A large number of Ecuadorians are thinking about leaving this country. We yearn for better opportunities, quality of life and everything that we consider a good future. The desire to migrate awakens above all in those who suffer from the most unfortunate reality.

We are currently receiving news of an odyssey that includes a trek through the Darien jungle, a mandatory step for hundreds of Latin Americans who want to conquer the American dream. We are often assailed by images of entire families, women and children who challenge this pass located between Panama and Colombia.

A fire that killed 39 migrants in Mexico is being investigated as a homicide

Migrations have many hidden faces about people and their processes of coexistence, transformations and changes. Let’s not forget that those who emigrated belong to a country that must be responsible for them.

Having archives that enable the construction of history and the monitoring of social phenomena that accompanied precarious living conditions is necessary for the memory of our countries. So, life where (2022) features multiple voices, journeys, words and evidence of people in motion. The book is the result of the initiative of the collective and media house Corredores Migratorios, founded in 2018, whose manifesto defends: “… the symbolic opening of migration corridors in our countries and taking into account our displacements by putting narratives, data, images and perspectives into action. , in order to question the policy of closing the borders…”. You can find more about the organization’s work at corredoresmigatorios.com.

The president of Mexico points out migrants as the culprits of the fire in which 38 people died

life where brings together more than 30 Ecuadorian, Venezuelan, Ukrainian and Spanish voices, among other nationalities, who have agreed to tell their stories, processes and knowledge. The book is not a mere record of testimonies collected so that a “specialist” can perform an analysis and give them an academic appearance, but is dedicated to offering “knowledge-bearing communities created with many voices in many forms”. The reader will find three parts that include poetry, chronicles, essays and photographic records that correspond to a true multiplicity of experiences. Perhaps this is where the difference lies and the special work of the book: collecting multiple without limits and homogenizing unique stories.

There are lines that resonate with a particular resonance, such as those by Bernardita Maldonado (a Loja woman living in Spain), which convey a sense of uprootedness: “Ecuador an imaginary line/ that divides my center in two/ Ecuador a colorful array/ that draws from a well of sealed/ water they live/ the waters are calm/” and thereby universalizes the connection with their own stories: “How far they carry me/ the trail of the dead/ which takes root/ in nostalgia”. On the other hand, the presence of Carmen Carcelén, a trader in Ipiales (in a very cruel and unfair dynamic) stirs our conscience. Their job is to provide refuge to refugees who cross the border. Your help is proof of solidarity against all policies that criminalize migrants.

life where This is necessary for these times where hatred is intensified. A book that erases its own boundaries. (OR)