Yatzil
My name is Yatzil. My mother was a housewife. She died because my father was a police officer and had a confrontation with cartel members. They shot him eight times, but he survived. A week later, my mother went to the Oxxo store, and the mafia grabbed her and kidnapped her. Two days later, she was found dead with two gunshot wounds to the head.
I became pregnant at 16. I was still a minor when my father was granted legal asylum for me and my brothers because we needed the safety of living in the United States. I crossed the border pregnant, leaving the father of my child in the city where I grew up in Mexico.
Two months ago, I turned 18 and chose to come to Tijuana to be with him. He is now my husband, and together we are raising our 1½-year-old daughter. We are finding shelter at the camp and working toward a safer and better future.
