How far are you willing to go for your freedom?

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Everyone wants live in the world of opportunities, where dreams came become reality and the freedom to express yourself is allowed….that world for many immigrants is the United States of America. Many of you, in one point of your life has came upon and have heard stories of how some immigrant enter the United States illegally. But have you ever wonder, is the journey to their “paradise land” worth their life?

12-year-old, Noemi Alvarez Quillay began her 6,500-mile journey to the Big Apple (New York City) to join her parents from southern Ecuador on Tuesday, February 4th. Walking with her small suitcase through dirt roads and encircling around corn and potato fields, she finally reached the highway of Quito. That was the last time Noemi’s grandfather saw her, a boarding the bus…

From that moment on and the last five weeks of her life, Noemi was accompianed with strangers and coyotes– human smugglers that were hired by her parents. The following month, police obtained Domingo Fermas Uves, 52, after urinating outside a pickup truck in public. Inside the truck was Noemi. Fermas told authorizes he was a human smuggler and that Noemi was only 8 years-old also Mexican. Noemi was then taken to Casa de la Esperanza(means “House of Hopes” in Spanish), a shelter for Mexican minors. After questioning, doctors described Noemi as being “terrified”.

After staying a couple of days in the shelter, Noemi was called down to eat but decided to lock herself in the bathroom. One of the girls in the shelter, couldn’t get in until Alicia Soria Espino, the doctor broke open the door…. Noemi was found hanging by the cloth shower curtain. Official determined the death as suicide.

The next day, Noemi’s parents were notified. Living illegally in Bronx, New York the parents were asked to go down to Mexico for a DNA testing to confirm her identity but they decided not to go because of their circumstances.

Now, I go back to my main point. Is the journey worth their life? Noemi decided to end her life maybe because she didn’t see any other way out of her problem or maybe because an emotional reason. Who would know but her; and may she Rest in Peace. Apart from Noemi, an estimate of 60,000 unaccompanied minors are being expected by the end of September 30th of this year to be caught entering the United States illegally.

I respect the decision of immigrant that decide to enter the United States illegally because everyone has a story and different cause but the journey is not worth a life. Probably I am saying this because I am not in their situation, that can be a possibility but what happened to Noemi is unacceptable and I am 100% sure this is not the first time something like this occurs crossing the boarder.

To conclude my statement, because someone is illegal  or legal immigrant in the United States doesn’t make them less or more than a person. At the end of the day, everyone is here for one purpose and it is to have a better life for themselves or family.