Gabriela

by Israel Ortega, a RILA volunteer

Gabriela* fled her native country because she feared for her daughter’s life. She remembers the exact moment when she knew it was time to leave: the men in her neighborhood began catcalling her daughter who was barely eight years of age.

She knew what her daughter was feeling because it happened to her when she was a child. This time, as a mother, Gabriela was determined to make things right.

At first, Gabriela thought she would find refuge in another city in her native country. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. Besides daily harassment from men in the city, the new city presented other challenges: crime, violence and few opportunities for a better life.

It was more of the same in her native country and later Mexico. Despite the considerable risks, Gabriela knew that she and her daughter had to move to the US to start a new life and seek opportunity.

The most dramatic change about living in the US is that Gabriela and her daughter no longer live under a constant state of fear. She knows that here she can go to the authorities for help, unlike back home where corruption is rampant, and it isn’t clear whom in authority you can trust.

Of course, life here hasn’t come without heartbreak and grief. A man she fell in love with here was deported. And upon returning, he came back a changed man. He began to drink heavily. Gabriela began to fear for her safety and for her daughter’s well-being around him. It was around this time that she learned she was expecting. Confused and scared, Gabriela wondered how she would care for herself and her growing family in a new country not knowing the language.

Upon learning about RILA, Gabriela thought that an immigration clinic asking for no money from clients was too good to be true. She felt like there had to be a catch. Skepticism eventually turned to joy as she saw the genuine concern RILA staff had for her. 

Gabriela slowly began to feel at ease and believed that God had answered her deepest prayer: help to live without fear in order to raise her two children.

At night, Gabriela is able to go to sleep without fear. She knows that the RILA staff is diligently working on her case and is pleasantly surprised when she hears from them giving her an update about her case. 

She still worries about things like any mother raising two young children. But for the first time, for as long as she can remember, she feels at ease and knows that her daughter won’t live under the blanket of fear and insecurity that plagued her growing up.

By telling her story, Gabriela hopes that others will know what life is like for an immigrant living in this country escaping daily threats and fear for their lives. And she prays that by telling her story, RILA’s generous supporters will be able to help other immigrants like her who are anxious, lost and scared.

In Gabriela’s words, RILA is a godsend.

*Client’s name has been changed to protect her privacy.

Gabriela knew that she and her daughter had to leave her family to start a new life and seek opportunity.