Tired of working small jobs that barely afford enough financial support for her own mother and three children, Pathe Nataren, 35, and her two younger cousins, Sharon, 18, and Marjorie Reyes, 10, embark on a journey from San Pedro Sulas, Honduras, to reunite with Sharon and Marjorie’s mother in Los Angeles.

Four years ago, Sharon and Marjorie’s father was murdered for his day’s wages upon returning home from his tienda, or store. Unable to maintain the store, the family sold it, and the sisters’ mother decided to migrate north to California in search of higher paying work.

In following their mother’s footsteps, the sisters left Honduras by bus for Guatemala, and later paid a driver to continue the journey to the Suchiate River, which is the porous border between Mexico and Guatemala.

During the ride, Pathe asked to use the driver’s cell phone to call the sisters’ mother in California. An innocent phone call ended up robbing the sisters of almost all their money; the driver extorted them by demanding the mother wire him more money.

Sharon, Marjorie, and Pathe were frightened and nearly broke when they arrived in Tecun Uman, at the Mexico-Guatemala border along the Suchiate River. The three women found their way to Casa del Migrante, a popular migrant safe house in Tecun Uman that allows three free nights of accommodation and food.

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Lianne M Milton