This is the story of a child, refugee, and immigrant now cataloged as a humanitarian emergency who, in debilitating languor, waits for the good will of an American government to save him.
This is the story of a Guatemalan child barely 10-years old, who 60 years ago started his epic odyssey to the border of the Mexico/USA, and yes, this escape started 60 years ago for this child when unknown powerful white men in distant Washington D.C and Boston were planning and putting into action decisions that will determine his eventual destiny.
Ten years before he was born, some intelligent, moral, decent young military men in his country took up arms to overthrow an arrogant, racist dictator supported by the USA. A dictator for 23 years and had run his country with an iron fist. Life for the people was miserable.
The young, idealistic military men decided that it was time for better things for their people, and they were determined to bring democracy and freedom to their country. They succeeded, and established a democratic government with free elections.
For the next 12 years they opened the system to all of the people. They established social, economic and political reforms. Schools sprouted up all over the country, day care centers, free breakfast centers for children, a social security system was established, secondary education was made universal. The people started to have a real taste of what democracy is all about. This was the start of a wonderful life for this small Guatemalan child; he was happy, well-educated, healthy and safe. No one was threatening his life and happiness: no drug cartels, no death squads were eminent dangers.
Democracy built more in a dozen years. The people's government would expand the reforms, including land reform, urban and agrarian. Idled and unproductive lands in the hands of extremely wealthy Guatemalans and American monopolies were confiscated and distributed to the landless peasants and the workers in the cities.
The personal life of this child was a life that reflected growth and education. The last thing in this child's mind was to immigrate to the USA; he was not attracted, like most of the population of Guatemala these days by the "sueño americano" --the American dream. In school they told him that two very special men in the USA were intent in taking away his peaceful and happy life, their names were: John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State, and Dillon Dulles, Director of the CIA. They had developed a propaganda campaign against this country, using well-known media: LIFE, LOOK and Reader's Digest magazines. This campaign brainwashed the American people to accept the lies they were telling about life in his country. His reality told him something different.
Finally, in 1954 when he was only 10 years old, he saw American bombers strafe his city, and shortly after, he watched his country's invasion by a band of murderous, born-again Christian terrorists, that were trained and equipped by the USA. They defeated the democratic government and rolled back the social reforms, starting a true Calvary for his people and him personally. In his teen years, he lived in his country amidst the dictators, violence, civil and human rights violations by brutal and bloody chiefs of state that were always trained and equipped by the United States.
The economy deteriorated, most people were mired in poverty, crime, drug cartels and military coups led by alternating generals, all trained and equipped by America. Finally, this young man's chance to immigrate presented itself, and he packed a simple little cardboard suitcase and legally came to the US; the country that created his unhappiness in the first place by robbing him of a democratic and prosperous nation.
These are the real origins and causes for the present "humanitarian crisis" at the border. This country planted the seeds for the present undocumented crisis in this country. People that live in violent, impoverished countries that were created by intervening in their free and democratic development -- is it a coincidence that most children at the border are from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras? We are reaping the last 30 years experienced dictators supported by the US, and the ripening crop is an immigration 'crisis' in the form of dispossessed children.