Cesario Lobos Fajardo is a student with the NPH International Leadership Institute in Seattle. His story was told with the help of Katie Hultquist, Northwest Regional Director for NPH USA, a Global Washington member.
MANY were outraged last week over the news that up to 400 unaccompanied children are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally every day, most from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Many people have focused on immigration policy, border control and what to do with these kids. But I can’t stop thinking about why my young compatriots in Guatemala are making this difficult and dangerous journey in the first place.
I can remember how difficult my life was growing up in Guatemala. Alcohol abuse and domestic violence in my family made me unhappy and afraid. I had to work, even when I was only 6 years old.
I was sad, hurt, confused, and one day I remember sitting alone at the bus station for hours. Finally, when it was getting dark, I began walking. I still remember those steps as the longest in my life. I ended up at a police station, and the next day a judge sent me to Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH), which is Spanish for “our little brothers and sisters.”
Guest: Life for Children on the Other Side of the Border
http://seattletimes.com | By Cesario Lobos Fajardo | June 26, 2014