The Struggles of a Single Cuban mother in a Foreign Land
HAVANA TIMES – Meivy works at the same supermarket where I work. She’s Cuban, like myself, but in some ways her situation makes my struggle and that of everyone else in the company seem like child’s play.
She emigrated to Brazil just a few months ago, with her newborn baby and a husband she then separated from, because he was way too fond of motorcycles and drinking, among other things.
Given her precarious situation, Meivy’s mother-in-law, who had also made the journey, welcomed her into her home, at least until she could manage to get settled. After all, her granddaughter’s life was also at stake. However, a child that’s only a few months old also brings some bad nights and working in this country under the rules of the Brazilian Labor Code, is very challenging.
Meivy’s schedule begins at 7 am and generally ends after the established 4 pm deadline. That’s because her job is producing bakery goods.
During all that time, her mother-in-law watches the baby. When Meivy gets home, she doesn’t even have enough energy to play with her little one, and on her off days, she doesn’t rest.
This mother lives in a kind of permanent walking trance. She’s already fallen asleep on her feet a few times while working amid pots of boiling oil in the bakery, or in other dangerous situations. She recently banged a toe very hard while she was moving and came to work with a pitiful limp.
She has enormous bags under her eyes and speaks like her tongue is dragging. But for several months, she wouldn’t give up, because she knows she’s responsible for her daughter, even though that responsibility is destroying her body.
Meivy has just put in her resignation. She says there are things more important than money, and really, no one can explain how she has put up with so much; but neither can we imagine how she plans to survive with only the support of her mother-in-law.
These are situations that arise when you’re an immigrant and when, in some way, we’re forced to let go of the family structure amid a difficult situation. But it also brings to light the lengths a mother will go when it comes to protecting her children.
Read more from the diary of Osmel Almaguer here on Havana Times.