We are Wendy and Jessel. On Dec. 11, 2022, we faced a huge change in our lives. This is part of our story. When it all started, we couldn't believe it. What was happening? My dad, Wilberto, and my family never did anything wrong! Why did they arrest my dad? That night, we didn't know where they had taken our dad, whether he was okay or what situation he was in. We slept with the fear that the police would come to our house in the early morning.
The next day, I remember waking up and there was almost no one at home. Around 10:30 a.m., I looked out the window. There was a patrol car in front of the house! I ran to tell my only two adult relatives who were at home. At that moment I felt afraid. I stayed at my grandmother's house while I waited for the police officers who were all around my house to leave. After that, the persecutions and attacks against our family began.
They granted us visits to the prison in the capital of Managua, where all those arrested were held, and we always looked forward to these visits. There was tension in that place. The police handled everything as if those inside the prison were all criminals.
They would serve us a meal with our dad, but we could not eat because of all the cameras focused on
us, especially on the first visit. The hours there passed quickly, and at the end of each visit, we felt depressed being separated from our father again. Since the beginning the whole situation left a psychological impact on the entire family. In my case, in my dreams my father always appeared! But in the end, they always took him back to prison.
BEGINNING A NEW LIFE
On Feb. 9, 2023, news came to light that they had released many political prisoners and taken them out
of the country. We couldn't believe this! It was a great, surprise; it was the last thing we expected at the time.
We felt sad because our dad was now far away, yet we were happy because he was no longer in jail.
After a few months, we ourselves had to leave Nicaragua, leaving behind everything we knew — our family, friends and culture.
Due to the political situation, we had to escape from Nicaragua and cross the border to Costa Rica. The night we left, we said a sad goodbye to our entire family. We knew we were going to miss the place where we grew up, but leaving the country was the opportunity for our family to be united with our dad and be complete again.
We traveled from the city of Matagalpa to the border of Nicaragua with Costa Rica. We left late at night so that no one would notice. When we arrived at the border, we took our things and walked through a dark field full of large potholes. Since we started walking through that place, there were many feelings of fear and worry about what would happen that night. We also felt tired while walking, it seemed like we would never arrive at our destination.
We continued walking and passed through a forest where lots of noise could be heard. It turns out that many people, like us, were walking while carrying their suitcases! We walked almost an hour fleeing Nicaragua, and on the way, we felt the sadness of leaving our family. The fact of escaping our country of origin seemed unfair to us but for the moment it was necessary.
Although we were tired, when we finished crossing, we felt relieved to arrive safely and to be closer to meeting up with our dad. We looked forward to being together and being able to hug each other again!
With the help of the Diocese of Gaylord, we were able to arrive in Michigan, where our family was reunited again. We all went to live together in Mancelona for a while and then moved to Traverse City, where we are starting our studies while my parents work.
We are currently studying — Jessel has finished seventh grade, and I, Wendy, am close to finishing my first year of college. We thank God, the Diocese of Gaylord, Father Wayne, the Latino community and everyone who has helped us.
