Narrator: Hello there. Thank you for coming to this refugee simulation. Imagine with me that you're one of hundreds of millions of people worldwide who have been forcibly displaced.
Your story represents millions of people who left their lives behind to start from scratch in this land called America. For the next few minutes, meditate on your past and walk through the four stages as I mention them. At the end, you can walk through the stages again, and read the content from each stage that will help you understand not only your case, but also those of others who came to the States like you.
Stage 1.
Your name is Catherina Arocha. You were born in Venezuela and you are from the indigenous tribe Bape. You grew up in a family surrounded by supplies and support. You remember the warm sunlight that filtered through the leafy trees surrounding the house, the sound of the chickens walking around, and the taste of fruits right after they fell on the grass. What a life it was, spending your days and nights with a big family and community. that cared for and supported you.
Soon it was time to study and start your new life in the city. Your dad knew that you were smart and charismatic enough to be the best lawyer if you moved out of the tribe. And you did. Your family was so proud of you. You had to overcome the weird looks, rejections, and uncomfortable questions from city people once they knew you came from an indigenous tribe.
You started your internship in a Venezuelan jail, making connections with a politician who became the most important leader of the opposition against the communists in the country. You were that decisive. Even though you cried at night because of the rejection and opposition coming from the jail’s leadership who did not believe a woman should occupy high positions, you believed in the process and continued giving your legal advice even if it was ignored. The day of reckoning arrived. You told the director he was committing a felony by allowing government cars to enter the jail without the defined legal process which put the security of the place at risk? He did not listen, and a prisoner escaped that day. Legal charges were filed against the director. After that, you got a huge opportunity. You got his job. You renovated the jail with fresh paint, got better food for the prisoners, and started connections for the benefit of the jail. Things were going well. You even had the feeling that Venezuela could have a shift in the government and the good days would return to the economy. However, life took a different path for you and your family when President Hugo Chavez died and Nicolas Maduro won the elections. You started being targeted for not taking part in the regime. Things escalated from threats for you to leave your job to relatives being kidnapped and people threatening you with a gun pointed at your head. With three daughters, you realize you must leave. That is when you asked yourself.
Catherina: why is this happening to me?
