Because Dreams Also Migrate: Psychosocial aspects in the migrant population

By Angélica González G.

Amidst life's changes and challenges, the decision to emigrate may arise. For some, it is a moment of joy and hope, as they seek a new horizon that presents fresh opportunities to fulfill their long-held dreams. However, for millions of people worldwide, emigrating presents a challenge. For many, emigrati

• Language: English
• Publisher: ibukku
• Release date: Apr 20, 2024
• ISBN: 9781685746926

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Because Dreams

Also Migrate

For all those who have a dream

Angélica González González

All rights reserved. The total or partial reproduction of this work is not allowed, nor its incorporation into a computer system, or its transmission in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright holder is a violation of these rights and may constitute a crime against intellectual property

The content of this work is the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of the publishing house. All texts and images were provided by the author, who is solely responsible for their rights.

Published by Ibukku, LLC

www.ibukku.com

Graphic Design: Diana Patricia González

Design Collaborators: Jennifer Orozco, Julio Jesús Gómez Richart, Eduardo González González, Angélica González González, Stephanie González González, Gabriela González González, Alfredo Ramos González, Karen Ramos González.

Photography: Samuel González, Angélica González González, Eugenia Galván Solís, Guillermo Márquez Herrera.

Copyright © 2021 Angélica González González

© 2d Edition 2023

ISBN Paperback: 978-1-68574-691-9

ISBN Hardcover: 978-1-68574-693-3

ISBN eBook: 978-1-68574-692-6

The Path Has Been Set

The path has been set, the steps marked

on the trail that has begun.

Carrying in the soul the memory of what is left behind.

In the heart are carried: the memories and love of family.

Imbued with nostalgia is the farewell to the

childhood moments that shaped the journey.

Today he emigrated, because reason is filled with hope

to find a life with dignity.

I am a migrant, and as a pilgrim, I wander, but in my

memory, I will never forget my origins, my land,

nor my language, because I go longing to return one day,

though I will always open my heart to the country where I go.

Content Table

The Path Has Been Set

About Migration

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Prologue

About the Author

About the Book Because Dreams Also Migrate

My Dreams Migrated

Who is a Migrant?

Anatomy of the Migration Process

The Comprehensive Health of the Migrant

Migrant and Identity

Definition of Refugee, Migrant, and Asylum Seeker

Migrant’s Prayer

The Path

What is Human Dignity?

The Nostalgia of the Life Left Behind

Psychosocial Aspects of the Migrant Population

Ways to Integrate into the Host Country

My Mother’s Prayer Before Departing

The Beast and Its Journey

They are eyes

On That Path…

You Are Strength: Migrant

I Wanted to Fly

What Do Your Eyes See?

That Path

That Morning

Unfinished Story

We Are Strength

The Golden Desert

When the Mountains Recede

How Did You Embrace Your Dreams?

Border Crossing

Thank You, Dad

Wet Lives

Inner Strength

The Sky Was Witness

The Decision to Migrate

Show Me Your Hands

The Path

The Moon

Here I Go

Enduring

Migrant

Forced Migration

City of Migrants

The Shadows

Dream, Son

The Children Exposed by Migration

They Were the Steps

Where Are You?

The City

Becoming a Little Woman

Living on Memories

Carrying Broken Dreams

I Walked Through the Fields

Wandering Migrant

Among the Branches

Rolling, Wandering

It’s the Grandparents

Small Steps

The Distance

Why Are You Leaving, Dad?

I Had a Dream

Borders

Oasis

Loneliness

I Had a Home

Recipe for the Migrant

I Come

Objects

Between Bars

Destiny

You Crossed Paths

A Space Remained

Beer

For in Nostalgia

I Marked My Steps

Crossing the River

When He Died

Not a Single Drop

Objects

How Can It Be Done?

Borders That Kill

A Man

Ricarda

Wet Backs

I Left My Village

Deported

Turbulent

They Take Him Away

I Dreamed

Wait for My Return

Because in Essence…

I Missed

My Father’s Letter Upon My Departure

Migrant Journey

Wall

I Know

I Promised to Return

Identity

Violated Story

We are Migrants, We are Strength

Short Stories

Migrant

Dangerous Road

When the River Takes Dreams

Today I Found

Walking

Life

Migrate

We Are

Defeated Wings

I Never Saw Her Again

The Bells

Nostalgia

Immersed Faces

Dreams of Metal

Raid

My Little House

With Nostalgia

Forever My Brother

Because It’s Not Just Money

Caught Between Two Worlds

Mutilated

On Tracks

Melting Away

Goodbye

My Village

His Eyes

Poverty

Short Stories

Nameless Cemetery

Crosses

Cemetery

Seeking the Path

Crosses that Cry Out

Excluded Childhoods

Living with Memories

Faded Experiences

If in Serenity

Testimony of a Migrant

Where Were the Steps of a Migrant?

Pandemic that Punishes

Agricultural Laborer

Laughter Silenced

Advice for the Migrant Population in the Process of Mobility

Migrant and Discrimination

Migration and Human Rights

Human Rights

in the Migrant Community

Myths and Realities about Migrants

Immigrant Syndrome with Chronic Stress

How to Face Migratory Grief

BECAUSE DREAMS ALSO MIGRATE

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS. ARTICLES 1 AND 2

Bibliographic Reference

Recommended Reading

Thoughts of inspiration

focused on the human aspect of migration.

About Migration

They are steps carrying illusions,

they are lives promising dignity,

they are opportunities setting down hope;

they are the migrants who face the path of reality.

Migrant walking, your steps are words,

your presence is strength, and

your voice echoes in the distance.

Acknowledgments

To my father, who was always a great guide. In your heart, you always carried strength and motivation, which set an example for me to continue my dreams.

To my son Samuel, whose love and presence motivate me to keep going. To my sisters, Irma, Eva, Lucía, Rocío, and Gaby, because, although life has not been easy, we remain steadfast in our struggle.

I am grateful to Roberto González, Apolinar González, Bardomiano Morales, Rolando Orozco, Albino Correa, Ángel González, Ismael Gonzalez, Antonio González, Frank Flores, Ken Mcleary, who have been fathers with great hearts in my life.

To moms Lalita, Toñis, Mechita, Carlota, Silveria, Enriqueta, Claudette, because each one taught me different versions of life.

Thanks to Julio Gómez Richart and Eduardo González for their contributions in design. To Javier González and Carlos Orozco, who have been strong souls on the journey.

To my nephews, Eduardo, Stephanie, Karen, Freddy, Jenny, Isaac, Luis Miguel, Ángel, Maury, Edy Alejandro, and Jonathan Saúl, who is starting his path.

My thanks to Iván Correa, Gonzalo Villagómez, Armando Orozco, Alfredo Ramos, Luis Ramos, Yolanda, Bernardo, Flor Pérez, Itzel, Mrs. Vicenta, Frank Flores Junior, the Flores family, the Pérez González family, Mr. Abel, Alma Bocanegra and family, the Olalde Carbajal family. To Mr. Jorge Kleitz, Jacquie Deutch, who have taught me strength during tough times; David Deutch and family: Laura, Von, Krysta, and Daniel Deutch.

Thanks to Isabelle and Theresa Abducci for their companionship, to Alma and Felicia for their example of courage.

Thanks to my childhood friends, my high school classmates, because even at a distance we continue to share dreams; and to the family and teachers who have been on the path of being a migrant.

A special thanks to the staff of the Glenside Public Library, Isabel Huerta, Juan Ortiz, and everyone working there, for being people of great professionalism and dedication to their work.

And I must mention the place that taught me to observe migration as a child: the beautiful town of Loma Acambay and its neighboring towns, El Fresno, El Capulín, Las Mangas, and all the towns in the state of Mexico. Thank you, a thousand thanks.

Introduction

Emigrating represents various challenges that entail the experience of leaving behind an identity, a life that forged one’s own essence through language, experiences, family living, friends, and the entire environment that identifies us and which we identify as our roots, as our identity.

Dreams manifest within our experiences and somehow seek a way to become tangible. That is why we humans search for the path that helps us turn them into reality, and we then become migrants.

Emigrating by one’s own decision and with the appropriate means to do so can make a difference in the development of those who decide to do so. But what about those who are forced to migrate because their lives are in danger in their places of origin or because they no longer have the means to survive? The situation then shows different scenarios that expose danger and risk. The mobility of migrants, both national and foreign, is exposed to challenging experiences that mark life, leaving it divided between two paths.

The current global context under the demands of a capitalist society reflects the need to migrate in search of opportunities to achieve a dignified life. Violence, poverty, and inequality mark the decisions of migration and show the challenging ways that the migrant community will have to face.

Migration has been part of the history of the world as a cornerstone of the creation of countries and border transformations. Thus, migration exposes its edges in the debates of countries that express their rejections or acceptances in the face of the multidimensional effects it presents.

We find an inherent factor in the migration phenomenon: the vulnerability of people in transit or host countries. This shows that, in addition to their own conflicts, the migrant community will face xenophobic, racist, or discriminatory sentiments from communities that demonstrate a rejection of migration.

It is necessary to recognize that, from a historical point of view and the different socioeconomic variables presented by nations, migration manifests as a phenomenon of expectations for the construction of a new life.

The United States is one of the nations that has been forged through migration processes that have made it a great nation. Mexico, as a multiethnic corridor and bridge, has seen the migrant population traverse its lands, and it is the migrants who have left, through their passage or stay, multiethnic legacies of colorful traditions that have been added to Mexican culture, further empowering it.

There is a need to create awareness and respect towards migrant communities; because, within every family tree, each family descends from migrants. It is through the consolidation of migration strategies that poverty and inequalities faced by the world can be combated, to achieve a dignified life for everyone. Because we are people, and no one should be invisible to current problems.

The process of migrating is a risky one that involves suffering from the circumstances encountered on the way to the destination. Ensuring the rights of migrant communities depends not only on the State but also on the communities that directly encounter migrants. Hence, it is important to become sensitized and understand that those who migrate out of necessity do so to combat the hunger, poverty, or violence they experience in their places of origin.

Prologue

Migration is an extremely complex phenomenon. People don’t just migrate to pursue their dreams; in most