Horrifying journey - Woman talks about dangerous trek to get into the US illegally

While many Jamaicans see the US as the so-called 'greener pasture', for those seeking to get there illegally, the journey can be life-threatening, as a Kingston woman found out.

Jane* told THE WEEKEND STAR that her family's situation here was becoming increasingly difficult as they encountered numerous episodes of violence and abuse. After several failed attempts to get a US visa legally, she decided that her best option to make a better life was to smuggle herself, her only child, and two relatives, both children into the US via that country's border with Mexico. They started the journey in late March, with the US$10,000 she was convinced would be sufficient. Their first stop was in Panama where they stayed for almost two weeks.

"Then we leave for Belize, and we stay there suh for about a week because we start ran out of money," said Jane. "When we reach a Belize, is like immigration want to turn us back because they said I needed a letter from my child's father which give permission for the child to travel, but we somehow manage to get through that." Earlier this year, the Belize government expressed concerns about a human smuggling ring involving Jamaicans, noting that more than 50 per cent of them who travelled to the country in the previous 14 months could not be accounted for as there were no records of them leaving the country.

Jane said that while a family member paid for their tickets, she had to find the money for food and other necessities. Having given away all her possessions in Jamaica, she began wondering if she had made the right decision.

"The tickets weren't cheap; I can tell you that. Mi end up have to start calling family members who didn't know I was doing anything. Mi have to a start beg people to help out so we can move from Belize to Mexico," she said. Finally, Jane and the children were able to leave Belize for Mexico by boat. The journey was far from smooth.

"We were on the boat for close to three hours and mi never like it because mi can't swim so I am not really a fan of water. One of the children get sick and start vomit and his eyes began rolling over and I began to panic," she said, adding that the child also has stomach problems. "When we reach land, he was weak, and we took a cab and went to the gas station."

Now in Mexico, Jane said they then took a five-hour journey by bus to Cancun, after which they shared a hotel with about 15 other persons.

"Mi have to start beg again because we want to move from desso but we don't have any money. All this time mi just have to keep praying because mi start get frustrated. Mi end up reach a Tijuana and we stay at a hotel and the link in Mexico come and take we to a refugee hotel. One bed in deh and it was about eight a we," explained Jane.

"Inna di night, a van come for us and it don't have any seat in there so we have to sit in there on the ground. Dem time di place cold like ice and we just have to bare it. Dem carry we go to a yard. We end up lose everything except we travel documents because dem say we have to travel light," Jane added.

Before dawn, it was time to cross over. Jane began feeling excited and nervous. She was now in a yard across the road from the fencing where they would enter the US.

"Once dem open di back gate fi we go through, people just start push and bore and it was over a 100 of us. In order for us to come out the yard, we have to jump down but it wasn't really a far distance and the man dem was there to lift down the baby dem. We den run across the road and dem cut out two part a di grille and a desso we go through. Dem time deh, people start push. Mi end up get two cut but the kids were okay," said Jane.

As she looked down on her bleeding feet as they touched US soil, a little over a month after she left Jamaica, she burst into tears. She said the US authorities dealt with them decently and they were brought to a detention centre in California. But they were locked up and unable to bathe or brush their teeth.

"More than 20 of us were in the room and we stayed there for two days. Then we were taken to another detention centre where the conditions were better. We could come out and they had lots of snacks and so on, so we were comfortable," she said. "As we went through the journey, we weren't asked any questions. Dem just process we and let we out. They spoke to us and tell us that they would help those who didn't have anywhere else to go."

Now settled in the US, Jane is looking forward to building a new life.

"When mi hear some other people stories, mi just know say we blessed because it was like VIP treatment we get. We have our passports and we have a court hearing next year. We are now in another state, and I am gonna tell you that I feel relieved. Mi shed a few tears and mi feel good. Mi feel relieved say everybody alright because mi did a worry about the children. I came to the US for a purpose, and I will never forget that," said Jane.

*name changed to protect identity