The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Honduran family fled oppression of native country
After four months and 2,791 miles, Belkis Flores said she does not regret leaving Choluteca, Honduras, for the United States.
“No, I don’t regret it. I would rather go through what I’ve gone through a thousand times than be in Honduras,” said Flores, whose children are 11-year-old Joseline, 8-year-old Jonathan, and 2-yearold Carlos. “There are a lot of us who don’t come here seeking riches; many of us are here to save our lives. Many of us are here because we have no choice but to leave the country.”
Flores, who upon crossing the border from El Chaparral, Mexico, into San Ysidro, California, was separated from her husband, Wilmer Aguilera – he is currently in an immigration detention center – is a reflection of the crisis in Honduras that continues to drive a massive immigration wave, despite the strict immigration measures imposed by the Trump Administration.
Only way out
At a time when some 1,000 immigrants, mainly from Honduras, are crossing Mexico via caravan, in hopes of making it to the U.S. border, lines of immigrants are voicing their disdain over the realities of their homeland.
According to Suyapa Portillo, an expert on Honduran immigration and a professor at Pitzer College, the presence of a weak and illegitimate government paves the way for drug trafficking to grow and thrive.
“There is a very interesting triangle between the government, drug trafficking and gangs. That axis puts people’s safety in danger. We’re talking about how now, gangs don’t just collect money for allowing people to get around neighborhoods, but if you have a business, if you drive a taxi, the poorest people are affected by the violence. If they don’t pay them, they’re going to kill them, or they’re going to kill their family members, or they’re going to threaten them,” said Portillo.
That is what happened to Flores and her family. She said a police chase close to her home in August was the beginning of the end of her life in Honduras.
“I was home alone with my children, my husband was in Guatemala working, because there are no jobs in Honduras. Suddenly, my daughter says, ‘mommy, the police.’ They were chasing some criminal. I went to close our door, and the guy saw that my door was open and tried to get in, so I closed it, and the police got him,” said Flores.
Th at cap t ure l e d to o t her arrests, which brought death threats to Flores’s family, including a confrontation between Flores’s husband and a group of criminals. Without notifying anyone of their plans, the family fled on Nov. 6.
“We crossed into Guatemala to get to Esquipulas. When we arrived in Esquipulas, we asked people in the street for money, and we bought another ticket to be able to get to Guatemala City. When we got to Guatemala City, we did the same thing, asking for money to be able to get to the border between Mexico and Guatemala,” explained Flores.
In Mexico, the family found work in hotels. Flores remembers nights where they had nowhere to sleep, and they found themselves pleading in homes and shelters for a place to stay the night.
“Trying to keep my children calm, while they were distressed, with a fever, vomiting, with a lot of people and viruses around ... that was a difficult situation. That was the most frustratingthing for me, not having anywhere to go, not having anyone to stay with. Not having anyone to help me,” said Flores.
Despite the challengesher family endured, Flores is grateful to the people she found along the way who helped her by offering work, food and shelter.
On Feb.27, the familyarrived at the border of El Chaparral and San Ysidro. They then queued up to turn themselves in to immigrations officials and request clemency.
According to Flores, the long line included families from Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti, Guatemala, Peru and Ecuador. When it was their turn, Flores remembers that the border agent asked her: “Why didn’t you go to another country? Why did you come here?”
After being thoroughly searched from head totoe,the family spent 11 days in San Diego, in the so called “pound.”
At that time, she had been separated from her husband by immigration authorities. Flores and her children were then transferred to the South Texas Family Residential Center, inDilley, where they stayed for 21 days.
Through the help of a community organization, Flores was transferred to Georgia, a temporary stop on the way to Florida, where she has family.
In Georgia, Flores met Cynthia Román, Managing Director of Family Well-Being at the Latin American Association. Through contacts in the community, the organization was able to help provide clothing, food, hotel lodging and tickets for the family to move to Florida.
Román has personally witnessed the plight of other families from Latin America, fleeing from violence.
“Many of ourclients tell us that the situation in their countries hasbecomevery difficult. Crime has gone up. They see violent situations against people in their own community, not just from organized crime, but sometimes on the part of the police. So, they have nowhere to go when they have a difficult situation in their community, because the government can’t protect them. So, they make the decision to come here, because they realize their lives are in danger, and they don’t have any protection, not from the government, nor from their own community, because everyone is scared,” explained Román, a social worker whose organization assists individuals in these types of situations every month.
Heading toward a ‘humanitarian crisis’
As caravans of Central Americans make their way to the border, President Trump has threatened militarization ofthe southern U.S. border, and he criticized the “weak immigration policies” that prevent the United States from the occurrence of illegal immigration.
“Caravans are heading here. Must pass tough laws and build the WALL,” wrote Trump on his Twitter account.
As nations point fingers regarding whose responsibility the immigration exodus is, families such as Flores’s are pleading for the opportunity to stay.
“In my case, I left everything: clothes, my business ... Even my father was left behind, alone. But what can I do? I have three children to protect,” said Flores.
Meanwhile, Flores remains optimistic that she and her family may be able to stay, and she plans to prove to the U.S. government that she is a good, law abiding citizen who will follow all necessary requirements to legally remain in the country.
“I want to show them that I need and deserve an opportunity for my children, for my safety, and for that of my husband,” assured Flores.
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