(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
<img src="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/styles/embed_text_block/public/media/uploads/images/shutterstock_2176319419.jpg" alt="Maria" width="500">
You are Maria, you fall asleep thinking about waking up tomorrow at 4am to make breakfast for your son before starting your shift at the hotel. Shoot! You didn’t have time to buy more breakfast. That’s okay, there’s enough for Alejandro. You can wait to eat until dinner. Creating a childhood better than the one you had isn’t easy… but you are going to make it happen.
[[//Buenos noches//->Event 1: Hurricane Otis]](enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
<img src="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/styles/embed_text_block/public/media/uploads/images/shutterstock_2387928531.jpg" alt="Hurricane Otis" width="500">
You wake up, and go to shut off your alarm, but quickly realize that is not what is waking you up. Hurricane Otis is slamming into Acapulco in the middle of the night, leaving destruction and ruin in its wake. There was no time to prepare, the forecasts underestimated its threat not knowing it would develop into a Category 5 hurricane in twelve hours. Four days later and almost half of the infrastructure affected still doesn't have power or is destroyed, including your family’s home, all of your belongings, and the hotel you work for. Nothing is going to be open anytime soon, there are 1,600 people in shelters… you have to do it, you need to feed your family, you need to eat, you need somewhere to live, and some form of income…
Options? You have a cousin in CA working in agriculture… it’s time to go.
[[Event 2: Maria jumps on a bus]](enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
<img src="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/styles/embed_text_block/public/media/uploads/images/shutterstock_1243603030.jpg" alt="Maria getting on bus" width="500">
[[Choice 2.1.a: Concern of safety on the bus]](enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
<img src="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/styles/embed_text_block/public/media/uploads/images/shutterstock_2257545159.jpg" alt="Bus safety concern" width="500">
As a woman traveling alone, you find yourself in the back of the bus, huddled, surrounded by men. You are the only woman in your section of the bus, You realize you are getting a lot of eyes on you. A man approaches...
[[Result a1: Ignore him]]
[[Result a2: You realize you can't get away, so you make small talk]]
[[Result a3: Look for an escape]](enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
You pretend to fall asleep, and he seems to respect your choice.
As you look away, the man gets irate. 'I was just trying to make a conversation, how dare you!' He then continues on getting more and more angry, berating you and verbally harassing.
[[Event 3: After Choice 2.1.a, Maria gets to California]]
(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
He seems delighted that you are talking to him, and flirts mercilessly with you. He asks you for very specific details about where you are going, and when you mention your male cousin, suggests that you need a real man tonight to protect you. Wink wink.
You decide to make small talk, keeping it very polite. Luckily, unlike the guys around him who are making you feel uncomfortable, this man seems to want to make a safe space for you. You tell him about your travels, and then he suggests and provides some tips on how to land a job in the United States.
[[Event 3: After Choice 2.1.a, Maria gets to California]](enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
<img src="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/styles/embed_text_block/public/media/uploads/images/shutterstock_2257545175.jpg" alt="Bus friends" width="500">
You decide to get out of there and avoid confrontation, moving out of your section of the bus and looking for a place with less men around you. As you move, hands grab at you until you see a group of three women who are also traveling. You sit next to them, and they seem to sense you need a safe space. They welcome you, a group of three sisters traveling much like you for a better life. They have heard that domestic labor is easy to find in the US, but you can get taken advantage of easily.
[[Event 3: After Choice 2.1.a, Maria gets to California]](enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
<img src="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/styles/embed_text_block/public/media/uploads/images/shutterstock_251876155.jpg" alt="California" width="500">
You make it to your cousin in CA. Yes! Now you need a job.Your cousin can't get you one at his work, so you have the option of finding a one through an online ad
[[Choice 3: Wait for visa or find illegal employment?]](enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
[[Result 3.a: Wait for visa]]
[[Result 3.b: Put down a deposit]]
[[Result 3.c: Caregiving]](enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
<img src="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/styles/embed_text_block/public/media/uploads/images/shutterstock_374036287.jpg" alt="Visa wait" width="500">
Having never worked in agriculture or as an official caregiver, you decide to apply for an H2B visa like Miguel. He guides you through the process of filing the application as best he can, even connecting you to local resources in the community to help you file the visa. Miguel cautions you that it may still take a while, but as a refugee from an environmental disaster, you feel confident in your chances of getting a visa.
[[Choice 3.1.a: Visa is taking too long, do you continue to wait, or look for work elsewhere?]](enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
At your cousin’s scroll for hours through different ads trying to parse out real leads. One looks promising. They ask for the applicant to put down a deposit. That makes sense, they are guaranteeing housing as well. A worthy cause for the last of your savings. You decide to put down a deposit. Putting something into the system can only help… right?
[[END 3: Scam]]
[[END 4: Successfully working in agriculture]](enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
<img src="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/styles/embed_text_block/public/media/uploads/images/shutterstock_160559990.jpg" alt="Maria using phone" width="500">
[[END 5: Worker abuse]]
[[END 6: Visa and freedom]](enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
You continue to wait… and wait.. for the results of your application while living with your cousin, Miguel. You try to make yourself useful around the house. You aren't bringing in any income to send to your family, who call you daily. You can see the hope fading from your children at seeing you again, and you feel the pressure to provide for them and your mother. But still no answer. What do you do?
[[Result a3a: Continue to wait]]
[[Result a3b: Look for work elsewhere]](enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
<img src="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/styles/embed_text_block/public/media/uploads/images/shutterstock_61105714.jpg" alt="Empty fridge" width="500">
You waited through the two week processing time the ad described, refreshing your email again and again. The hum of your cousin’s emptying fridge seemingly taunting you as you do so. They never get back to you. Your cousin does their best to support you, and after a long 15 years of saving, a laundry list of various odd jobs, you are able to pay for your children to join you. Life isn’t glamorous, but at least you are together.(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
<img src="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/styles/embed_text_block/public/media/uploads/images/shutterstock_1622521543.jpg " alt="Maria wokring in agriculture" width="500">
You waited through the two week processing time the ad described, refreshing your email again and again. The hum of your cousin’s emptying fridge seemingly taunting you as you do so. Ping Finally an email with details, hours and pay arrives in your inbox. After 6 weeks working and only spending money paying your cousin back for feeding you for two weeks, and spending the absolute minimum on food, you have finally earned back the money you put down in the deposit, and can start saving to reunite with your children.(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
<img src="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/styles/embed_text_block/public/media/uploads/images/shutterstock_2102738740.jpg" alt="Caregiving" width="500">
You decide to answer the digital recruitment call. Caregiving isn’t exactly the kind of work you imagined going into here, but it isn’t something you are unfamiliar with of course. You are hired by the family who placed the advertisement. They seem friendly enough on the surface, but as you continue to work for them, the long hours and low pay become more difficult to justify. Finding work elsewhere will be difficult with the demands of and rules enforced by your current family – you really can’t afford to go against them and lose this income right now. The language barrier makes it difficult to advocate for your needs with the parents and to discipline the kids. You think of how much you miss taking care of your own.(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
<img src="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/styles/embed_text_block/public/media/uploads/images/shutterstock_2102738740.jpg" alt="Caregiving" width="500">
You decide to answer the digital recruitment call. Caregiving isn’t exactly the kind of work you imagined going into here, but it isn’t something you are unfamiliar with of course. You are hired by the family who placed the advertisement. The hours are longer and the pay is lower than you expected, but it’s enough to scrape by. Despite the apparent language barrier, you feel free to make your own choices and decisions in the care of their kids because the family is supportive. You feel stable. You continue with your employment with your host family for 5 years. Over this time, you send money back to your family while you save up for yourself to return home to them. You hear the news that your community at home is on its way to being re-built. It finally seems like time for you to return to your family!(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
<img src="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/styles/embed_text_block/public/media/uploads/images/shutterstock_1679004130.jpg" alt="Migrants waiting in line" width="500">
[[END 2: Goes back to Mexico because of unsuccessful, and has to negotiate the failing infrastructure while cousin tries to send her revenue every now and then]] (enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
<img src="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/styles/embed_text_block/public/media/uploads/images/shutterstock_160559990.jpg" alt="Maria using phone" width="500">
[[Result 3.b: Put down a deposit]]
[[Result 3.c: Caregiving]] (enchant:?page,(text-colour:#5e3d21)+(bg:#ecc8a7))
<img src="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/styles/embed_text_block/public/media/uploads/images/shutterstock_1679004130.jpg" alt="Migrants waiting in line" width="500">
You decide to be patient, and hope for the best. But after a year of waiting and no income, your cousin gently encourages you to go back to Mexico to wait it out. You return to a city still recovering from the hurricane, with infrastructures limping back to life. The tourist industry takes years to recover, and you hop from job to job for just as long to make ends meet for your family. Miguel sends you money--when he can--but you never hear about your visa application. But at least, you are home with your family and providing for them as best you can.