Pedrito’s 30 Days with ICE.Fictional Memoir

Pedrito’s Diary, Day 2

Thursday, January 23, 2025

I don’t know how long we were in the moving van. It got pitch dark fast outside. Gabriela moved closer to Mama. She whispered something into her ear. One of the men growled, “No talking!” Gabriela started crying hard. The same man barked at her: “Shut up! Or I will shut you up!”

A few minutes later, the smell of pee rose up. Gabriela had wet her pajamas. In a soft voice, Mama tried to comfort my sister, “It’s OK, Sweetie.” Another man growled: “If you two don’t shut up, we’ll throw you out!”

I heard Mama crying also, but very quietly. She had covered Gabriela’s mouth.

We were on the road for a long time. Now the new day was up. The van came to an abrupt halt. Mama and Papa were ordered to get out. “Move already! We don’t have all day!” Two men shoved them out of the van. More tall men with heavy jackets were waiting outside by a ditch where both fell. The van started to move again. “Mama! Papa! Don’t leave us! Please! Mama! Papa!” My sister and I kept shouting amid our sobs. The van moved faster and faster. Mama and Papa were no longer in sight. Gabriela was crying inconsolably. I was very scared now too, and cried hard. At the same time, I didn’t want to be thrown out as that one man threatened earlier. What would Gabriela do then?

We both cried as quietly as we could. We were never apart from Mama or Papa. Whatever we had done, we were always together. Mama and Papa had never left us alone at home even for a short time.

I don’t know if hours passed or only 1 hour after we lost the sight of Mama and Papa. The van came to a halt again. All of the men yelled: “Get out fast! And no peep from either one of you!” Gabriela clutched her shaking little hand to my arm, while I held her other hand in mine. As soon as we were shoved outside, two men in some kind of a uniform showed up right before our eyes. They unclutched Gabriela’s hand from my arm and forced me to let go off her other hand. We both started to cry loudly and kept begging them: “Please, let us be together! Please! We have never been apart before! And our Mama and Papa are not with us anymore. Please, don’t take us apart.” Both men spoke at once: “Boys this way! Girls that way! Move!” To that, I dropped on my knees and begged them, “Please don’t take my sister away from me! She is so little. She is only 4!” One of the men pulled me up harshly and shoved me away from my sister.

The last thing I remember from that morning was Gabriela’s screams and her terror-filled eyes.

© hülya n. yılmaz, January 31, 2025