how they are doing generally. In Juarez your family is considered lower middle class. You live on the outskirts of the city in a small house. The house has two bedrooms a bathroom and a kitchen/living room area. The house is in disrepair mostly because your family does not make enough money to fix it. You are employed as a housekeeper for richer families in Juarez. Some of whom are involved in drug trafficking. You work every day from 7am to 8pm. Your husband works similar hours at a car wash. Being exposed to the soap and water all day cause his hands to dry out, crack and even bleed. There are public schools in Mexico, although they charge for admission each year. This is a great hardship for the family. Each day you and your husband together make about enough money to pay for food the next day without much extra. Inspite of this, you have learned to save a bit each day for your children's admissions to school the next year. However, you are worried you may not be able to continue doing this. [[Next]]

Today you get home from work and go to pick up your kids, who stay with their grandparents down the street after school. After picking them up you and your husband have another discussion about how you're unsure if you will be able to keep the kids in school another year. The idea is presented to go to the United States. This is a risky proposition, since many die crossing the border and there is a lot of hard work to do on the other side if you do make it. You decide that night to… [[A. stay in Mexico for the time being|A. Stay in Mexico for the time being]] [[B. start the process to leave for the United States|B. Start the process to leave for the United States]]

At the bus stop today you are nervous. Usually you ride the bus with your friend Juana who has two little girls like you, but she hasn't shown up for the last few days. You are nervous for her but also for yourself. On the way home at night it is good to have a friend with you. The bus drivers in Juarez have been known to sexually assault women on their buses who are alone. More than this you are losing hope. Everyday by the end of the day you are so exhausted that you think there is no way you can go through this again. The only thing that could make you do it again, is the idea that your kids will never have to go through the same. But you are beginning to realize that even working as hard as you are, your kids will probably end up having to leave school and become housekeepers like you. This thought breaks your heart. Today you decide... [[A. you will stay in Mexico]] [[B. you will start the process to leave for the United States|B. Start the process to leave for the United States]]

Today you hear that Juana's husband has been murdered by the cartel. Juana and her children are gone. You hope that they have escaped but have no way of knowing for sure. Things are getting worse and you are not only scared for your children's future careers but for your families safety. You decide to... [[A. stay in Mexico]] [[B. come to the United States|B. Start the process to leave for the United States]]

YOUR LIFE IN MEXICO: Eventually your grandparents die and it becomes more complicated to get people to watch your kids during the afternoon. Eventually you have to start bringing your daughters to work and they are not able to keep up with schooling. Besides this, fees are getting more expensive and you realize you will only have enough money to send one of your daughters to school the next year. You decide to send your younger daughter back to school because Abril can work with you and earn money to get back to school the next year. A few months later your husband loses his job and things are looking worse than ever. You don't know if you will have the money to get Abril back to school and missing a year will only make the process more difficult. You are uneasy about the future and think that your only hope for your daughters will be getting them to the United States some time in the future. [[Next|Next2]]

"Poor Mexico, So Far From God, So Close To The United States" -Porfirio Diaz Thank you for playing.

You know that obtaining a visa to come to the United States is next to impossible for someone of your economic status. Your only chance is to hire a “pollero” someone who can help your family to cross the border illegally. There are tremendous risks in doing this. When you are in town you can see the hundreds of little white crosses placed next to the border for all those who have died trying to cross. However you know that this is probably the only chance your daughters have at a better life than you have now. You and your husband decide to... [[A. go forward with the plan]] [[B. reconsider and stay in Mexico|A. stay in Mexico]]

Here is an account of your try to cross the border: “On the day of our first try to cross the border, we put on warm, dark clothes, and carried tuna cans, cookies and a water bottle in our little backpacks. The pollero led the way, then me and my sister in the middle, and my dad behind us. The pollero said we would only walk for 3 hours, we ended it up walking for two days. We ran out of water, and my little sister was dehydrating. She had no moisture in her lips and they began to crack and bleed. She could not talk anymore because her throat had closed. We were afraid, hungry, cold, and desperate to make it. Immigration officers caught us on the third day.” Back in Mexico again, your family is trying to recuperate from the events of the last three days. Your husband insists that this is the only chance your daughters have at a better life and it is worth the risk to go again. You consider that if you go again you should maybe leave your youngest daughter Belén with your grandparents until she is a few years older. This is the hardest decision you have ever had to make, but you don't want her to die crossing and it is much more likely that she will if she tries now than in a few years. You will be able to send money back to pay for her school, if all goes according to plan, in a few years she will be able to cross. You decide to… [[A. try to cross the border again without Belén.]] [[B. try to cross the border again with Belén again.]] [[C. stay in Mexico. |A. stay in Mexico]]

You have a few more attempts to cross the border that fail, but eventually you do make it across. Your daughter Abril is in school and your jobs pay enough to keep Belén in school in Mexico. It is hard to be separated from your daughter and you worry constantly that she will not be able to make it up. Also you are living in constant fear of being deported, wheter it be a single member of your family or all of you. The media misrepresents you and you feel like everyone thinks you are a criminal. However these things are a small price to pay for the hope you now have in your children's future. Abril is excelling in school and wants to become a veterinarian. The fact that this is possible is worth more to you than anything else in the world. You hope that soon you will be able to bring Belén up with you but matters are complicating because your parents are sick and may not be around much longer to care for her. When they pass away she will either need to come up or else you an your husband will have to seperate to care for her and Abril one in the US and one in Mexico. [[Next|Next2]]

You have a few more attempts to cross the border that fail, but eventually you do make it across. Your daughter Abril is in school and your jobs pay enough to keep Belén in school in Mexico. It is hard to be separated from your daughter and you worry constantly that she will not be able to make it up. Also you are living in constant fear of being deported, wheter it be a single member of your family or all of you. The media misrepresents you and you feel like everyone thinks you are a criminal. However these things are a small price to pay for the hope you now have in your children's future. Abril is excelling in school and wants to become a veterinarian. The fact that this is possible is worth more to you than anything else in the world. [[Next|Next2]]