A Life Unveiled

This is actually an interview session another classmate and i carried out. It's about the life- sunset, sunrise, to noonday journey- of a woman and her family's move, to present day. Very moving!

A Life Unveiled

            Circumstances that surround every individual in the world can either be heart-warming or heart wrenching. And so it is noteworthy that most Latin American citizens, like other citizens have experienced such tragedies and boons recorded in world history. Nevertheless, these situations spawn stories that are retold in a unique and authentic manner. In the case of Salvadoran native, warm natured Martina Gonzales traces her story throughout her 49 years of life. Gonzales has retold the story of her life before moving to Belize and her ultimate arrival in Corozal, Belize to escape the Guerra- the 1979 civil war that took place in El Salvador just four years after her family migrated to Corozal, Belize on 1975.

Pues mi nombre es Martina Gonzales- well, my name is Martina Gonzales. I was born in El Salvador in October 12^th, 1964. El Salvador, San Miguel, was my home town until I was 11 years old. During that time living in San Miguel, El Salvador, I can vividly remember how tranquilo (peaceful) the environment was. A pesar que hubo tensiones en otros pueblos y países, mi área era muy tranquila - even though there were tensions in other neighbouring villages, my area was very peaceful at that time. All eight of us including my parents, were hard working, making an honest living by selling corn and chickens. Everyone around us made a living on the streets by spreading little cloths on the grounds and placing grown produce. Most of the time, however, we would sell near the open fields or simply from home in the yard. Asi que  todos conocian a todos- thus everyone knew everyone.

At a time when we were striving and working very hard for a living to have ends meet for  school fees and bills, little did we know that the prospective war would completely result in anything other than the honest life we strived for. El lugar en que llame casa se ​​transformó en una zona de guerra, sólo cuatro años después de que mi familia y yo emigramos a Belice- The place where we called home was transformed into a war zone just four years after my family and I migrated to Belize.

            During our escape from such war, I was only eleven years old. Tuve que dejar  la escuela secondaria y todos mis amigos, tambien otros miembros de mi familia- I had to leave high school and all my friends, even my other family members. It was a horrific travel! My father took all six of us, including my mother through dirt roads. Tuvimos que caminar en lodo, y el viaje por el auto bus fue peligroso ya que estaba lleno y cualquier cosa podría haber sucedido dentro el auto bus - We had to walk in mud, and travelling in the bus was very dangerous because it was packed and anything could have happened to us and others in the bus. When I consider and reminisce about our travel, I recall worried faces, and numerous words of hope within the crammed bus. While all of us were separated within the bus, at age eleven I began to understand the singleness, the loneliness and the despair that comes with a sudden move, with abrupt decisions because of war. I could never forget the face of a petite woman standing just beside me. Her heart-rending facial expression testified of the punishing lost and pain that comes with war-la cara de una mujer pequeña de pie justo a mi lado testificó de la perdieron un dolor que viene con la guerra.Nevertheless, despite the fact that migrating from our home town was a last minute choice, I cannot fully express gratitude to my parents for having had make the quick decision to do so. Después de nuestro viaje insoportable por fin llegamos a la tierra de Corozal, Belice "after our excruciating journey we finally arrived on the land of Corozal, Belize. ‘Serene’ is the word that could describe the environment. Corozal, was what we had referred to, from that time on, as nuestro casa- our home.

Ah, Belice es mi casa! Me encanta Belice- Ah, Belize is my home, I love Belize! When I arrived in Belize, I cannot say that all was good as we arrived. We immediately had to work at the cane fields nearby our new small home in Corozal. Toda mi familia trabajó duro- My entire family worked hard. We were working to live. After we all saved an adequate amount of money to go to school, my journey to making friends with others all around Corozal began. Fue entonces que durante ese tiempo cuando me encaje y creía que era un Corozalena Belicena! It was during that time that I finally started to fit in and believed that I was a Corozal Belizean.

            Si no fue por el vecino país centroamericano de Belice, mi familia y yo probablemente  habría tenido una historia de vida trágica-If it weren’t for the neighbouring Central American country Belize, my family and I would have probably have had a tragic life story. A pensar que apenas cuatro años después de nuestra migración a Belice, el hecho de que la guerra comenzó a tomar lugar en Salvador, es bastante increíble.-To think that just four years after our migration to Belize, the fact that the war began taking place in Salvador is quite unbelievable. Even though I hesitantly escaped the war at the minute age of eleven, I believe through the tough journey toward acceptance and serenity, I realized the seriousness that comes with warfare- bereavement of family members and sadness. Through the ending of my life story, I will forever claim, together with my Belizean husband and six children, that Belize is my home. Amo el país de Belice- I love the country Belize!