The emotional story of a 30-year-old Cuban mother and her 9-year-old son has been shared by the Florida press as a reminder of the difficulties that migrants face in the search for a better life.
The Cuban, a native of Camagüey and identified as Adisney Armashas just received help from the foundation Season of Sharing to settle with her son Julio César in the city of Bradenton, after a year marked by many difficulties, but also by the perseverance and resilience of the woman and the minor.
His story, told by Sarasota Herald-Tribuneis a testimony of courage and hope.
It all started in 2019 when his mother and sister decided it was time to leave Cuba. Once in Florida, they would request asylum from her and send for her and Julius Caesar a year later. At least that was the idea. However, those plans were interrupted by the arrival of the pandemic in 2020.
After much waiting and a worsening of the economic situation in Cuba, At the beginning of January 2023 – just a year ago – the woman and her son joined the thousands of Cubans who took a plane to Nicaragua with a view to embarking on a land migratory route. to the southern border of the United States.
With the promise of being reunited with his mother and sister in Florida, they undertook a dangerous journey that included flights, buses, small boats and 12 hours trapped in a truck in Mexico.
Adisney, aware of the risks of suffocation, says that As soon as she got into the vehicle in Mexican territory, she positioned herself under a small hole in the roof to ensure that both she and her son had access to the little air.
Despite the anguish, they achieved it.
The next step was to cross the river. However, after successfully crossing the Rio Grande into United States territory with her bag on her back and hugging her son tightly, everything collapsed when they were returned to Mexico.
Over the next four days, Adisney says she and her son moved between several camps on the Mexican side of the border. At that moment she was already desperate, but she points out that her little one remained strong and did not complain.
Alerted there about the new humanitarian parole program, started that same January by the Biden administration, Adisney filled out a form on her phone and was allowed to return to the border for an interview with US immigration officials.
Subsequently, they gave him a hearing date for February 2025 and allowed him to enter with his son.
After being reunited at Tampa International Airport with his mother and sister, the rest of 2023 passed with other challenges and many life adjustments.
He initially lived with his mother and sister in a small apartment, where he struggled to adapt to his new life, learn English, and find work.
His perseverance paid off when he obtained a work permit and found employment in Goodwill Manasota.
Julio César enrolled in school in Bradenton, where he began his own battle to learn a new language and meet new friends.
Living with the family was no longer viable when the small apartment was filled with other relatives who had recently arrived in Cuba. There were six adults and the child.
Added to that reality was that she reconnected with an ex-boyfriend, now residing in Texas, who decided to come live with her in Florida.
That’s when Adisney turned to Natalie Caukwell, director of the program Jobs Plus Language de Goodwilllooking for help finding a place to live.
Despite the housing crisis, with the help of friends Adisney found a two-bedroom apartment in Bradenton that she and her boyfriend could afford: just the two of them and Julius Caesar. They had saved enough for the deposit but had nothing left for the first month’s rent.
It was then that the Cuban, with the help of Natalie Caukwell, resorted to Season of Sharing to receive help of almost $1,700 to cover February rent. Once Adisney graduates from her language classes, she will be able to move up to a higher position at her job and move on.
Adisney is already planning for the future. Under immigration provisions reserved for Cubans who have expedited residency, she is in the process of completing her paperwork to obtain a Green Card.
In the long term he would like to study to be a dental hygienist.
Despite all the anguish and bad times in recent years, the Camagüeyan mother believes it was worth it.
“I always believed that for my son, if I made sacrifices today…I would see the reward tomorrow,” she concludes satisfied.
