"For over a week
we’ve walked.
We’ve ridden in trucks
and buses.
We’ve slept in parks, in streets
and in shelters.
In some places
people are glad to see us, they help us.
In others they chase us away.
I don’t know where the North is."
If you want a clear picture of the plight of the El Salvadoran people and their 2018 caravan, listen to this story told in the voice of a 9 year old child who must leave his much-loved home and community to head north. There is nothing left for them where they live ... no employment, constant terror and violence, nothing left to sustain a family.
Misael, his mother, father, and brother reluctantly join the 'caravan' that will take them on a journey north. They travel with a very large group of migrants, all looking for a better life. The road is long, and the conditions are less than ideal. If they are together, they think they will be safe. None know what the future holds for them. They have hope for a better life.
"When we get there,
I'm going to have an apartment
with water you can drink.
I'll bathe in warm water
and have a washing machine.
"I just want to work
and send money to my mom.
She's really old and has no pension,"
says a boy
who is walking by my side.
"I'm going to start college.
Maybe I could be a lawyer
or a teacher or a doctor.
Well, I'll settle for just getting there
and then we'll see," says another boy."
Misael's voice is heartbreaking as he observes and shares the stories of those who walk with him. They all experience both fear and hope. That is what guides them through exhausting days and endless nights. Only in hearing Misael's voice as he describes the 4,000 km trip can we begin to understand why they would risk their lives to find asylum.They carry what they can on their backs, are encouraged by kindness as they pass through El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. Upon reaching the United States border, all that changes. They are met with the threatening presence of the military and border police, batons, tear gas, protesters, chaos, barbed wire, and a wall ... and reason to fear for their lives once again. The border is closed.
That night Misael dreams:
"I fell asleep and I dreamed.
I dreamed I was flying.
I dreamed I was a song,
I dreamed I was a butterfly,
I dreamed I was a fish
and a wave.
I dreamed
the sweetest dream of all.
Instead of going to the North,
I went back to El Salvador."
It is not the Misael's dream to leave his beloved country; it is a necessity if he wants to live a more peaceful life. Would we not want the same?
Choosing to tell his story in spare verse, Mr. Argueta creates real emotional impact. Manual Monroy's back-and-white drawings perfectly match the crushing sadness of Misael's tale. In an afterword, Mr. Argueta explains why he chose to tell his story:
"I've written this text in my eagerness to share the voices of hope, of anguish, of the thousands of immigrants from Central America who abandon our countries because of all the violence and the lack of opportunities. In their midst, I saw people who were hard workers, humble, desperate and tired of suffering.
“It’s up to us to change things. I believe in the gentle power of reading. I believe reading changes the hearts, spirits, and minds of people.” —Jorge Argueta
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