Author: Steven MayersISBN: 9781608466221Publisher: Haymarket BooksYear first published: 10 Sep 2019Pages: 336 Format: HardbackThey are a mass migration of thousands, yet each one travels alone.Solito, Solita(Alone, Alone), shortlisted for the 2019 Juan E. Mendez Book Award for Human Rights in Latin America, is an urgent collection of oral histories that tells-in their own words-thestory of youngrefugees fleeingcountriesin Central Americaand traveling for hundreds ofmilestoseeksafety and protection in the United States.Fifteen narrators describe why they fled their homes, what happenedon their dangerous journeys through Mexico, how they crossed the borders, and for some,their ongoing struggles to survive in the United States. In an era of fear,xenophobia,and outright lies, these stories amplify the compelling voices ofmigrantyouth. What can they teach us about abuse and abandonment, bravery andresilience, hypocrisy and hope?They bring us into their hearts and onto streetsfilled with the lure of freedom and fraught with violence.From fending offkidnapperswith knives and being locked in freezing holding cells to tearful reunionswith parents,Solito, Solita'snarrators bring to light the experiences ofyoung people struggling for a better life across the border.This collection includes the story of Adrin, from Guatemala City, whose mother was shot to death before his eyes. He refused to join a gang, rode across Mexico atop cargo trains, crossed the US border as a minor, and was handcuffed and thrown into ICE detention on his eighteenth birthday. We hear the story of Rosa, a Salvadoran mother fighting to save her life as well as her daughter's after death squads threatened her family. Together they trekked through the jungles on the border between Guatemala and Mexico, where masked men assaulted them. We also meet Gabriel, who after surviving sexual abuse starting at the age of eight fled to the United States, and through study, legal support and work, is now attending UC Berkeley.Download the corresponding lesson plans on the Voice of Witness website.
