Ecuadorian mother and son are in the United States after 18 years; Scion was deported at the beginning and even lived as a beggar | Ecuador | News

The young man, who suffers from mental and hearing disabilities, was able to meet his mother. The 1800 Migrante organization helped locate him.

Cuenca

A young man from the province of Cañar was reunited with his mother in the United States after 18 years. Washington Quizhpi tried to cross the border, but was deported to Mexico, where he lost track of reality due to his mental disability. He was rescued from the streets and after some legal action he arrived at his destination to hug his mother.

Washington migrated from the Sisid commune, in Cañar, on December 31 last. He arrived in Mexico without major inconveniences, but in his attempt to cross the wall that divides that country with the United States, he was arrested and deported to Ciudad Juárez. In that town, Quizhpi was left to his own devices; Without money, without knowing anyone and totally disoriented, he lived on the streets as a beggar. He was just another homeless person, but with an additional aggravation, he suffers from a mental illness and has a hearing disability.

His mother, Salomé Quihzpe, lives in the state of Maryland, migrated like hundreds of Ecuadorians and had not seen Washington for 18 years. Upon learning that her son was not showing up, she sought help from the authorities and then contacted the 1800 Migrante organization, who finally did the paperwork to locate him.

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The Washington photograph was disseminated through different media and social networks. There was no encouraging news, when suddenly Ana Rivas, a Mexican woman, posted the image of the compatriot’s identity card in her accounts. He said he was wandering near his mother’s business.

Upon confirming that he was alive, from 1800 Migrante coordinated with human rights organizations and Aztec authorities until they located him and he was transferred to a dispensary to treat him and then deliver him to a support shelter for migrants in transit.

Far from there, in Maryland, the Quizhpi family, although they were calmer, began to look for the legal mechanism for Washington to enter the United States, a situation that finally materialized.

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Washington Quizhpi was puzzled and after several attempts he contacted his grandparents in Cañar and told them that he was safe and well cared for. The third step was to bring the elderly to Mexico to take him to the United States, because being a person of vulnerable condition he could not be alone again. After overcoming several incidents in Ecuador, such as obtaining a new passport and an anti-COVID-19 test, the grandparents got on the plane. First they made a stopover in Miami, then Arizona, from there they crossed to Ciudad Juárez and then to the United States using a humanitarian bridge.

After a long journey, at 04:00 this Friday, June 4, the Quizhpi family met in Maryland to meet their lost relative. At the landing gate they looked at each other, recognized each other and were moved. Everyone joined in a hug, while some media recorded the emotional scene. Then, all together, they went home to celebrate the longed-for and eventful reunion. (I)

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