They struggle to come to America: One woman’s story

She traveled with her sister to Colombia, where they worked for five years in a tennis shoe factory. But economic conditions soured there too, so the women went to Chile, traveling 23 days by foot and bus.

“We were crossing a banana plantation on the Ecuador-Peru border and men approached, asked for valuables, but we didn’t have any, so they said, ‘You’ll have to pay with something else, then,’” she says.

I wince, predicting what is to come, but she offers a small smile, and says, “I gave them my cheap cell phone and they left.”

Luck, kindness and perseverance seem to be the themes of her story, where, time after time, good people — in law enforcement, nonprofits, people living in poverty themselves — offered help.

Like the time that immigration officials in Chile provided her with medical help and food and helped her get a job in fruit processing. She liked the factory, the country and sending money to her family.

“Pero después.” But then … her father, a retired police officer, who had been kidnapped and rescued, developed Parkinson’s disease. Her family was desperate for help. Jhovid knew that if she could make it to the U.S.-Mexico border where there was a “Very Famous Hole” through the border wall, she could get to America and find work that paid more.

For the next three months, the sisters traveled north, walking and hitchhiking through three countries. In Panama, they foraged for food in the jungle with animals. Worst of all, her sister, she says, became very “sick from the river, because the river was contaminated from dead people.”

But then her eyes light up: A kind person gave them food, medicine and tickets to Costa Rica. Then it was on to Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. They hid under cars at a mechanic shop to avoid the Mexican mafia, were caught twice by immigration patrols in southern Mexico and sent to towns near the Guatemalan border.

The third time, she knew how to avoid those immigration officials, “la migra,” and after making it through the “Very Famous Hole,” she and her sister arrived in El Paso, Texas. Finally, she and others were bused to Denver, where a stranger directed them to a homeless shelter and, later, to a bus to Fort Collins, Colorado.

Various groups stepped up to help with lightning speed, including churches and the nonprofits Fuerza Latina and Alianza NORCO. She says she’s grateful for all the help, but is happy to have found a full-time job.

As Jhovid wraps up her story, I breathe out a sigh. This woman walked thousands of miles through country after country because she had to. Determination and the kindness of strangers helped her succeed. But as I listen, I think of a family member’s response to immigrants — one echoed by many in this country: “They’re ruining the country, why would you want to help them?”

My answer: “Why wouldn’t you respect their desperate quest for a decent life?”

Laura Pritchett is a contributor to Writers on the Range, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. For more information, visit laurapritchett.com.