Erminia's Story: The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis
Erminia is one of the authors of our award-winning collection of graphic memoirs by Latinx immigrant youth, Voces Sin Fronteras.
A lot of things have changed for me since March 11, including being without work for almost three months. Taking online classes is so much harder because it's difficult to understand. I get distracted easily at home and don't have the same connection with the professors. But mostly, it has been a time to reflect more on myself, to think about what I can do better and what I need to change. It has been a time in which I realized that life is short and anything can happen from one day to another. I had always tried to talk to my family back home almost every day; now, I spend more time talking with family here and try to contact my closest friends to see how they are doing and give motivating texts to them. Now, I know that a job is temporary; therefore, we have to think more about what we want. Despite this crisis, I feel good because I have been helping people with different things, such as helping them apply to unemployment, sending links to places that help with resources, and trying to help all that I can. But, I also feel indignant because many people are not getting the support that they need.
If I met with my Congressperson, I would like them to know that people should be prioritized over the economy because the economy can be recovered but our lives cannot be. Also, we need a better health system: some people prefer to risk death instead of getting treatment because it's too expensive. I don't think that it is fair that we live in one of the wealthiest countries but people die because of a lack of health resources. Having a family member die because of COVID-19 is tremendously painful. I have some friends who had this experience, and it's painful, especially to not even be able to say goodbye to that loved one. Most Latinos don't have support to treat this virus; many don't have health insurance; the hospital staff doesn't treat them well. We are all humans, and we should be treated equally.
Erminia signing a copy of her book, Voces Sin Fronteras, at the book launch in 2017.
Immigrants’ communities have been deeply affected. They don't have any government benefits; most of them are still working because there are no other options. Immigrant communities have been left behind; even children born here didn't get the stimulus check because their parents are immigrants, which I think is unfair. After all, children born here are citizens and belong to this country. Thousands of immigrants are in this country not because they want to be but because they were forced to leave their countries due to poverty or violence. We should all have equal opportunities no matter our immigration status because we all have great skills. Most immigrants come to this country to work even two or three jobs and don’t have time to go to school, but still, we all have different skills, they need one opportunity to show what they are capable of and make a better country.
I want the broader public to know that there is still hope of returning to normal life even in tough times. But, we should be better than before, be more compassionate to others, help each other, grow together to have a stable life, practice our morals and principles, and treat each other equally. We should also invest our time educating ourselves, reading books to open our minds.
Everything happens for a reason, and I have faith that something good will come out of all of this that is going on.