Eyennys Cruz is not a journalist, but she is in charge of giving news to the rest of the Cubans with whom she is living in the gymnasium at the La Cruz Night High School, as she has a cell phone with internet service.
Every moment of the day she hopes to read on her phone that Nicaragua’s borders have been opened, so that she can continue on her journey and reach Texas. There, she hopes to find some kind of work and bring her six-year-old son who she left with her mother in Cuba.
Although she is traveling alone, without any family, she is unafraid, especially when it comes to working. At 24 years old – which could be more, as other Cubans were saying that it takes years off your life – she earns a living through buying clothes in Ecuador and selling them in Cuba.
Her hair is dyed blonde, with an intense yellow color that contrasts with her dark roots. Her eyes are green, with an intensity that shows she has learned a lot in life.
She does not hold her words back and is tired of being censored. It is clear she has a character that is difficult to suppress. She is brimming with dreams of improvement and being able to own her own things.
“In Cuba I can’t even have a bicycle. I want to have my things and be free. We are prisoners on that island; a dog can travel more than us. I want freedom. In Cuba I could never sit and say all this to a journalist,” said Cruz.
Her compatriots who heard her statements told her she should be more cautious with her words. However, her emotional exhaustion has peaked and the Cuban just wants to shout her story to the world. “I love being in the news.”
A cartridge shell from an AK-47 rifle that the Nicaraguan army used to stop Cuban immigrants from crossing the border.
Tragic Parade
She left the island for Ecuador on September 28, staying there for two weeks to plan her land journey to the United States with a trafficker.
The first emotional blow she had to handle was the nervous experience of traveling through Columbia alone, as she had heard stories of many raped women starting back in Cuba. Fortunately, that was not the case for her.
“What I suffered in Columbia was blackmail for money. In Columbia the police are even jumping out of mango trees to ask for your money. Even the lizards charge you in that country! Some of my friends had to pay $2,500, because if they refused, the police would take their daughter. That is an injustice,” said Cruz.
Despite the bribes she said she had to pay to Columbian officials, the worst thing that has happened was on November 14, when Nicaragua decided to close its borders with military forces.
“I had never seen soldiers shooting, nor that many helicopters flying. They even punched a Nicaraguan journalist hard. The government shot at us.”
She picks up her phone again, as other Cubans living in the United States were reporting that they had a chance to take a plane to Honduras, to get further north. For now, she does the numbers and worries about money. She has already spent $4,000 on her dream to get north, which is still unfulfilled.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h51C-V26ohg&feature=youtu.be width:550 align:center autoplay:0]
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