The Only Road

The Only Road

Juvenile and up fiction
"The police in the village had called Miguel's death an
unfortunate accidente. Of course they would say that. Money meant
more than morals and justice to the force; whoever paid the most had
the power, and the Alphas could pay a lot. It also didn't help that
the police chief's drug habit funded many of the gang's operations.
Jaime removed his sketchbook from its perpetual nook underneath
his arm and pressed it against his head so he couldn't see, wouldn't
have to remember Miguel like that. Why Miguel? Why did being brave
had to end so badly? What was the point of being good if it turned
out bad?"
I started reading Alexandra Diaz's The Only Road after a family
picnic. Katie and her Jacob had come up for a wedding. The day after
they joined up with Amber and Brian and Eugene and me for a picnic at
Webster Park. The weather was perfect. It was a treasure to be with
two of my kids and their significant others. So the first chapters of
the book were almost too much to take. They brought me into a world
of parents and children being separated, maybe never to see each other
alive again.
Jaime's cousin Miguel was beatten to death for refusing a gang.
The Alphas attend the funeral. They send word that they expect Jaime
(12) and Miguel's sister, Angela, to join them in a week.
There is not enough money for the whole family to pay a coyote
to help them escape. Plus the journey from Guatemala to the United
States is much too arduous for a grandmother and new baby. Jaime and
Angela's parents have no choice. They must send them off on a lengthy
journey into the unknown full of dangers. Gangs rob, beat, and kill.
People lose limbs or life trying to board moving trains. There is no
guarantee of even water. People die of thirst in the desert.
Officials as well as gang members rape girls. And the feared la Migra
(immigration officials) have the power to return them to their place
of origin to start from the very beginning.
We're talking about youngsters already traumatized by the brutal
murder of a beloved family member.
What's worst is that, even though the characters are fictional,
the narrative is the lived experience of so many innocent families
every day.
The text is poignant and powerful. I do not recommend it for
more sensitive or anxious kids. I do recommend it for its target
demographic and well beyond. I wish I could make it required reading
for the Build A Wall crowd.
The people who face such dire dangers to just survive are as
deserving of better as we and our children are. We must not turn a
deaf ear to the plight.
How would you feel if this was your family?
On a personal note, this morning I went to a program on walkability in
communities. (This includes the ability to bike and use public
transport--anything but private cars). We discussed the many benefits
as well as all that must be done to achieve this laudable goal. This
kind of work must be consistent, persistent, and insistent all over
America. We've been too much a nation of fossil fuel guzzling,
parking lot requiring, out of shape car drivers since early car
companies bought up and shut down the trolley lines.
A great big shout out goes out to all who participated in, presented
at, and planned this very worthwhile event.
jules hathaway



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