In an era of fear, xenophobia, and outright lies, these stories amplify the compelling voices of migrant youth. Fifteen narrators describe why they fled their homes, what happened on their dangerous journeys through Mexico, how they crossed the borders, and for some, their ongoing struggles to survive in the United States. Mendez Book Award for Human Rights in Latin America, is an urgent collection of oral histories that tells-in their own words-the story of young refugees fleeing countries in Central America and traveling for hundreds of miles to seek safety and protection in the United States. Solito, Solita (Alone, Alone), shortlisted for the 2019 Juan E. They are a mass migration of thousands, yet each one travels alone. Guatemala : only by leaving my studies could I work to pay him back / Itzel Tzab.Guatemala : maybe I'll transfer to the university next year as planned, or maybe I'll be deported back to Guatemala / Ismael Xol.Honduras : when I slept, there were cameras on four sides / Julio Zavala.Honduras : I'm the only one still alive / Ernesto González.El Salvador : we walked for days, through the jungle, risking our lives, not meeting anyone / Rose Cuevas.Honduras : for eighteen years I've wandered from the bottom to the top of North America, trying to change my life / Cristhian Molina.Guatemala : the US immigration police herded us into cars and drove us to la hielera, the freezer / Pedro Hernandez.I decided to cross by myself / Adrián Cruz El Salvador : he'd break down doors and come through the windows, or, if not, from the roof, up the fire escape / Danelia Silva.El Salvador : before a village like ours was so beautiful, and suddenly things were ruined / Isabel Vásquez.Guatemala : people fought over land and water / Noemi Tun.Guatemala : you ride on top of the beast and are totally exposed / Jhony Chuc.Honduras : I was made to do things I didn't want to do / Gabriel Méndez.El Salvador : one day, I want to be like my father / Josué Nieves.Honduras : nobody wanted me / Soledad Castillo.Bibliography Includes bibliographical references Contents

Solito, Solita by Steven Mayers