"I didn't want them to make that journey alone," says a Cuban father who left the United States to join his wife and their two young children on a perilous migratory journey to Brazil.
The story was told by Claudia Patricia Gómez, a young Cuban mother of 27 who arrived just two weeks ago in the Brazilian city of Apucarana, after an exhausting journey with her husband and their children, aged five years and a year and a half.
In a video posted on Youtube, she recounted the details of the trip and the sacrifice her partner made to be with them: “My husband traveled from the United States to Bogotá just to be with us. We were afraid that he wouldn’t be able to see us again.”
The journey began in Sancti Spíritus, from where Claudia and the children traveled to Havana. From there, they headed to Bogotá, Colombia, where their father was waiting for them after departing from the U.S.
From that moment on, the family embarked on a journey full of obstacles: canceled flights, tired children, makeshift rooms in airports, and the constant anxiety of what was to come.
Upon arriving in Guyana, they were met by a “coyote” who took them to a hostel. There, like other Cuban migrants, they received basic food items and a bag of supplies for the journey.
Then came the hardest part: a 15-hour journey in vans, sleeping on the floor or in rented hammocks on the edge of the jungle, and the dreaded hike through swampy terrain that included crossing a river in makeshift boats.
“I was carrying the baby, my husband had the 23-kilogram backpack on his back and another bag in front. Our other child was holding his hand. It was extremely hard,” Claudia recounted. “When I saw the river's current, I started to cry. I was scared of putting my children's lives in danger.”
Survival and dignity
Already in Brazilian territory, they still had a stretch to cover: accommodations without cold water, cooking in precarious conditions, and bus and plane rides until finally reaching Apucarana, where Claudia's cousin lives. "Bathing was a necessity. We were covered in mud, exhausted, but relieved to have arrived,” she commented.
The journey, which included plane tickets from Cuba, smuggling fees, and internal transfers, cost nearly 960 dollars per person, not including the logistics that her husband arranged from the United States.
The young mother explained that the decision to emigrate was not only due to the desire for a better future but also because of the fear that the father of her children would not be able to return to Cuba due to the migration restrictions in the U.S. “We could no longer endure the blackouts, the scarcity. But we were also afraid of being separated forever.”
The decision of the man takes on a new meaning following the measure by President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order on June 4 that partially restricts the entry of Cuban citizens into the U.S., citing "national security risks."
The measure suspends the entry of Cubans under various visa categories, including B-1, B-2, and student visas, which could drastically hinder family reunions or the travel of Cubans living abroad who plan to return to see their loved ones.
This story, although intimate, reflects the desperation of many Cuban families, torn between the need to escape and the fear of getting lost forever. Amid the migratory drama affecting thousands of Cubans, the gesture of this father, who left the stability of the U.S. to venture into the jungle with his family, becomes a symbol of what one is willing to do for love and for their children.
Filed under:
