My story

I haven’t introduced myself very well and I believe this is the perfect moment to do so. I am from Venezuela, I moved to the United States when I was thirteen years old to  pursue a better life given that my home country is financially and morally unstable. Being a first hand witness to the suffering of the whole country, of friends, and of family, I desire to portray this emotional frustration with the audience through film. But, I want to show the struggles and hardship in a unique manner. I want the audience to fully understand what it’s like to leave behind everything familiar to you and arrive in a foreign country where everything is unknown.

I’m going to present the story through the perspective of a seven year old child that is forced to move to the United States alone. This represents the innocence of children that live in third-world countries that are not responsible for what is happening around them but, suffer the consequences. Carmen Chavez who has provided services for more than 800 unaccompanied children and is the executive director of the Casa Cornelia Law Center in San Diego, also commented about this issue, stating that, ‘’These children are especially vulnerable.They are not feeling because they can not find a good paying job.They are fleeing because of violence.’’

This is the case of many unaccompanied minors that cross the border of the United States everyday for more opportunities to succeed and have a better life. According to an article by Jerry Markon and Joshua Partlow posted in the Washington post, ‘’In October and November, more than 10,500 children crossed the U.S and Mexico border by themselves. The majority of them are from el Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.’’  These children move because of violence and insecurity issues.  Presently, El Salvador’s homicide rate has risen to its highest point since the country’s civil war ended in 1992 forcing families to move because of this. 

Markon, Jerry, and Joshua Partlow. "Unaccompanied Children Crossing Southern Border in Greater Numbers Again, Raising Fears of New Migrant Crisis." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 16 Dec. 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/12/16/unaccompanied-children-crossing-southern-border-in-greater-numbers-again-raising-fears-of-new-migrant-crisis/>.

Jie Zong, and Jeanne Batalova. "Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States." Migrationpolicy.org. Migration Policy Institute, 25 Feb. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states>.