In the self-portrait that we guess was taken quickly, we see in the corner half of the happy face of Lurdmelia Becerit and that of Moises, the youngest of her boys. The kid’s smile is as wide as a border. Behind, a fence frost gray, a lonely palm tree and an American flag wrapped on its pole. “We’re in the United States!” » communicated to Dutyon WhatsApp, the father, Wilfredo Chacón, a few days before Christmas.
It is in this country that a whole epic story ends – or rather begins – for the Chacón family, Venezuelans who, last September, set out to travel across Central America from Colombia. Met in a shelter in Honduras, in El Paraíso, near the border with Nicaragua, the little family was taking a break before setting off again, the remains of their life buried in a few bags. “We hope that God will continue to open the doors for us… We will see if they will help us when we get there,” Lurdmelia had hoped.
Following health problems and a series of misfortunes, Wilfredo lost his job as a civil servant in Venezuela. The family found themselves on the street. And the call from the north was felt.
After the “nightmare” of crossing the Darién, a hostile jungle between Colombia and Panama, Guatemala was the other difficult stage for the Chacón family. “There were checkpoints all over the road. The police would board the bus and we had to give them our money, otherwise they would take us out,” Wilfredo explained. Some US$700 was thus extorted from them with impunity. But the “thieving police” have nothing in common with the “kind-hearted Guatemalans” they encountered, Lurdmelia insists. “We were surprised by the kindness of people. We had no more money to buy food and they gave us a bag of bread and a little money. »
The crossing of the Suchiate River on makeshift rafts to Mexico was not easy. “Once on the other side, I realized that I had forgotten our identity documents in our shelter in Guatemala,” says Lurdemelia. Short of money and to avoid paying the approximately two dollars the boat cost, Wilfredo swam back across the brownish waterway, alone.
The CBP One Lottery
It was undoubtedly this misadventure which gave rise to a missed meeting in Tapachula, a Mexican town on the border with Guatemala where The duty visited a few days later in mid-November. Bilali M’Boni was there. He had managed to reach Mexico in just four days. Met in front of the offices of the National Migration Institute in El Paraíso, Honduras, this Togolese has been in… New York since the beginning of December. “By the grace of God, I made it.”
Bilali M’Boni and his traveling companion Lamine Bara made a bold choice: they presented themselves at the American border, near Tucson in Arizona, without having previously made an appointment via CPB One. Launched in May, this Customs and Border Protection application allows migrants to request asylum. Illegal entry into the United States may result in immediate deportation with inadmissibility for five years. “We went through [le poste-frontière officiel] and we were given the appointment,” explained Bilali M’Boni, who is an engineer by training. “They told us to come back and see them in two months. »
This Togolese father had his plane ticket to New York paid for by an uncle, while Lamine Bara went to a “brother” in Texas. Without a work permit for the moment, however, their lives are on hold. “But we’re here and we’re doing well,” he says, as if to stay positive.
Paul Ernsolorens was less lucky. Also met in Honduras in November, this young 22-year-old Haitian is today stuck in Mexico City with part of the group accompanying him from Brazil. The United States is currently just a mirage.
His back has been hurting a lot since he carried his two-year-old cousin into the Darién jungle. For several weeks, his injuries have also been in his head. “To be clear, psychologically, it’s not okay. But that’s how it is, life has ups and downs,” he admitted.
Paul Ernsolorens tried to get an appointment through CBP One. In vain. At least for now. He would now like to join some of his companions in Monterrey, where it is easier to find a job. But he needs to raise nearly 3,000 pesos (235 Canadian dollars). “It’s 1000 for the bus and 2000 to pay immigration and the police who will ask us for money on the way. Otherwise we can return you to Tapachula [au sud du pays] “, explained the young man. For now, Paul is living in a room with ten other people, while waiting to raise the necessary money.
Health for Christmas
3,000 kilometers away, the Chacón children watch TV while lying on the soft bed of a San Diego hotel room. “Here is the view, and there is the bathroom. We also have a small refrigerator,” explains Lurdmelia in Spanish in a video sent on WhatsApp. For the first time in months, they can finally settle down. Everything has happened so quickly these last few weeks. From Mexico City, where they were staying with a friend, they were able to send a request through CBP One and quickly obtain an appointment with the migration authorities for December 19. “We heard that sometimes it could take 5-6 months,” says Wilfredo, who still can’t believe his eyes. The generosity of people also amazes him. A member of the church they attended in Venezuela then lent them the necessary funds so that they could buy plane tickets to Tijuana, near the US border.
For New Year’s Eve, Paul Ernsolorens will perhaps go to church, as he used to do in Haiti. No longer believing in Santa Claus for a long time, he says he trusts God. He will certainly call his grandmother who raised him since he was little to convey his wishes. The young man would also very much like to see his mother again, who now lives in France to provide for her children. “The last time was seven years ago. At my grandfather’s funeral. »
The best gift we could give him? “Mental and physical health,” he says bluntly. Wilfredo Chacón would also like to see a doctor who would help him cure his painful back pain. “But our dearest wish would be to be able to improve our quality of life and give a better education to our children,” summarizes Lurdmelia. His children, aged 8 and 12, have much more down-to-earth considerations. Asked what they would like as a gift, Moises and Wilfredo both replied: “A tablet!” » This should not be an impossible mission for Santa Claus.