With a broken voice and unable to contain his tears, the Ecuadorian Rafael Mancero only brought with him the memory of his children and his family.
He spent a 6-month journey to get to the US, arrived in NY on Saturday and had to sleep on the sidewalk of the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan.
– “I come in search of a dream, for my children”,
– How many children do you have?
– “Three”.
– Did they stay there?
– “Yes”, answers Mancero.
“I have had to experience kidnappings, I have had to live through everything in Mexico, I have worked from city to city and I have managed to cross the border. It is hard, hard. But I arrive here and I find that they do not give housing to lonely people” , says.
Hundreds of single immigrants are experiencing his situation, because according to the mayor the priority is for families, he also said that single adults will be placed in shelters only for a period of 60 days.
“On the outskirts of this hotel, getting a room is very difficult, but hopes do not wane and they line up to be processed and sent to a shelter.”
Sthephany Medina and her husband also arrived on Saturday and they did manage to be treated, but they also spent the night on the street.
“We who are a couple without were told that, if we could enter, they already gave us the handles, to be able to enter, they give it to you at the time you arrive, two and twelve, this when they already have the most advanced process, at families give them more priority for the children,” explains this Venezuelan immigrant.
As the mayor announced several days ago, the city no longer has space to house more immigrant individuals and families.
Carla Molina arrived in NY with her 3 children and her husband, full of dreams and illusions. They were hosted at the Roosevelt Hotel a month ago.
Jarvis Rivero, is another Venezuelan immigrant and tells us:
“Here in this hotel they received us here, but well, thank God, (she) actually did not come here but they received us here, n the laws that changed we had to get here, where they received us well, we are already working.”
“We are in the land of dreams. In other words, the one who does not fulfill his dreams and the one who does not want to work here is because he does not want to. The true dream is the one that one also fights for, right? Molina wonders.”
According to the city’s data, more than 93,000 immigrants have been assisted since this flow of people seeking asylum began in New York City. Now, for many newcomers, the future is still uncertain.
2023-07-30 20:06:00
#Asylum #seekers #seek #shelter #Roosevelt #Hotel
