A stage of illusions in Colombia, the calamities due to the pandemic, aberrant episodes in Darién and a difficult process to legalize in New York. This is how the most recent years of Gizech Olivares are summarized, a Venezuelan mother who went from being a doctor in her country to becoming a construction worker.
Without fear of machismo or stereotypes, women sand walls, clean, paint, remove rugs and even participate in demolition work. “Thank God they have accepted me. We can get ahead, even in construction,” she told Univision.
According to the Federal Government, construction jobs are paid up to $28 per hour, which is equivalent to an annual salary ranging between $30,000 and $72,000.
For these reasons, construction training courses have filled their places, going from 20,000 in 2019 to more than 60,000 in the middle of 2023.
Gizech Olivares found a solution to his economy with a hammer in his hand
In order to work in construction in New York, Gizech Olivares joined the Labor Justice project, where mothers, grandmothers and young Latina migrants, with and without experience, are trained to take on jobs that “traditionally” occupy men.
“Women are breaking barriers and entering the construction industry to get opportunities and build a better life (…) They do not need physical strength to demonstrate that they have skills,” said Ligia Gualpa, director of the Labor Justice project.
“In the organization, many have made it clear that they know how to lay ceramic floors, paint, and carpentry, but it is a challenge due to gender inequality, lack of education and sexism,” he said.
Gizech Olivares never imagined that he would find the solution to his finances with a hammer in his hand. “We are capable, intelligent, fighters and workers,” said the Venezuelan mother and grandmother.
“Life changed me, it hurt me a lot”
But the vocations of this Venezuelan began far away from the scaffolding and bricks. Gizech Olivares studied nursing and medicine in Venezuela, trying to forge a future in medical offices.
“I got married when I was 19, I have 3 wonderful children together, I’m a grandmother and everything was fine,” she recalled. But the economic, social and political crisis in Venezuela forced him to leave the country. “There came a time when she ate once a day.”
Gizech Olivares first went to Santa Marta, Colombia, where he went through hardships before becoming financially stable. “I didn’t know where I was going to end up, where I was going to sleep. I ended up sleeping in an abandoned house and an abandoned car. It was hard,” he said.
“Life changed me, I forgot what I had studied, it hurt me a lot, because you have an ego that goes down. I had to sell coffee on the street,” said the Venezuelan.
He risked his life and that of a son in Darién to reach the United States
After 8 months of hard work on the streets of Santa Marta, Gizech Olivares went to Bogotá and opened a business that he later abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And in view of the situation, she was forced to cross the Darien with one of her children.
“They kidnapped my son, I became desperate, I called his father and I wanted to die,” she said.
From the dangerous jungle, located between Colombia and Panama, the woman had to mediate with the kidnappers and witness aberrant scenes.
“They grabbed you one by one and stripped you naked in front of other people, they grabbed you everywhere, they took your money, they threatened to kill you every 5 minutes. They raped about eight girls, you could hear the screams,” he said.
But survival instinct allowed her to continue the journey, arriving in San Antonio, Texas, and then being transferred to New York with a group of immigrants. She then settled in a shelter (a church) and began to look for methods to emerge.
Currently, he has his legal papers and has opened a career in construction, work that would leave any employer speechless when they see his resume. “It’s a cool job. I never thought about this.”
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