We present to you the testimony of Marco, who initially began collaborating with La 72 by offering temporary work or bringing firewood, and who now works as a security guard at the Shelter/Home that is La 72. What he says in his spoken testimony in Spanish is the following:
My work: My job consists of being the first point of welcome and attention to the migrants who arrive at La 72. It is the first filter, where they are asked about their basic information—whether it’s their first time coming to the house, what the reason for their migration is, if they are deportees, if they are coming from or going to the United States, etc. After this, they are admitted, told the rules and guidelines of the house, and then proceed to the Entry Registration, where more detailed data is collected—for example, if they are mothers with children, and so on.
My family: I also have a small ranch. My work as a guard is 24 hours on, 48 hours off. During those free hours, I dedicate myself to working on the ranch—doing farm work, planting corn, taking care of my pigs and cows, etc. Both my family and my parents have supported me a lot in volunteering and collaborating with La 72, such as by bringing firewood. My children are the ones who most often ask me where I am when I’m not at the ranch.
A moving story: That of Jefferson, a young migrant who arrived at La 72. I took him with me about five times to work on the ranch, but he was expelled for certain breaches of the house rules. I was the one who had to remove him from the house myself, but seeing that he was a good-hearted person, I didn’t want him to get lost. I gave him another option: to come to our ranch under certain rules of work and family coexistence. Since then, he has remained with us up until today, like another member of the family—respecting me as a father, my wife as a mother, and my children as brothers. He even calls my mother-in-law, my father, and my mother his grandparents. Even my children have grown fond of him and call him brother. Now they spend a lot of time together, going to the store and things like that. He helps me with milking the cows and other ranch work, but he also has his free time to play soccer and enjoy himself.
