Waiting Period

Stage 2 

Catherina: A family friend told me to go to Costa Rica. I thought that would be the easiest path and I would also get a fair treatment. So, I just packed a thousand dollars and left with my daughters. There was no time to pack jewelry or nice clothes. Also, they didn't look like a priority anymore. Suddenly, wondering what I was going to do with the houses and the cars stopped bothering me. How does that matter when your loved ones are in danger? I arrived in Costa Rica already worried because my planning was not enough anymore. After years of working hard and planning a life, I was in a country looking for humanitarian aid and unable to understand what I was experiencing.

Unfortunately, that family friend betrayed us, and he ended up taking my money with lies. It was ironic that this happened to a lawyer, but my hands were tied, and all I could do was hope for the best. The process you go through is dehumanizing. Nothing can prepare you to lose everything you worked for. What is the inspiration of life then? I worked for decades to be financially stable, thinking that is what ensures a great life, but you blink your eyes and it’s over.

Narrator: The experience of displacement was harrowing. Your name, your dreams, and your efforts were torn down over six years by a reality, which you did not choose. A reality from which you were trying to escape from. You wondered, what have I done? You survived by making a type of empanada called pastelito. That was a skill that you did not have because you hadn't entered a kitchen in 15 years or more. You trained to be a lawyer, but there you were, standing for 12 hours, even in inclement weather, until everything was sold. Just to get the bare minimum to feed your daughters. People ask you a ridiculous question. Did you look for help? 

Catherina: Of course, I did, but I was not the only Venezuelan suffering outside my country. And every year there was less compassion or more rejection. I also found some good people on my way. And I truly appreciate them. I remember going to the mayor of the city and crying out for help. I told him I did not have anything to feed my family next day. He said he would help, but I was not clear how. He just asked me for my address. And after listening, he asked me to leave. But the next day someone knocked on the door. And I thought I was the house owner because I hadn't paid the rent. My daughter was ready to open the door and say I was not there. But when she opened the door, she saw volunteers carrying boxes and boxes of food. It was crazy! We got all types of seafood. After all God had not forgotten me. 

I found a job in a factory, but as a result of a security breach, I got into an accident and broke 80 percent of my tendons in my leg. That was devastating, because I could not work in the factory anymore. And if I went back to making pastelitos, I couldn't stand for 12 or 16 hours anymore. Even when all plans failed, neither my faith nor my courage did. At the time, I was contacted by the international office that was following my case, and a month later I was notified that my underage daughter and I were accepted to the United States. This was another hard decision. One of my daughters just decided not to go to a third country, and another one met a Costa Rican, and they want to go. Together, just one day. That left me with my youngest one getting ready to leave this time with some fear, but more hope we took that plane and we're sure our lives had to change for good this time.