Journey of dreams - Marge Pellegrino

Introduction:



"You can't know how we feel," Herminia, a refugee friend said the night I went to her family's home to check some facts.

I agree. There are many reasons why I can never know how Tomasa, my character, and this flesh-and-blood Herminia before me would feel. When I moved from Tuckahoe, New York to Tucson, Arizona it was my own choice. Refugees don't have that choice. They have to move to stay alive. I am not indigenous. I am not Guatemalan. I have not traveled the road Tomasa and her family walked. I wondered for a long time if it was respectful for me to write this story.

But I have worked, laughed and cried with people who traveled a similar path. I read the case of a young Central American girl who was wounded and hid in a field all night. I saw the dibujos she drew to describe her experience. Later she came to Tucson for reconstructive surgery and stayed with my friends who talked with me about the details of her story and her visit.

I write poetry with these survivors who fled their dangerous homelands. I know some of the brave people who worked in Sanctuary, who put their freedom on the line in order to save a stranger.

When Tomasa began whispering her story in my ear, I felt compelled to record her words. Journey of Dreams was reshaped by questions that sprouted. I spent almost six years digging for answers, pruning and nurturing the ideas that grew.



I'm not alone in grappling with the challenges and obligations of telling the tale of someone from another culture. Fran Buss who wrote about a Salvadoran family in "Journey of the Sparrow," and Gayle Brandeis who wrote about a Korean woman with a biracial daughter in "Book of Dead Birds" counseled me.

In the highlands of Guatemala, each village is different. Every person who lived at that time had a unique experience. But years of research revealed that while the details were different, the truth lies in the places each of these stories overlapped. It was from that rich soil that Tomasa's story grew.

I wrote this book in my language in a way that I hope will bring a better understanding of people and situations that are not familiar to us.

And I live with a hope that readers will celebrate Tomasa's braveness and realize anyone of any culture can be inspired by her example and walk a little braver on our own journeys.

Herminia agreed.