THE DECISION THAT PUT ME AT RISK
Written by Felipe
El Progreso, Honduras
Hi, friends, remember me? I'm Felipe, a young man from El Progreso, Yoro, Honduras. A couple of months ago I told you my story through a video of IOM's Pensalo 2 Veces (Think twice) campaign.
Migrate or stay?
When I made the decision to go to the United States in search of new opportunities to get ahead and support my family, I thought long and hard about it. I knew that I was leaving my country and that this farewell to my family could be my last.
As you know, we do not migrate to another country because we want to leave our roots or communities, but because we aspire to have more opportunities. In many ways we receive information from family, friends and acquaintances who tell us that moving to another country is "life changing". Indeed, making that decision can change our lives, but, what happens when we get carried away and rush, when we fill our minds and hearts with illusions and hopes and decide to leave no matter what?
So many emotions make us leave aside the most important thing: to be able to make sure that all this information that came to us through people we know is correct, validate it, verify it and think with emotion and reason as well.
I almost didn’t make it
I already told you that because I made the decision to leave in an irregular manner (without having the correct and reliable information, taking the decision lightly, without complying with the necessary documentation) I put my life at risk. The person who had painted me the "easy" trip was part of a human trafficking network and if it had not been for the people who arrived at the right time, I don't know what would have happened. Can you imagine? I was leaving for good reasons, I didn't do anything wrong, but you can be fooled... even by people recommended by our friends and family where you least expect it!
When I returned, I told everything that had happened to Doña Flor, who had recommended me to the coyote (smuggler) and she was mortified! She apologized to me, because she didn't know that a smuggler could be that dangerous either. Right then and there she sent a message to her nephew to make sure that he and his traveling companions were really okay. Luckily it was true that they had arrived and were working.
But the best part came later: after I told them my story, another acquaintance who knew I was looking for opportunities helped me apply for a scholarship. Now I am studying to learn how to repair cars and I plan to start a small business in my community once I finish.
I really want to see other countries and I know I will sooner or later, but this time I am not going to put myself at risk: I will wait until I can travel safely. What about you: do you want to travel too? Do you need to find an opportunity as much as I did?
On this website there is more information on how to identify scams and opportunities in Honduras (and also in El Salvador and Guatemala). I invite you to learn more about the campaigns that guide young people like us, get reliable information and learn how to recognize scams like the one that I fell for, related to human trafficking, smuggling of migrants and other very serious crimes.