Emigrate to Spain, start a new life, suffer, fall… and get up

Several ups and downs mark the life of Edilberto Doblado, who emigrated from Honduras to Spain last October, left his country and his past behind, requested political asylum to start a new life, faced challenges and suffered moments of difficulty, but finally rose to have an own company with seven employees in charge.

Doblado tells in Madrid what the first months of his stay in a country that is not his own, but that has opened up to him have been like.arms wide open”. He is a beneficiary of support and help from the Diaconia Spain association, which fights to protect fundamental rights.

“Spain is a tremendously welcoming and supportive country”, says this Honduran, who constantly thanks God for allowing him to start a new life.

Doblado was a public official in security matters and handled confidential information; After suffering various attacks by organized crime, extortion and assassination attempts, he decided to leave Honduras with his wife and his three children.

In Spain he filed an application for international protection “with documents and photographs” that endorsed the risk he would run if he returned to Honduras. Thanks to integration programs, she was able to train to find a job, a requirement to obtain asylum status.

“Give back” what Spain has given

He acknowledges that these months have not been easy but, with tenacity, commitment and help, he has been able to achieve the goal of registering a construction company, in which he already employs seven people.

“I asked for asylum and they granted it to me, it gives me a lot of peace, I really want to be able to contribute to Spanish society, give back what Spain has given me, I am proof that social justice exists”, he says.

Thus, it underlines that Spain “It is a country of opportunities” and, although he knows that “they generally deny asylum”, considers that “provide other options” so that migrants can remain in the country.

“I feel very grateful, I have also done my part, I have been sleeping four hours for months, studying and training in business creation and management; It’s scary and there are many challenges, but I’m even more afraid of standing still”, he emphasizes.

Adventures from Ukraine

Something similar happens to the Ukrainian Yaroslava Afanasenko, who arrived in Spain last year after the war broke out in her country due to the Russian invasion.

“I hoped the war would end sooner, I came for a few months but my savings ran out and I had to ask for help”, this single mother, living in Madrid, tells EFE with her fourteen-year-old daughter.

Afanasenko and the girl first arrived in Malaga (southern Spain), where they stayed with a friend, and then in Madrid, where they receive help from Diaconia. She has understood that she has to learn Spanish to “to be able to find a job”.

A hairdresser by profession, in the Ukraine she had a small business with four employees; Although her greatest desire is for the war to end as soon as possible so that she can return, she is aware that that time may still be far away.

“Nobody knows what to expect, I want to go back to Ukraine, but when I have a clear plan. In the meantime, I want to learn, have a small business here, mine, and be able to show everything I know and what I can do”, he emphasizes.

For this Ukrainian woman, these months in Spain have not been easy: “It is very difficult to be a migrant”, he emphasizes.

“Even more so in our case, we do not speak the language, I had never thought of living in another country, I have always wanted to live in Ukraine and, suddenly, there is a situation that I cannot change; I have lost all my hopes, my things, my job, my house“, the Mint.

A conflict that he could not even talk about during the first six months in Spain: “It was totally closed inside, but now, little by little, I understand that the war can last longer and I am responsible for my daughter, I need to find a job and survive here.”

Source: EFE