My father migrated from the Dominican Republic in 1981. He came to New York in search of work and my mother and older brother stayed in the Dominican Republic with my grandparents. By 1992, my father was able to obtain legal status and was able to apply for my brother and mother's residency. My mother left behind her parents to join my father in New York, because she wanted my brother to have a better future. A few years after my mother came to New York both of my grandparents became very ill. My grandfather passed away in December 1997, two years after I was born. My mother was not able to travel for his burial because she was pregnant with my younger sister. The doctors did not authorize travel, her due date was near. When she was finally able to go back to the Dominican Republic in 1998, her sister gave her a rosary my grandfather had hung above his bed frame. He had told my mother's sisters that when he was no longer around, my mother should have it. My mother suffered a lot because she wasn't able see her father, and she hadn't in five years. The rosary is all she was able to bring back home to New York with her. Today, she prays with this rosary every day at a specific time, and it reminds her of her father.

– Gaby

Relationship:  unknown unknown