The gangs are going after all the
boys. It's too dangerous for him
here. He's too little.
Should we send Rosita, too?
Are you crazy? NO!!!
Adela - I think we found a
coyote for Manuelito. He's
coming with Coco Loco."
Fearing for their 13-year-old son's life, Manuelito's parents make arrangement with his aunt in the USA to send him to her. By doing so, they hope to protect him from the gangs who are preying on young boys in their Guatemalan town. It is a familiar story for many in Central America, and has been getting much press on the American side of the border.
The family hires a coyote who promises to get Manuelito and his friend Coco Loco to their destination. Doing as much as possible to provide for his safety, the parents watch him board a bus and leave. The boys are very excited, and looking forward to a new start away from the gangs and terror of their home. As they travel, they realize that their coyote is not to be trusted. Coco Loco is angry with him and shows it. It is his undoing.
Left alone in a stifling hot cement hut, Manuelito is without his phone, and dreaming of his family. In the morning, hungry and frightened he looks out to see a girl nearby. She and her Honduran family are also headed to the Mexican border. They offer support and hope.
"The Senoras told me that after we crossed the river,
I had to go to the border patrol myself and tell them I
was seeking "asylum" because my life was in danger."
Jailed with many other children, and then sent to a holding center where he could wait to go to his Tia Adela's home in Long Island, Manuelito meets up with Jenny and her family once again. They go to classes, and spent time together awaiting transfer to their sponsoring family. There are definitely bumps along the way.
"The director called us all together. She said she was
heartbroken, but there was no more money from the
new government and the center had to close. They
gave me a book, some papers, sandwiches, and some
clothes. Then they took me to a bus."
Happy to be with his aunt, going to a new school, and meeting friends, he is stunned with ICE comes to the door and sends both back to their homeland. This is a story that needs to be shared, to help students and teachers understand the adversity these children face, at home and as refugees.
The first person narrative of a child caught in the terror that 100.000 Central American children are now experiencing is powerful, blunt, and current. There are no unnecessary words. The black and white graphic images deftly convey the many emotions felt as the trip is made.
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