When I lived in my country, Haiti, I lived with my family. My mother never wanted her children to separate from her family even after we got married. When I got married, I still stayed with my family because my husband lived in the United States. He came to visit me every six months. One day, he told me that he will apply for me to come to the United States because he was very busy with his job so he couldn’t come to visit me anymore. That is one of the reasons I decided to leave my family to come to the United States. When I came here, I lived with my husband. He was always busy with his job, so he didn’t have time to spend with me, because he went to work abroad sometimes for three to nine months. When he went to his job, I just stayed home alone. I always felt lonely and scared. I remember one day for Christmas, before he went to his job, he gave me a big teddy bear. It was pink and red. It had two big black eyes. I was happy, so I cried when he gave me that gift. He told me to take that teddy when he goes to work and when I feel alone to play with it. He said to always keep it in my bed. My teddy is very important for me because when my husband is not home, I never get scared like before. I take it to sleep with me and every night I hug it and I kiss it. My teddy is my best friend. It represents many things in my life. It represents my kids because when someone asks me why I am married for a long time but I don’t have kids yet, I always feel miserable. 

– Nancy Dorcela Francisque

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant