the hard story of a family of Venezuelan migrants on their journey through Guatemala
A family of migrants managed to reach Guatemala City this Wednesday, October 19, after traveling for five days from the Agua Caliente border, hoping to find a quick solution to get to the United States.
They commented that on their journey they encountered several obstacles, such as the registration posts of the National Civil Police (PNC), since they affirm that the agents asked each member for Q20 to let them pass.
Nersy Bastidas, a 47-year-old Venezuelan migrant who he had to leave everything in his country and sell 90% of his personal belongings to pursue the famous American dream, he mentioned that his family has had to split up in different places as they try to move on.
“When we arrived in Guatemala we realized that we no longer had money. We have to wait a couple of days until someone deposits us to continue on our way,” said Nersy.
He affirms that his family was dispersed, because if the authorities of the PNC or the Guatemalan Institute of Migration (IGM) detain them, they can be expelled to their native country.
“We want to go as unnoticed as possible, not only so as not to harm ourselves but also the country where we are. In the Casa del Migrante we could not stay more than one day” he expressed.
“What we have left is to move on. Here the laws are very strict against migrants,” added Bastidas.
He also explained that the Guatemalans have been very kind to them and that they have helped them, but that many have done them “with fear”.
“They have helped us with fear. There are people that they happen to leave us a bag of bread as if they were leaving a time bomb”, asserted the migrant.
“I don’t matter, I care now about my daughter”
Moisés Silva, 28 years old and Nersy’s son, said that they sit idly by in Guatemala, because they have looked for a way to generate some economic income and they can’t do it safely.
“It has cost us a lot, we have had to withdraw money from our ticket to continue on our way. We had to wait to see what we could do,” Moisés said.
The migrant mentioned that his dream at this time is for all the members of his family to be stable, both emotionally and financially.
He said that he had to leave his little daughter, Marely, 8 years old, in Venezuela and wants to ensure a good future for her.
“I don’t matter much anymore, what matters to me now is my daughterthat she can count on what one did not count, that she does not suffer pain and that she can get ahead, “he said.
