In the second half of Enrique's Journey, it became increasingly clear to me that many children whose mother's left them for America, still love their mothers unconditionally. The ideas of never ending love and determination to reunite with their mothers revealed themselves rapidly as I made my way through the novel. As Enrique dwells in a camp site for migrants just outside the U.S. border, he meets other migrant children. One of them, named Kelvin, describes his journey to find his mother in the United States who, like Enrique, left when he was very young. After giving a detailed recount of his story, he ends with "I need to see her. I want to see her" (Nazario 146). His story was extremely violent and dangerous, however he never ceased trying to find his mother. Another migrant, Gabi, also tells of her journey from Honduras to the border. She explains how she "rebuffed constant demands for sex", making herself "look as ugly as possible" in order to prevent sexual assault on her way to the U.S. (145). It took her many months of travel, and to keep herself going she constantly kept "repeating to herself, 'I have to get to my mother'" (145). Gabi risked everything in order to be reunited with her mother, whom she hadn't known very long. It has been reaffirmed in my mind that these migrant children are not only very brave, but also hold an incredible amount of love in their hearts for their mothers. This type of love puts me in awe of these kids and seems very rare or hard to come by these days.
I'm not sure I could ever build up enough courage to make the journey that thousands of these kids have made. If I were to choose one person in my life who I could make this journey for, it would, much like these kids, be my mom. I love my mom as well and cannot imagine life without her. She takes care of me and makes me feel special, something that I value a lot. If you were to make this same journey, who would you do it for? Would you do it at all?
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ReplyDeleteI can not put myself in the position of the migrants that make the trek to America every day simply because I have been blessed with a stable and loving family. At first thought, I personally thought that I could never build the courage to make a journey this dangerous. However, in the novel, the journey comes so easily to each child that longs for his or her mother. So in this mindset, yes. I would make the journey no matter what the cost to find my family. A family is made up of the only people who will always love you and not even trying to reunite with them would be a poor decision. Though I am lucky to know how much my parents love me, these children like Enrique never truly know if they are loved until they find their mothers. Curiosity drives these young hearts to risk their lives in order to cross the border.
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ReplyDeleteI agree that love drives people to make dangerous and sometimes crazy decisions. Though many children are in desperate need of money and supplies, relationships are so much greater. I feel that the children of illegal immigrants are indeed sent material goods form America but long for a motherly figure. Families without immigrants are faced with severe destitution but have the presence of a mother. I would chose the presence of a mother. Because I am greatly blessed at home and face little troubles compared to these children, it is hard for me to place myself in their shoes. Lourdes intentions were for the best of her children when she left, but I feel that her lack of presence disrupted her family greatly. If my mother were to leave like Lourdes, I would want to stay in constant communication with her even though that is unrealistic in their circumstances. I would long for her presence and ponder about her frequently, but I would not have the courage to leave my already existing family who would then miss me in return. The consequences of illegal immigration bear the hardest on the family left behind. I would not be able to possibly compromise my family for a journey that shows little mercy. As of right now, I would not have the courage to complete this journey, and I would not want those I leave behind to be without another family member.
ReplyDeleteThis is really great Karin! I really liked how you said that even though the mother has left her child for the United States, the child still loves her. I really agree with you on that part because in Honduras even though the kids were abandoned, they still love their mom unconditionally. However, it really surprises me how much Enrique loves his mom knowing she left him to make money. Yes, the money was for her kids, but doesn’t Lourdes realize her kids rather have her than money
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