Hacktivate

Guest blog! My mother-in-law wrote the following poem after visiting her daughter in Nicaragua, and I thought it worth sharing:

Esperanza

Esperanza, standing in front of her hut in Nicaragua,
teacher of many,
mother of two,
two daughters, Lucia and Maria,
18 and 20 years old,
strong and proud like their mother.

Esperanza, how can you let them go?
“How can I not let them go?
no work, no money,
their future here -
a husband with no work,
many children,
no money for shoes,
no way to walk to school.�

I love them - I have to let them go

Esperanza - where are they going?
“To the U.S.
to work, to save, to learn, to build a future.
They will go to a place
where they know people,
people from here,
people who will help them.�

I love them - I have to let them go.
.

Esperanza - in the U.S. - they are not welcome!
“I know - but they only want
what everybody else wants -
they want to work.
My girls will work day and night
to make some dollars,
to save money to come home or
perhaps to stay
and make a life there.
What’s wrong with that -
wanting to work?
no handouts - no never,
just work.�

I love them - I have to let them go

Esperanza - when are they going?
“Saturday morning, early dusk
secretly, nobody knows in the village.
I’ll walk with them to the river
and then we will part and I’ll wave.
My heart will break, but I will not cry,
I’ll stand and smile
and I’ll say - “you’ll make it.
I am proud of you.
I am with you all the way.�

I love them - I have to let them go.

Esperanza - how will they get there?�
“They will walk to the next town and from there they will hitch a ride
to Honduras and to Mexico.
We have saved for a long time,
wherever they go,
they will pay bribes
to policemen and coyotes -
coyotes will take them through the desert
and I’ll pray.�

I love them - I have to let them go.

Esperanza - are you afraid?
“Afraid, no! Horrified, yes!
Day and night,
I see them lying in the desert,
no water to drink,
no way to survive in the heat,
snakes and wild animals around them
and I am helpless,
helpless here�.



I love them - I have to let them go

Esperanza - what will you do?
“I have my land,
my goats,
I’ll teach children,
and I’ll wait,
wait to hear from my daughters,
hear that they are safe
and that they do what they had planned -
to make a life for themselves -
this is my hope.�

I love them - I have to let them go.