As a teenager and bait for gang recruitment, Pedro reluctantly fled El Salvador. This young father had to leave his wife and newborn son to seek asylum in the U.S., only to find himself ten years later deported. With his life threatened by gangs and his desperate need to return to his growing family in Boston, Pedro escaped El Salvador a second time. Arrested at the border, he was sent to a Tacoma, Washington, detention facility. Against all odds, Pedro won his release. Pedro’s story is a testimony to his resilience, passion for this country, optimism, and determination not only in the face of life-threatening gangs but also his intrepid desire to increase his English vocabulary word by word.
As a teenager and bait for gang recruitment, Pedro reluctantly fled El Salvador. This young father had to leave his wife and newborn son to seek asylum in the U.S., only to find himself ten years later deported. With his life threatened by gangs and his desperate need to return to his growing family in Boston, Pedro escaped El Salvador a second time. Arrested at the border, he was sent to a Tacoma, Washington, detention facility. Against all odds, Pedro won his release. Pedro’s story is a testimony to his resilience, passion for this country, optimism, and determination not only in the face of life-threatening gangs but also his intrepid desire to increase his English vocabulary word by word.
Guest intro/00:37
As a teenager and bait for gang recruitment, Pedro reluctantly fled El Salvador. This young father had to leave his wife and newborn son to seek asylum in the U.S., only to find himself ten years later deported. With his life threatened by gangs and his desperate need to return to his growing family in Boston, Pedro escaped El Salvador a second time. Arrested at the border, he was sent to a Tacoma Washington, detention facility. Against all odds, Pedro won his release. Pedro’s story is a testimony to his resilience, passion for this country, optimism, and determination not only in the face of life-threatening gangs but also in his intrepid desire to increase his English vocabulary word by word.
Escaping to the U.S./01:52
Deborah: My guest tonight is Pedro from El Salvador. Welcome Pedro. What were the stages of your coming to the U.S.? What were the turning points? What was the moment you knew that you were going to come?
Pedro: The reason I choose to make the big step which is me to think about left my country is because first of all, I know my wife for long time. I think we met when we was eight or nine years old. And we go to the school together pretty much and then come the relationship. Was such nice moments. What I remember from when I was little and then when I turned 14, no, 13 and 16, that’s what I think from when I was 13 it started like getting worse and worse. I mean the whole country but most of the place where we used to live was terrible with the gangs and all that. And the thing is everything was okay. We went to school together and first of all one of our friends was get killed. That one was a really serious like, like, because we never thought one of our friends—he don’t even do anything bad. He just enjoy the life, do sports, go to the school, have fun, like teenagers do. But after that, I saw, believe or not, after four days after that we saw that they kill a little kid seven years old. A blow for our house. In that moment made me sad is because I just went with Xiomara because she went to the school in that moment, I think was around seven. I just left her in the bus. And soon when I turned my back and back to home, I just heard the shot. Pow! When I heard that, I just turned around and I saw the kid just go down in the ground. And I saw a lot of blood and all that. I still have that one in my mind. My those moments. Before was one of our best friends. And then I see that and then it start getting worse in the nights. Those guys start ask for money. The entire country was really worse, but the place we used to live was one of the worst parts then in El Salvador. And then three weeks and up it was we cannot even go outside anymore. Like used to be. I used to do a lot of stuff. I used to dance too. Good stuff for part of the school and then some of them on the side. Because of that, my mom— she’s the one has a friend lives in here, in Texas, I believe. And those back in the days and my mother start talk about that friend if she helped for me to come over. Because for me, most for men in that moment, it was very dangerous. In that moment, we already have the first kid, which is made Francisco.
Deborah: How old was Francisco at that point?
Pedro: Four months old. Yeah. I mean only remind me that moment it’s hard because I was between 16 and 17, I believe. About that age.
Deborah: So you were a very young father.
Pedro: Yeah, because, that’s what I said. We met each other with Xiomara, my wife, in high school. We start do things and then this all good Francisco came. I remember that night we was talk mostly the whole night. Talk about that. Because my mom, she finds someone can help us to come in the U.S. And but for me to make that decision and Xiomara as well was very hard because on one side I know, in that moment was really dangerous for me to be there. As a man. Because every teenager it was worse, like really worse to be out, to go out, take the bus. But we was talk about the whole night and then we just decide, I have to, no matter what I have to do it.
Deborah: Were the gangs trying to recruit you into the gang?
Pedro: Yeah. Basically they force us to do part of them. This is the really the issue for because if you don’t be a part of the gangs, you have to you have to do stuff for them. That’s what they force you. No matter what you or no, if you don’t like it, they kill you. That’s it! That that’s simple. That’s it! So you refuse. Soon as you turn your back, they shoot you.
Deborah: So when you decided to leave, did you sort of just kind of escape?
Pedro: Yes. Kind of escape. They don’t even know about the day I left from my country. Soon they don’t even saw me anymore go out anything like that. They asked Xiomara, they went to our house to knock the doors and asked for me. And she said, “I don’t even know. He just move.” She just said, “He just left me. He just move out.” Because she don’t want to either tell nothing about where am I going that moment? And after, one part of me is okay—I do this because if I stay here, I have to be part of them. If I refuse, I gotta be killed. That was the reality in that moment. But for me in my mind, I was okay, I have to leave my love, my mom, my dad. And then my son was only four months old. And Xiomara, I mean, was really very hard moments for us. But we have to do no matter what. And then my mind was like, okay, if whatever I go, sooner or later they are going to be with me no matter what, because I just see my son in my hands when he just born and was everything for me in that moment from there and up, be a father was privilege for me. I can’t even imagine to be in that position again anymore because I have, we already have three kids, Francisco and two baby girls. And, but wow.
Deborah: The girls were born here in the States, right?
Pedro: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Deborah: So is Francisco considered a Dreamer?
Pedro: Yes. He’s a such a nice kid. We try to do the best with him because we both of us was really young when we have Francisco and for us was kind of start to learn how to be a father or parents. We try to have good relationship with him, but so far we think, just, we, we do the great ‘cause with him because he’s really such a nice kid. Yeah. With the schools, everything he been done. Also right now he’s enjoy a program in Harvard because he won the program. He’s pretty smart kid.
Across the Border, Now What?/09:42
Deborah: That’s great. Tell me about, so once you decided to basically escape from El Salvador, did you have some kind of visa or how did you make it to the States? I know you had somebody there, a friend of your mother’s that was going to help you out.
Pedro: You just come like anybody else, when they escape from the countries you just, for in that moment, I don’t even know he just told me, they told me, “Okay, someone has gotta come over in some sort of place to pick you up. You need to just follow him whatever he said. And then he’s gotta take you on the trip.” And then was really hard moments because I never thought in my life when I was that age and when I was a kid I have to leave my country because the situation that we used to be living in. And then but we just decide—my mom she’s the one was really concerned more because she know the reality in that moment. She don’t want me to be there anymore. My mom call everyone because we don’t even have money to afford it any trip or anything like that. That’s why my mom, she’s the one, start call people, friends, and thanks God, she finds a nice friend. She said, “Okay, I can help your son to come over because I see it.”And she knows too the lady, she knows the situation that was El Salvador what’s been through.
Deborah: What happened when you got here? Was this woman in Texas? What brought you to Boston?
Pedro: This is another part of this story,
Deborah: That’s okay. All the parts count. Any part you want to share.
Pedro: After I came in Texas, right. Everything was fine. I start do some work and decide with some friends that she knows and talk to about me then that she finds a job for me. But the thing is she don’t even have a time for me to show me, take care of me, like put me in the school to learn English or whatever, because she was extremely busy, like everybody else in this country when they came. She basically has three jobs and nobody being home. Most of the time I be alone. And then when she just called me, “Hey, someone’s going to go to the house to pick you up if you want to work. Okay?” I just went, you know, I work with these guys and then with the other guy. But one day I was talked to with Xiomara because her father was up here in Boston and her father told her, “Yeah, if Pedro wants to come to my house, I can help him.” In that moment we don’t really have good relationship is because he knows the beginning of the story. Because we know that we just became parents like that age. He basically support Xiomara the whole time, but when Xiomara tried to get support from him, he basically he saying no, because he—I’m totally understand. Because he don’t even know me. He don’t even know who I am. But long story short, I was talked with him on the phone and he told me, “Yeah, if you want to come I can know you better and I can get you a job or whatever.” After two months, he is the one told me, how do I can get a ride. And the bus you buy the ticket and then I don’t even know about nothing about this country. Every everyone speaks English. I don’t even know anything. And I don’t know how I did it to go to the bus station and get into that. What I remember I took seven different buses to get up here. Was a good experience for me. After that, when I came here, he was pretty good with me. He found a good job for me in restaurants. And after that in Boston, I feel more comfy for the weather. Believe or not cold weather, I don’t know why, but I love cold weather. And then I know more people and I start hear about the programs, this program for English, and I started, went into it, because I want to learn the language. I need to know more people. After we start work, we make a plan to see if Xiomara can come with Francisco. She was there two years alone because believe it or not, every single days around the country was around 20, 26 kills. Every days. Every days—one block, two blocks, another one, three blocks all around the area. That was a part of the life in El Salvador. Every day, about 20, 26 kills, every day, every day. It was that terrible, terrible, like I have a lot of family still in there, but some of them getting killed, same, because of that friends. Usually because of Facebook, we met old friends for the school and when we asked for, “Hey, how’s Jose? How’s? Oh, no, man. He’s they kill. He’ll kill him.” When you started ask for them, “Oh, no, he’s not here anymore.”
Deborah: That’s terrible.
Pedro: Oh yeah.
Reuniting the Family/15:18
Deborah: You must have been really happy to finally get Xiomara out of there and Francisco. Some relief. Where did you all live once they came up here?
Pedro: When they came same with my father-in-law he rent me a bedroom. But when Xiomara came with Francisco we live together the whole family. And from that time and up, life was more calm because from the time I left my country, left my kids, Xiomara, my parents. And those two years, I can’t even sleep well. I can’t even be well in the days, because only for think about how, how, where they was in that time, this is what we was talking serious about to get out of there.
Deborah: I can’t believe how dangerous it was there for you.
Pedro: I think for most of the peoples, they have a really bad times in our country.
Deborah: Is it still like that?
Pedro: This time is because of the new president, right? Seems like it’s more controlled about gangs, but there’s another things that’s pop up. Now there’s no the gangs anymore for this moment. But the police, they start getting corrupt, ask for money. One thing is getting fixed little by little, but another part it’s starting getting worse, because now there’s not the bad guys anymore. They say gangs they still, they still do stuff, but not like before, not that the crazy like before. They still do stuff on but kills probably were once a week for now is good because for seven years straight was between 20, 26 kills per day, but now I think it’s getting better.
Transitioning from Restaurant to Moving Business/17:23
Deborah: I know you said you started working in the restaurant business for a while. And then what was the transition from that kind of work to the moving, to working at Michael’s moving?
Pedro: I was work in restaurants for about seven months and was okay for me because I started doing dishwasher, you know, and then after four days, the owners told me, “Oh, if you want, you can move in the front to help the guys clean the tables, put some tea and tea cups and whatever and okay.” I was kind of nervous, “Okay. I can probably, I can handle that. Okay,” boom, boom, boom. And then he, I don’t know what he saw in me but he start to take me to another restaurant because I think in that time he owns three different restaurants and then he take me to different places, right. And then after, basically I help him to get orders cause he just make order everything they need for from their restaurants, for whatever they cook. Then I start do that with him, help him carry stuff, all other type of stuff.
But one friend I just met someone and he told me about this job about moving and the way he described me, it look interesting. The pay, the tips and when I had the day off, right. At that moment I say, “Okay can you ask your boss? Can I work there?” And he is, “Yeah, yeah. Okay. Let me ask him.” And then I, that’s the first sign. I just went and do that type job, moving stuff. After that day the tip was well, the hours was less job, more money. And I said probably I think because I was, “Oh, but he’s good with me. He took care me very well, but he don’t pay me well.” That’s the thing, basically, when I did my math, he paid me like $50 per day. He don’t pay me any hourly. He paid me $50 per day and I was working six days sometimes seven. Seven days of the week for about 11, 12 hours. And because we need the money we do no matter what. And the moving job, I just went to that day, I get well tips and the hours, basically the hours I make in that day the whole, I mean, for the whole money basically was for three days on the other job. And in that moment made me realize that I got to talk to him.
Deborah: In the moving business you were making in three days what you had to work seven days on the other job.
Pedro: No. Only in one day the money I make was about three days in my other job and this is where I say, what? I don’t know this not every day like that but I think this job it’s better. If in the future I want to have a better life, better opportunities. And when I start talk with my boss and he’s pretty much cannot refuse to let me go. He’s, “No, no, I can pay you more because you are a good employee, blah, blah, blah, blah.” In that time I don’t need to talk English at all. Someone else next to me was help me translate and I ask him, “Hey, tell him how much he gotta pay me. If he want me to stay.” He’s like, “I can pay him ten more dollars.” Basically, he pay me 50 and he gotta pay me $60 per day. I said, “I’d be honest with you. I had a better opportunity.” And he’s call me every single day. “How much you want? How much you want? Pay you 70 per days.” He’s still per day. No, I don’t wanna be lied to you because by that moment, I know the other job better. And from that moment and right now I’ve been there for more than 14 years, I think because know owner is good and I’m not just too, because I started as a helper and then beside I went to the school with Michelle and I started right from the beginning, the programs, and we decide we started learn the language and at the job too, we started asking, “How do I say this?” And then little by little, we was grow and grow. But now I have a better position, thanks God, little by little everything’s been changed.
Deborah: You have a lot of responsibility in that job.
Pedro: A lot. Because the thing is, I know a lot about this business and Mike, he’s the boss, he’s the owner, and he trusts me a lot for anything I want to do in the company. He knows it’s for better or for help, for always it’s for support.
Learning English/22:36
Deborah: He trusts you and you bring a lot to the business. Tell me Pedro, about how long it took you to not need somebody standing next to you to translate and that you were able to understand and speak English without needing a translator next to you. What was that journey?
Pedro: Wow. I remember, I was already three years working in a company three years already from the beginning. After those three years, nice such a person Will, was the name of the dispatcher and on those days, we need more foremen, four more guys, more foremans. And he saw pretty much I can defend myself to the base of the staff, collect the signatures, display the little things. I don’t want talk too much English, but for the job and for the things that needs to be done, I know pretty much a lot of the stuff and he know me and he one day he asked me, “What do you think? You want to be a foreman tomorrow?” And my heart was boom, boom, boom, boom. Start like really fast. And, “You are for real?” “Yeah. Yeah. It seems like you can handle it.” Oh my God. No, really okay, no, what he told me, what I gotta have. “I’m going have someone next to you if you need support and that person, he can explain to the customer you are a new foreman.” And then I was, “Okay, okay, okay. All right.” Boom. That day I was very nervous before I show up customer house I was very nervous, but I introduced myself “Hi I’m Pedro,” or whatever. And I ask him what are the stuff he need to be moved? Can he show me the stuff or whatever. But the thing is by the time I need to collect the signatures— back in the day was the contracts a piece of papers. Because now we use iPads and all that, but back in the day was like regular.
Deborah: It’s all electronic now.
Pedro: I remember when I was about to collect the signature to pay that my hand was that shaking like this. When I try to show the customer, “Oh, do you mind to sign here please?” My voice was like, because I remember that was, and the other guy was next to me. He says, “Sorry, he’s a new foreman,” and then the customer was, “Oh, okay.” He try to support me. “Oh no, don’t be nervous. You gotta be fine.” I was, “Oh, thank you.” And after that day, next day I just was alone, and then, but was hard for me, but the good thing I do and decide after that I done the job. The classes I think was around 8:00 PM. I always in the night I went to the classes. I was interested to know more about the language when I was at work all the time. If I know someone was good person to ask any, I was, “Hey, how do, how do I say this? How do I do this? I know I’m this way, but how do I can do more polite?” I was always that ask, ask, and then my, this is how I grow, grow, grow my language, learn more, more English.
Missing El Salvador/26:08
Deborah: Tell me, Pedro, do you miss anything about El Salvador?
Pedro: I miss a lot of stuff. From sixteen down my whole life, my family the place where I was born and then the place where I grew up, was a nice, nice time. I used to, dance, hip hop, do a lot of type of sport. Those, moments was a nice, I can’t even describe they’re in my mind and I can’t even believe it’s not like that anymore. It’s totally changed. If I go to my country now, I’m totally feel like stranger personally. This is how it is right now. It’s nothing compared for back in the days. It’s totally different, everything, everything. But I miss a lot, most of the part of our family, because my mom, she used to travel around the country to see the family here and there. And I love those moments. Because for me it was a nice experience to be travel like for three, four hours here and there. That was, because of my mom, this is how I know my country.
Deborah: Is she still there?
Pedro: Yeah, she’s still there. She’s still there.
Deborah: When was the last time you saw her?
Pedro: Was about seven, seven years, I think seven years.
Deportation Woes and a Second Escape/27:40
Deborah: Did she come for a visit?
Pedro: No, the thing is because of my immigration status, when, okay. When I came in the U.S. in the border I asked for asylum, right? And they opened the case for it. But the thing is I never show up because nobody helped me. That’s what I said, the lady in Texas, she don’t even have a time for it. Basically I don’t have nobody to help me about lawyers or how to continue my case. And I was for about seven years already without show to the court. And this is how my case was like. Basically, the judge, she already deported me because I don’t show up in the court, right. This is how the the immigration systems were. If you don’t show up in the court, basically, they deport you no matter what, and you don’t have a chance to apply it or to ask for bond, anything like that if you get arrested.
Deborah: So what did you do?
Pedro: After 10 years, from the first time I came in U.S. after, we’ve been through with the really rough time. The immigration was knock our door and there was looking for me ‘cause they have a piece of paper with my name on it and they have all the info. I never show up in the court and that sort of time, whatever. And for that case, I have to go up with them. From that time, we already have Haley. She is the first daughter. And from that moment, was another bad dream, another bad story. Immigration systems work, if you don’t show up in the courts, you basically don’t have a chance for nothing. Basically they take you and they just deport you no matter what, without listening to you without nothing. Because you lost everything when you didn’t show up to the court.
Deborah: So how did you get through it? How are you able to still be here?
Pedro: Like I say, was really rough time for me, ‘cause for us, for everyone and our family because they take me out of the house. They put me in the detention and after four days they deport me to El Salvador. That’s what I said after around seven years I don’t see my mom because when they deport me, this is the time I see my mom. And by that time was really rough too is because when I get there, I just went to the different place, not the place where I left the first time. I just went to the different, because my mom was really nervous. So if I go to the same place where I left that first time, because if they saw me, a hundred percent, they gotta be killed. Cause they know I just left, I just escaped from there. The place I used to live was part of the MS-13. That’s the name of the gangs and the other place was the the opposite was the Eighteenth Surenos, stuff like that. But the thing is, and from that place, if they know I just came from the other place, it’s basically only for that reason because I’m from different places only for that reason you can get killed too. If you are from the enemies.
Deborah: If you’re in the wrong place.
Pedro: Yeah. I was in the wrong place.
Deborah: How did you get back to this country?
Pedro: I can’t even sleep in that time because I can’t even go out, has to be indoors every time, because I feel I go out, I have a hundred percent chance to get killed in that place. It was brutal, really. And, one day I just, I went out in the front porch, in the house, because I was for five days straight, locked in the house indoors. ‘Cause everyone around told me, “Don’t go out because you are stranger here. If they saw you, they gotta ask a question. They gotta find out where you used to live. And then they gotta have was terrible.” But the thing is I went out one day, right. And one guy for somehow he saw me and then I just go into the house after five minutes, five, six people just went, knock, knocked the door. And they asked, “Who’s that guy. We don’t even, know that guy.” And my family was a cousin, he tried to explain, “No, he just came from United States. He get deported blah, blah, blah. But he don’t even live here.” He started, ask questions or crazy questions and all that. Basically they force my family to get me out the house because they wanna know me. If I have tattoos anything, if I’m part of another gang. Then I was okay. Nothing crazy happened. After they left, we make a plan, no matter what I have to move from there. And we start our calls, Xiomara, whatever. And we just find our friends try to help me as well to escape again, because I don’t wanna be there even another day, ‘cause I know sooner or later I gotta be killed for no reason. This is how it was, I’m sorry, our country in those moments. And by that time, it’s not was just Francisco anymore. It was my baby girl, Haley. It was really brutal for me, for them.
And, and then we make a plan again, we just escape from there. And same, I just came and knocked the door on the border say, “I know before I do the same thing, but I don’t even know what I do because now I don’t have nobody to help me. Now, please. I beg for asylum,” because part of my family, friends I was spend like four days in the detention. “Please. Can I see the asylum officer please, ‘cause I need to talk, I need to talk. I need to tell, I need to tell, because I was being, please, please.” They help me. After four days I was in the detention and they helped me to make me an interview with the officer and after that I tell him all the details, how my life had been through from the first time and this moment and all that. And he give me opportunity to go the judge and tell the judge about my situation. But I was in Texas, right. And that one of the detentions in Texas, but they know my family was up here in Boston. What do they do? Because they don’t want us to be close to the family to have more support. What do they do? Peoples like me? They take me all the way down to the west. They send me to Washington state, Tacoma, far away from my family.
Deborah: It’s so cruel. It’s so cruel.
Pedro: Yeah. And we ask if they can transfer from different detentions more like close to my family, they say, no. it’s that doesn’t work like that.
Deborah: How long ago did this happen?
Pedro: It’s like seven years ago.
Detention Center Blues/35:06
Deborah: Seven years ago. How did you get out of there and how did you get back to Boston?
Pedro: Because, what I told you, because I lost the court the first time, only because of that make my case worse. And because I reenter in United States get worse again. And because I get deported. I don’t have no criminal records, nothing. Everything is clean, thanks God. I try to be a good citizen, follow the rules and everything, those are one of the things helped me too, in my case. But the thing is how I get out of it was every day and that detention, that what I talking about and inside and the detention, basically they have three courts, different courts that place that was, I think, like four judges. The only way you get out of there, if you get deported, or if you won your case. That’s the only two ways you get out the that detention. But one day I was feel already, because I know my case, Xiomara went to different lawyers to talk about my case. Every single lawyer tell her it was no chance to get released from there, no matter what, in the end of the day they’re going to deport me again to El Salvador.
Myself, I really, I know how hard was my situation. And for one moment I was feel kind of sick, but not okay in my mind. Basically, I kind, I mean start kind of crazy. Think about how if they deport me again, it’s like hundred percent I gotta get killed in there. And my kids and all that stuff make me sick in my mind. And I asked them, I banged on the door for the security, for the overseer and I ask for help and I can see someone and they ignore me. They don’t help peoples inside. They just send me to my cell to just go lay down in my bed and that’s it.
But one day I just realized it’s only one person is gonna help us to get out of that jail. And that person is, it’s gotta be God. In that moment, I realized nobody else. Lawyers said basically she has some money for another people can support us to pay the expenses for the lawyers. But even the lawyers they don’t want to take the money. They say they go straight with Xiomara, say no it’s not about money. That’s I don’t want to take your money. Because I’ll be honest with you. He’s going to be deported no matter what, three different lawyer four.
We just pray God. And I remember one night around 2:00 AM, I was read the Bible and that night I was crying like a little kid, pray God, “Please help me to, come to my family, to see them again.” I asked him for one more opportunity to be a better person, a better father, a better husband, a better son, from the bottom of my heart, that’s the first moment I talked to God and those four walls in there. And from that moment and up, I feel released all my stress out because I tell God, “I don’t ask you for time. If you want me to stay here for six a year, I don’t even care about the time the, only care is about is if you bring me to my family, cause that’s, I don’t, want another woman, another kids. What I want is to be together with my family.”
This is what I thought. And, everything after that night, next day was totally different because we usually ask, before that, we ask for a court, for a bond court, they don’t, they don’t take, I mean, they don’t, they don’t allow, they don’t allow me to ask for anything because no matter what they want me deported again, but after that night, we talked to God, we, we just prayed and asked him. And I told him, “I don’t even care about how much time I gotta spend there to, to be released inside, to be together with my family.” After that night, believe or not, when I talked to with our friends, some of that they don’t believe, but some of them they believe because they believe in God. After four days after that night, I was more okay. More relaxed, more calm because I just trust God, no matter what. I don’t trust nobody else, except God in that moment. And then after four days I saw my name on the board because was a big board and there like every person that has courts every days. Every days I just woke up about, about five to serve, to help with the breakfast.
A Miracle at Last/40:26
Deborah: You got up at five, five in the morning to help with the breakfast at the detention center.
Pedro: And every days, I try to do some don’t get crazy inside. After four days I saw my name in the board. One of the seniors told me, “Hey, Sosa, you have a court today,” when I was served the food. I look at him like, “What?” “You have a court today. You, it is you name it.” My heart was again, “Really? How do I have a court? We don’t even ask for a court.” I went to see the names and all that. And I see my name. And then the board. At that time was, I think 5:20 in the morning and just went, called Xiomara, that emotion, I can’t even talk, “Xiomara, I don’t know how, but I have a court today.” She’s, “What?” Yeah, I don’t know. “Just call the lawyer because I had court today.” After I just get dressed and all that. I went to the court. I was so nervous because I don’t even know what’s all about that court. But one of the lawyers was just fine and that detention, he just came and he told me, I asked him, “I just had a court today.” He say, “No, I don’t even know. I don’t they don’t send me letter, nothing. Your wife, she just called me said, and I just look at, and I, and I saw you, it’s you name it in the court.” When I got in front of the judge, he start looking my case, ask me questions. And then we find out that one was bond court, the one we was used to ask for like months and months, and they refused to give me one. For somehow, they, they, they put me there, a day for the court. After that day and the next day I get released. I can’t thanks enough life, Jesus. When I remember those moments, it bring me those chills emotions, because I don’t know probably those bad moments make us be a good person, be the look the life in different ways, and enjoy it with friends. I can tell you from before that life was okay. We always try to be a good person as good friends, but after all of that, we just came a different, we enjoyed the life more than we usually do before. Yeah.
Deborah: It was a kind of rebirth for you and for your family.
Pedro: Yeah.
Moving Toward Citizenship/43:16
Deborah: So what is your status now? Are, are you gonna be able to be a citizen?
Pedro: Yes, in the future. Now that I started, it is like everyone else, it’s go step by step. It’s one thing so far for now I had a working permit, and then sooner or later because of the COVID make this more long, courts being postponed every year. But I learned to be patient to just enjoy the life, enjoy the time. Thanks God, we are blessing for and all the part of us. Yeah. We are so blessed. Yeah.
Deborah: That’s quite a story, Pedro. Thank you for sharing the highs and the lows. I was right there with you while you were talking and the suspense of thinking that you were going to be deported and then four days later to be released. It was a miracle.
Pedro: That’s what I said. Those bad moments, we used to have a lot of people, we know a lot of people, but when that happened, that bad moments, that what I said, seven years ago, we basically, only have close three, four people. You can imagine, we basically, we know a lot of peoples, but when you have bad times, that’s the time you know who is your friends right there.
Deborah: You find out.
Pedro: You find out and then yeah. We still have really good, good friends. We met more people, more friends because now we’re more open. We love to know more people, if we can help, we help no matter what, if we can support. I say you can’t imagine that’s part of our life. We’ve been through really rough time and we really enjoy the life better than before.
Giving Advice/45:17
Deborah: Is there anything else Pedro, that you’d like to talk to me about or any advice you might want to give to somebody who’s coming to this country for the first time?
Pedro: My advice always I tell anybody just been here for couple of months. First thing I told everyone, no matter what, just find a job, but do the best to learn the language. Because if you wanna be part of this country, if you wanna know this country better, you have to learn the language. Because when you speak the language, you have better opportunities. You met more people, you know more peoples around, you have more chances to have better jobs, stuff that. This is my advice to give it. Don’t try to do drugs drink. If you already drink, try to control yourself. Be focused in what you want to be in the future, because we have one goal when we come in this country. Because this is one of the beautiful countries. It give you a lot of opportunities. If we want to be someone, this country let us to be someone, but we have to know this country. We have to start from the bottom, start, learn the language and then, learn more about this country, and then the life is getting better and better for everybody. Because I met a lot of people, a lot of friends. They’ve been here for 10, 14, 20 years. And they don’t even know how to talk English and they don’t even care about it. And they still stuck in the first job they, they start doing this country until 20 years is because of the language is because they don’t because of the language. They don’t have the opportunity to open and seek better jobs. This is my advice for anybody to the first thing little by little cause me, I don’t don’t get frustrated to, oh, I can’t, I can’t get the words. It’s too hard for me. No. Word by word. Just try to repeat that’s that’s what I beat dumb, in myself, if it, some words is ah, what’s so difficult for me to learn. I was okay, how do I say it again? Boom, can I start, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat. I don’t put attention to learn more until I get that word, like, okay. All right. Now that I know now I know now it’s in my mind now. Okay. Now I can get another one like this boom one by one, one by word. Yeah.
Deborah: You’re very motivated. This has been great. It’s been really gripping listening to your story. You’ve been through a lot and you’re still very much an optimist and you certainly practice gratitude. That is very clear. So thank you so much, Pedro, for this interview.
Pedro: Thank you for your time.
Wrapping up/48:27
From restaurant worker to foreman, then one of the managers of a prominent New England moving company, Pedro has survived life’s ups and extreme downs as an immigrant in this country. A devoted father of three and husband to his childhood sweetheart, he has proven that hard work, honesty, patience, and curiosity have served him well. He has earned the asylum and new life he so desperately deserved. Pedro has been and continues to be a vibrant member of the Gardner Pilot Academy family and community.