The Man From Ethiopia: One Man's Immigration Odyssey
On Sunday, May 29 we went
to Casa Marianella in the Evening because they would be having their monthly
potluck get together. Our goal was to see if Neckson (Central African Republic) and Regeese (Congo) were still there. Neckson is a Mormon and Regeese
was studying the Church. We also wanted to see if we could find Valentin (Angola) who came to church
one time. It didn’t take long and we had reacquainted with all of them, and then
had a bit to eat. We saw Afiwa there too and she was glad to see us.
Soon we found ourselves
seated at a picnic table talking with a man from Ethiopia. We asked him a
little about himself and soon he was telling us the most amazing story of his
immigration to the United States. He had only been in the U.S. for 22 days. But
his journey to get here took 7 months and spanned 19 countries. His wife has
been here for three months and is so common, he is living at Casa Marianella
and she is somewhere else in the city. She was not there. I’ll attempt to
relate his story as best I can.
He never told us his
name, just that he and his wife had fled from Ethiopia in November. They
traveled from Ethiopia with two other men from Eritrea and Somalia, three
countries in the “horn of Africa” region. They had no visas or specific plans
except to keep going no matter what. He said they traveled any way they could;
by bus, by truck, by plane, but mostly on foot, walking thousands of miles to
security, freedom and a new life that would be better than the one they left behind.
The first leg of the
journey took them from Ethiopia to Somalia. Then following the coast line they
made their way south through Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and finally to South Africa. This leg of the
journey was long and very difficult. But compared to what was to come the first
six countries of their odyssey may have been the easiest part of the journey.
 |
| Following the East Coast of Africa |
In South Africa they
were able to get together a stash of money to buy plane tickets to South
America. From Johannesburg, South Africa they flew to Brazil where the trek
would take them through five more countries as they made their way toward
Central America.
 |
| Through 5 more countries in South America |
From Brazil the
small group began to make their way toward the United States, mostly on foot!
Starting in Western Brazil they ventured to Bolivia and Peru but had no time to
visit Machu Pichu or Lake Titicaca. They continued through the mountains to
Ecuador and then on to Colombia where things took a turn for the worse. Because they had no visa
border agents took them into custoday and they spent 45 days in jail.
As if things weren’t bad
enough when the group languished in a Colombian jail for a month and a half,
the worst part of the trek was about to come after their release. From Colombia
they walked for 10 days through the mountainous jungles of Panama. He told us
how hard it was for them to walk through the jungle without even a machete to
chop their way through. He said it was too dangerous for them to be caught
walking on the roads and they slept on the ground at night with no protection
from the elements.
From Panama they made
their way north through Costa Rica which had better roads and was safer for
them than Panama or Colombia. But there was no time to rest and they just kept
going until they reached Nicaragua.
Sneaking into Nicaragua did not go well for this
man. He was captured by government officials and once again found himself in
jail for another 45 days. His wife was not captured though so she kept heading
north on her own. They had no way to communicate for a long time.
After a month and a half
in confinement in
Nicaragua he was released and allowed to go on his way. He
crossed into
El Salvador and then
Guatemala. Finally after over
5 months of
travel he got to
Mexico and started making his way toward southern
Texas, which
was still hundreds of miles away.
The route to the U.S.
through Mexico was only slightly less dangerous than the rest of the trip had
been. Never knowing where to sleep or whether his wife had made it to the
border. He and his two friends had to trust smugglers and coyotes. They could
be captured, killed or robbed at any point. But after several more days they
came to the border and crossed illegally into Texas. They were soon spotted by
U.S. Border Patrol and were arrested. They were taken to a detention center for
men (basically a minimum security prison) in Pearsall, Texas which is about 60
miles south of San Antonio. After processing and several days in Pearsall
waiting to see if they would be deported. He had an immigration hearing, was
checked out medically, given 3 good meals a day and sets of new clothes before
being taken to Austin where he was reunited with his wife. He now stays at the
men’s shelter at Casa Marianella. His wife is staying at the women’s shelter
that is part of Casa, and the two of them are hoping they will soon be given
work permits and they can eventually get refugee status and begin building a
new life. He did tell us though that his pro-bono immigration attorney forgot
to file his application for a work permit so now it will be at least a month
before he can get that and start working. After that his immigration journey
will not be over. If he is given refugee
status it will be another 4 years before he will be able to get a green card
and a few years after that so he can apply for citizenship. But if we are still
a free society, it will have been worth it.
As we parted he emphatically told us how God protected the group so many times and even though they were often in danger, lost or putting their lives in the hands of smugglers. He was grateful to be in the United States and praised God for helping them get here. He was optimistic and looking forward to the new life that he and his wife would have here.
Her name is Fatima and she is American. Born her in the United States.
She lives in a house with her grandmother, her mother, 2 other aunts and a
group of cousins who float in and out of the house. Her grandmother and
the aunts were all born in Republic of the Congo but lived several
years in a refugee camp in a country that was called "Ivory Coast" at the time they
were there but is now called Cote de Voire (French for Ivory Coast). One
day some immigration people came to the camp and told the grandmother,
Odile, that she would be going to the U.S. the following day. They pointed to
her three daughters and said they would go with her. She asked, "What
about my three sons? I can't go without them." They simply told her that
if she wasn't willing to leave the boys then none of them would go. The
boys told her she had to go, not to worry about them, they would be all
right. To this day the family sends money back to the camp to keep the
boys alive. Odile is elderly and speaks almost no English. She does
child care and still carries the babies on her back African style. It is
really much better than doing it American style. The babies or even
toddlers fall asleep, never cry, it doesn't hurt the mother's back and
her arms are free to go about her work. She can bend over without fear
of losing the child and the cloth never comes untied. Most of the folks
we work with still practice lots of African traditions. This is one of
them. The day we visited Odile's house, Odile wasn't there. Fatima's 12 year old sister was babysitting. Fatima brought the large piece of material with an African print on it to me and asked me to help her tie it like her Grandma does so she could carry her baby on her back. So cute I had to take a picture.
