For many years I thought that if I wanted to share my story it would mean that I’d be jeopardizing my life in this country. Tonight I changed my mind. It all started with a simple everyday need, to go get dinner, without thinking twice my husband and I agreed to go to the taco stand for a simple meal. When we got there we went through the normal ordering process and since we asked for a to-go meal it was given to us by a man who when you first glance at him you would just ignore. You can imagine my surprise when I noticed that he followed us all the way to the car. That was the turning point of what led me here. You see, this man noticed that we spoke Spanish to each other, and at the first opportunity he saw he did not waste anytime in expressing his need.
He was in this country undocumented. His name is Reynaldo,* he is from Chiapas, Mexico and is here looking for a job. He then proceeded to tell us that his wife and children were waiting in Laredo trying to make it here to be reunited once again. He has been helping the people at the taco stand for no money and in return they provide for him a place to sleep. This man was pouring out his heart and I immediately noticed the sincerity and humbleness in which he spoke. Then it hit me, he was asking us for help yet we are all here under the same circumstances; undocumented. I have been in this country for 15 years always fighting really hard to get ahead and after all these years I have grown accustomed to this way of life that I had forgotten the needs people like myself face.
Reynaldo* in the brief 3 minutes we spoke with him was able to awaken me from my somber, he made me realize that there is others just like him, people who tried their best to get ahead in their own country that after so many years of strife they decided to try their luck somewhere else. His sacrifice reminded me of someone’s I had almost forgotten; my parents. Stories like his deserve a voice; stories like mine need to be heard. I will no longer be a bystander in my own life. No matter the cost, no matter the criticism, no matter the intolerance, I will share with the world a glimpse of the lives of those who are forced to live in the shadows. The time of silence is over…
He was in this country undocumented. His name is Reynaldo,* he is from Chiapas, Mexico and is here looking for a job. He then proceeded to tell us that his wife and children were waiting in Laredo trying to make it here to be reunited once again. He has been helping the people at the taco stand for no money and in return they provide for him a place to sleep. This man was pouring out his heart and I immediately noticed the sincerity and humbleness in which he spoke. Then it hit me, he was asking us for help yet we are all here under the same circumstances; undocumented. I have been in this country for 15 years always fighting really hard to get ahead and after all these years I have grown accustomed to this way of life that I had forgotten the needs people like myself face.
Reynaldo* in the brief 3 minutes we spoke with him was able to awaken me from my somber, he made me realize that there is others just like him, people who tried their best to get ahead in their own country that after so many years of strife they decided to try their luck somewhere else. His sacrifice reminded me of someone’s I had almost forgotten; my parents. Stories like his deserve a voice; stories like mine need to be heard. I will no longer be a bystander in my own life. No matter the cost, no matter the criticism, no matter the intolerance, I will share with the world a glimpse of the lives of those who are forced to live in the shadows. The time of silence is over…
