“Don’t go like me. Don’t come the way I did, if you do, find a safe way to do it”

Story 29, N, Ecuadorian Migrant

Interview conducted & story written by Margherita Marras

Edited by Noor Mchallah

“N’s journey began at the bottom of a container ship. For seven days and seven nights, N and three-hundred-and-fifty other migrants were stuck in a windowless cage with only one spoon, one cup, and one plate each.”

In the early morning of July 24th, 1999, N embarked on a journey that would change the course of her life. She was freshly seventeen but had already experienced more pain and hardship than most can imagine. 

As a young woman brought up in Waikiki, Ecuador, N witnessed extensive violence and poverty from a young age. Given her difficult childhood, N’s family decided to send her off to the United States, all by herself, in search of a better life. 

N’s journey began at the bottom of a container ship. For seven days and seven nights, N and three-hundred-and-fifty other migrants were stuck in a windowless cage with only one spoon, one cup, and one plate each. Once a day, they would form what seemed like a “never-ending line” to receive a measly serving of cold soup. 

On the fourth day, heavy thunderstorms engulfed the ocean, and many of the migrants, who did not have access to fresh air, grew extremely nauseated from the constant swaying of the ship. N recalls that one of her friends, a young boy from Waikiki, began “acting crazy, crying nonstop and running throughout the ship”, at one point, he even tried to jump off. 

When they finally reached Guatemala's shores, the migrants were given a few days to rest and recover. Then, they were rushed into a “camión de plátanos.” N was sealed inside the truck struggling to find a comfortable place between hundreds of bananas and around 45 other migrants. Seeing as it was the middle of summer in Central America, one can only imagine the heat that was trapped inside this truck. This time, the migrants were provided with diapers, two bottles of water, and two apples that needed to last them three days. 

The migrants were dropped off in the Distrito Federal de Mexico, in front of the US-Mexico border. After 4 days of walking, they reached a river. N was told: “if you cross this river you will be in the United States”. So, N placed her backpack over her head and ran across turbid water that reached up to her neck. 

On the other side of the river lay a vast desert. The migrants were picked up and, after almost a month of strenuous traveling, they finally reached Houston, Texas. From there, N used up the last of her money to buy a bus ticket to New York City. 

“If you cross this river you will be in the United States.”

Thankfully, one of her cousins was there to greet N and help her settle in. N recalls the initial transition being quite hard: she was thrust into adulthood in a foreign country without her family. Her first job was as a nanny, and although she remembers building a loving relationship with the kids, her employer was a rather demanding American woman. For two years, N was forced to work every day until midnight, with no vacation time, and was compensated with a meager stipend. 

Eventually, N found her footing. With hard work and dedication, she learned English, found a stable job as a seamstress, and married. She is now the proud mother of five beautiful kids, the eldest of which just started university. N - without a doubt - considers them her greatest joys, accomplishments, and blessings. 

Now, twenty-three years later, when asked if she would migrate again, N responded: “Don’t go like me. Don’t come the way I did, if you do, find a safe way to do it.” N believes that no one should have to risk their lives, dignity, and humanity to migrate. She also grieves the lost time with her family: “I lost many years of my mom, my dad, my family.” 

However, N is fulfilled knowing that in this country, both she and her husband have a stable source of income, and her kids have access to quality education. The United States gave her a chance at a different life, a better life: “this country gave me peace and safety for me and for my kids.”