by: Jessica Ordenana
I dedicate this to my Mommy… I say Mommy, well more like Mami, because that’s exactly what I called her. Not mom, mother or god forbid by her first name. This is, by the way, a beautiful name, Ligia Elena Cano. Don’t let this sweet, elegant name fool you. She is one of the strongest, vibrant, intelligent women I know. She is also my best friend. From my earliest memories, she was always my world, being a housewife we spent every day together. Shopping, cooking, playing, we were inseparable. Still are, thanks to the internet! We talk almost every day, and see each other via webcam every chance we get. Our internet visits started about four years ago. Mami and I look forward to seeing each other, each time, is like the first time. We aren’t the only relative that benefits from this, Alysha my nine year old daughter and the rest of the family. It’s more important to me the Alysha communicates and see’s her Grandmother. Being that Alysha only met her once, when she was six months old. This is where I begin to explain just a little bit of who I became. And the important power of being a family.
It was the first day of school, for me the eleventh grade, for my brother fourth. My Mami, my brother Omar and I were walking to our car, when out of nowhere a white BMW, two black Cadillac‘s, and another car surround us. We paused in our tracks as we watched DEA agents came out the car, can’t even remember if they had guns out. They stated that my mother was being placed under arrest. I stood in shock; I could not phantom what was going on. My mind & body numb to the core. I felt and still remember it as if I flew out of my body and was just watching everything unfold as if I died. I saw my mother getting placed in handcuffs looking at us with her worried face. I think I ran to tell my sister, Janet can’t remember. Who was sleeping at our apt, which was only 100 feet away. I saw my sister lose it, my brother in tears, screaming, shouting “Don’t Touch My Mother!” “Let Her Go!” Saw myself with an emotionless face. When I came back into reality, I started to cry, hugging my mom, as much as I could. Telling her we’ll be fine, we’ll see her soon, she’ll be ok. Yes, me, her second child, a fifteen year old, assuring her mother. I only wished and prayed it was true. Far from it, my mother did about four years in prison. The first year, my sister, brother and I stayed in Florida. So that we would be close to my mother, visiting her in Downtown, Miami wasn’t how I pictured our weekends. However it was better than not seeing her at all. My mother was moved to a Camp in Coleman, Florida, to finish out her sentence for the next three years, thanks to good behavior. My siblings and I moved back to New York, back to the little, great, one bedroom in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
We, as a family came together, we united, just the three of us. Of course it was my mother’s one and only she asked of us, to stick together no matter what! And till this day we do. Our other relatives came to help us when we needed it, yet it wasn’t the same. What happened to my mother was a domino effect. Not only did it affect our intimate family, it affected every one of our family member’s. My mother was that person; she was the glue that kept the family together. It felt as if my whole family was lost without her. After we past our grieving period, the whole family came together. We realized she is here with us, through us. Her children are a product of whom and what she is. The same strength, patience, composure & love are in us. To think the worst of it was yet to come. The same day my mother finished her sentence, day she was released. The day we went to see her, welcome her back into society, was the same day we say our goodbyes.
On September 25th, 2002 my Mami was freed! We waited anxiously to see her, hug her, and kiss her. Wish it would have lasted just a little bit longer, federal agents were nearby. The agents let us have a few minutes with her, before we said goodbye. My siblings and I were heartbroken as we watched our Mami get on a plane, which would send her back to her hometown Medellin, Colombia. From the beginning of this whole nightmare, it was already hard enough not having my mother around. The fact that she would be so far away, us not having the leisure to see her when we want to. Even worse the fact she would have to wait seven years to attempt to come back. It killed us! It was unbearable. Yet as a family we prevailed, and overcame many obstacles. Family is the most important thing in life, in our lives. It should be in yours as well. Our lives changed over night; we NEVER, EVER thought that our mother could be taken away from us. This is why I will never take advantage of any time I spend with my family. You just never know, what can happen.
On the brighter side, one of my Mami’s best qualities, being optimistic. I have always wanted to reach out to the children that were and/or are in my position. I am currently working on starting focus groups for children between the school grades, 3rd- High School. I will be conducting these focus groups in Downtown, NY. I hope to one day open a non-profit organization, which will be a program to help these children of deportee’s with social, financial, employment, education, legal and mental health. Please read my mission statement at http://jesscares.tumblr.com/ -I dedicate my mission and my life to my mother. Love you Mami.
