Two Venezuelan Migrants on their Harrowing Journey through the Jungle to NYC (Ep. 48)
“Honestly, I am not looking for the American dream. I’m looking to solve something in my country, with my family and my children. Because the American dream does not exist for me.”
In NYC, the arrival of over 100,000 migrants seeking asylum in the last 12 months has pushed the city's shelter system to the breaking point. In the midst of this scramble for resources, too often the voices of these refugees are lost.
Meet Juan and Militza, two asylum seekers who fled their native country of Venezuela and began the long harrowing trek to America. The choice to leave was not easy; both have extensive family ties to their homeland, and yet the autocratic Maduro regime made their lives unlivable. Their heartbreaking yet inspiring migration—an exodus shared by over half a million Venezuelans this year alone—took them through the treacherous Colombian and Panamanian jungle, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala, all the way to the infamous train La Bestia en route to the U.S. border at Piedras Negras. In the course of their travels, thousands of refugees suffer theft, kidnapping, sexual assault, torture, murder, and suicide. Many do not survive the journey.
Juan and Militza met by chance at the Migrant Resource Center at 7000 San Pedro Avenue in San Antonio, Texas. They were each then redirected to New York, where they were happily surprised to reunite. Tragically, they had their documents stolen by another migrant upon arrival, which initially left them on the streets of Manhattan. They have since managed to recover their official papers and are now being housed at an abandoned school in College Point, Brooklyn. Although both are happy to have a roof over their heads, the living conditions at New York’s shelters are abysmal—often without beds, hot water, or hot food.
Sadly, personal records of the voyage are scarce, as most migrants have their possessions and phones stolen in transit. In some ways, this history of the refugee crisis remains an oral one. In Episode 48 of Bar Talk, Juan and Militza share their stories.
If you would like to support refugees located in New York, we encourage you to donate to Make The Road, an organization that provides cell phones and financial assistance to migrants, among other services. You can also donate to Asylum-Seeker Relief through the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City. This episode was shot at the historic Pershing Square café across from Grand Central terminal.
https://donate.maketheroadny.org/give...
https://www.nyc.gov/site/fund/donate/...
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00:00 Teaser
00:16 Intro
00:51 The American Dream
02:16 Why Did You Leave Venezuela?
04:22 Into the Panamanian Jungle
05:41 So Many Dead
07:50 Militza is Kidnapped
15:10 Left for Dead
20:05 El Basurero & La Bestia
21:46 Ciudad Juárez
23:13 To Veracruz & Back Again
24:08 Crossing the U.S. Border
27:09 Credible Fear
28:00 Shout-outs
#migrants #refugees #documentary #venezuela #border #immigration #bartalk