Yanci came to the US alone when she was 25 years old. She was fleeing an abusive husband and poverty when she left her home country of El Salvador. She left behind her loving and supportive parents and nine siblings. It was her father who helped her escape when it became clear that Yanci could be killed by her violent alcoholic husband. Her father took out a loan on his home to make a $3,000 down payment of the $7,000 owed to the coyote to help her escape to the US. Some might say she had options – she could have gone to the police or moved into a relative’s home. In a country with a weak police and judicial system, limited rights for women, and normalized violence, the only secure option is to flee to where you cannot be found.
Yanci described her six-week journey to the US good compared to others. She said they coyotes “were very respectful” and “very good” people. But still, she did not fully trust them and was cautious. During those six-weeks she often had to sleep under bridges, in cold weather and without eating, and would have to walk all night through swamps and treacherous conditions. Sometimes she and others would get lost from the group and chased by the police.
She also witnessed acts of violence through a gendered lens. Men would fight and pull guns on each other, while women would try to go unnoticed to avoid conflict. Women were expected to do all the cooking and care for men on the journey. Women who refused were threatened and sometimes kicked out of the group – losing the little bit of protection by numbers they had with the group. Most drastically, along the journey Yanci met a young Nicaraguan woman who was badly beaten, burned, and raped after her family did not pay the full amount for the journey to the coyote guiding her. The woman was left somewhere that immigration could find her, supposedly so officials would see the crimes of the more brutal coyotes, but this also meant that the woman was likely deported back to her country, retraumatized by officials, lost the thousands of dollars invested in her journey, and most likely started the journey over with even less resources – putting her at greater risk. Even though Yanci described her coyotes in a positive light, given these experiences, she still reported feeling scared, threatened and feeling that she could not trust anyone.
Yanci also described some supportive allies who helped along the way. When she got separated from her group, a rancher near the border offered her help. He took her to his home, fed her, and connected her to someone else who was able to get her across the border safely. They did not ask for anything in return. Upon arriving to the US, she connected with a family friend who she eventually married, and he helped her pay off the remaining debt to the coyotes who brought her here. In a time when chants of “Build the wall” are the norm, it is important to recognize the empathetic and caring people who are willing to open their doors and risk legal repercussions to aid those fleeing violence.
Given the violence Yanci experienced in her home country and in her journey to the US, it is easy to understand why she would say she traveled with good people, but still did not trust them. This is a common sentiment felt by those who have gone through the immigration process and one that can linger and deteriorate communities if not addressed. We need to build up our communities through greater partnerships and services that protect and uplift all members. In doing this, we create welcoming spaces for new arrivals as they begin to heal from the traumas of their journey to the US.