Ruth’s Courageous Leap of Faith

Note before reading: This story includes references to pervasive sexual harassment

In many parts of the world, being a girl is a dangerous thing. Despite being minors, girls can experience constant sexual harassment that makes it impossible for them to live normal lives. Government corruption, gang violence and widespread poverty only worsen the situation for women in some countries. This was the case for Ruth, a 17-year-old who lived in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa.

“Life as a woman in Honduras is rough. You get harassed a lot. Wherever you go, you’ll experience a lot of harassment. You can’t even go out on the streets without getting catcalled by men,” Ruth told us. She explained that the harassment was so pervasive in Tegucigalpa that her mother wouldn’t even let her and her sister go out to get groceries. “You don’t feel safe,” she explained. 

To make matters worse, Ruth’s family was being targeted by gang members that were trying to take over a house that her sister owned. The criminals would harass the family often and try to scare them into abandoning the home. Eventually, determined to give her daughters and grandchildren a better life, Ruth’s mother decided that they would leave Honduras. 

Ruth, her mother, her sister and her sister’s young children all crossed into Guatemala and eventually into Mexico. The family resided in Juarez where, unfortunately, they still could not rest. “It was similar to Honduras, we were afraid to go out. I didn’t even like going out with my mom because I was afraid,” Ruth said. “I carried something heavy in my heart, trauma maybe, I don’t know.” Ruth’s past experiences in Honduras and the lack of safety in Juarez made her feel paralyzed. Regardless, she had no option left but to move forward.

After some time in Juarez, the family decided it was time to cross the border into the United States. In their first attempt to cross, only Ruth’s sister was allowed to pass since she had small children with her. Her sister made it to El Paso, where she began working and sending money to Ruth and her mother for food while they resided in Juarez. 

Ruth and her mother eventually gathered their strength and decided it was time to try again. This time, however, when they got to the border, the guard told them only one of them could cross. For Ruth’s mother, the decision was clear. She told Ruth, “you go first. I’m afraid of the risks we are running here. If I have to go back to Honduras then I will go back, it doesn’t matter what happens to me.” Despite being a young girl who had never been separated from her mom, Ruth courageously took a leap of faith and crossed the border. 

Ruth was received by some family members in Arizona, and her mother stayed in Mexico for another month before finally crossing the border and arriving in El Paso. This separation was difficult for Ruth who shared, “I had never been separated from [my mom], so I felt horrible.”

Finally, after seven months of being apart, Ruth and her mother reunited in Miami. Here, they were finally able to breathe. “When I arrived here I felt so much better, I felt so much peace,” said Ruth. While she was nervous at first, Ruth began to dip her toes into the water and accommodate herself to life in Miami. She explains that she started off with baby steps by going outside in the backyard of her home. Eventually, she felt safer, and when she went to school she “saw how different things were here, it wasn’t like Honduras I felt safe,” she remarked.

At school, Ruth was connected to CWS by a teacher and given a case manager. “Now, I have someone I can count on,” she said. “Whenever I talk with my case manager on the phone or Zoom, it really helps me because it gives me additional support and makes me feel better because I realize I’m only starting to settle since I’ve only been here a year.” Regardless of having arrived recently in Miami, Ruth is already beginning to imagine what her life can become here. She told us she dreams of becoming a lawyer and is currently studying to get her GED. 

CWS is working hard to ensure Ruth can follow her dreams and that she never feels alone again. Ruth shared, “these programs really help because [people seeking asylums] come from a bad situation, a dangerous country. [They] come from discrimination, harassment and a bad life. When you arrive here and you find people and programs like this one, you feel better because you feel supported. I feel that I have more people here, other than my mom.” Through vocational training, social services support and one-on-one case management, CWS is helping Ruth make Miami a place she feels safe and can call home. 

Selvin’s Journey to a Safer Home

Note before reading: This story includes graphic gun violence.

In the rural area of Honduras, Selvin lived a relatively normal life. He went to school and began working when he was 8 years old in the countryside to help support his mom. Selvin did not complain, however. In fact, he enjoyed working. He shared, “I liked it a lot. What I really liked was milking cows. That’s what I liked most.”

When he was older, Selvin began helping out his mom by dropping his little brother off at school in the mornings before work. One morning he drove out on his motorcycle and took the path he always did, unaware that everything was about to change. After dropping off his little brother, he drove back under a bridge where two men suddenly jumped out and pulled him off his motorcycle. Selvin recounts, “they said ‘give me your money and phone’. Then, I don’t know what happened, maybe the guy’s finger slipped but he pulled the trigger. It was so loud I couldn’t hear. A whole section of my hand was shot off.” Alarmed by what he had done, the man gave Selvin his phone and money back and told him to call his mom. Selvin was in shock. He told us, “I never expected something like this to happen.”

Unfortunately, situations like this one were not uncommon in the town where Selvin lived.  “Over there, you can be harmed for no real reason,” Selvin told us. Following the accident, he was in the hospital for over a month. After he left, it took him another five months to fully recover. 

Selvin had always dreamed of going to the United States where life was safer. He had never met his dad, who lived in Miami, and he imagined going to live with him and creating a better life. 

At age 17, he decided he would leave Honduras and head to the United States. “It was hard, yes, the journey here is pretty intense. You feel moments of terror, there are lots of difficult moments,” he said. After a long and dangerous journey, he made it to the border and stayed at the ORR Custody Center for 12 days. He explained it was a strange feeling for him to be at the center since he was not allowed to make any calls to his mom, dad or siblings. He also said, “It’s pretty rough being there. You don’t sleep because there are too many people and the beds are all side by side. It’s hard to sleep because people make a lot of noise.”

After being released from the center, Selvin was able to finally meet his dad in Miami. He enrolled in the CWS Programs and got assistance with his medical appointments, enrolled in English classes and started working towards getting his GED. “It feels a lot better here because here I have more hope,” he says. “I’m going to school. I want to have a career as a mechanic.” 

In Miami, Selvin feels safer and is able to live his life without the dangers he experienced in Honduras. Many other young people leave their countries unaccompanied, due to dangers similar to the ones Selvin described. CWS is happy to welcome these young men and women and help them create a safer life where they can grow and thrive. 

From Surviving to Living: Pedro Creates a New Life

In Guatemala, many indigenous people live in rural areas and experience various difficulties including lack of education and poverty. Since he was a child, Pedro experienced these difficulties firsthand. When he was just 12 years old, Pedro’s parents, who were unwell, abandoned him. “They left me at our home alone, so I started to work. Sometimes I found work and sometimes I didn’t. Some days I had one meal. Other days I had none. Sometimes there was work, but other times there wasn’t because there wasn’t much there.”

Life in Guatemala became about survival for Pedro. “I was just 16, just a kid. I wanted a better future and was really struggling to support myself.” Eventually, he decided he needed to leave, so he called his sister and asked her to bring him to live with her in Miami. Pedro crossed into Mexico and eventually into the United States, where he was held at the ORR Custody Center for about two months. Pedro had no complaints about his stay at the center since he was eager and focused on arriving in Miami. 

When he was released, Pedro fearlessly boarded his first-ever plane and headed to Miami to reunite his sister and start a new life. When he arrived, things changed entirely for Pedro. In Guatemala, Pedro was all alone and only finished fourth grade. Here, he gets to go to school, make new friends and spend time with his sister. “I am happy here because I am with my sister. I feel happy with her, I get to go to school. I feel happy being here,” Pedro shared. 

In addition to his sister and friends at school, Pedro has a case manager from CWS who is helping him establish a life in Miami and set goals. Pedro, whose native language is Ixil, also feels supported and comforted by the CWS staff. “When I arrived here, I didn’t know a lot of Spanish. I understood it but I struggled to speak it. People here [at CWS] helped me with that,” he said. He also shared that CWS has provided him with food and clothing donations and medical support.

In his new home, Pedro is excited about the many new opportunities ahead of him. He told us, “I want to move forward and keep studying so that I can have a career and move forward in life.” Pedro, who has a gentle and cheerful manner, shared that he hopes to become a nurse one day. For Pedro, life in Miami means that instead of focusing on surviving, he can start living life as a happy young man with dreams and aspirations. CWS is grateful to be part of Pedro’s journey and aims to provide him support and reassurance that he is not alone.