“I’m just another Latino riding the American immigration rollercoaster.” Nabor
My Name is Nabor, they say it comes from the bible. I’m from Mexico. My sister came to the U.S. on vacation and got pregnant. My mom told me “go help her, it’s your destiny. Your grandma cursed you, you have to get there and take care of her and the baby”. And so I did. I came to America in the 90’s.
“My role as an immigrant was always to support my family.”
I’ve always supported my family, both in the U.S. and in Mexico. I made good money doing different jobs, and every month I gave a few hundreds to support my sister, and then she would send a chunk to my mom. Mi mamá is the person I love the most. My dad left her and we barely knew him. He died here, in Riverside, with another woman.
So, yeah, I helped my sister pay for everything: phone, utilities, rent, and food. She has two kids, and I took care of them, too. One day I found out she had been keeping all the money for herself, instead of sending some to Mexico. I looked at her in the eye and said: “It’s over.” We fell out. Plus, I don’t get along with my brother in law. Even though I cut my allowance to her, I still care. I call them, I call them from different phones, depending on where I am.
“A gang member cut my face with his knife.”
I worked as a driver in Arizona; doing construction in Portland, and six months ago they offered me some work in Oakland. Red, blue… too many colors over there. You gotta watch out for gangs. See my face? He was just a young guy, maybe under 20. He cut my face with his knife.
After that, I got a job as a jornalero in the Mission. If you drive along Cesar Chavez, you can see many latinos looking for day jobs, cash. I was one of them.
Sí, I’m homeless now. It’s been six months since I started sleeping here, at the Gubbio church. I got reprimanded for fighting. It was his fault, this guy would not get in line. I told him and he hit me. So I hit him back and threw him to the floor. They kicked me out for a while.
“Drinking has led me to the hospital twice.”
My vice is alcohol. It started back in Mexico, when my wife abandoned me. Here, drinking has led me to the hospital twice. The second time was hardcore. That’s when social workers encouraged me to apply for different programs.
“I know some homeless people who wanted to catch HIV so they could access more social benefits.”
I have a friend from El Salvador who is HIV positive. Through him, I ended up getting involved with the HIV program that the Red Cross has on Market Street. I volunteer for them, and they give me good food and clean clothes. The problem is (believe or not), that you get more things when you look dirty. Also, I know some homeless people who wanted to catch HIV so they could access more social benefits. It’s crazy out here.
Also, I feel that homeless Latinos are in disadvantage. I know a few that have been waiting for affordable housing for up to seven years. The gringos always get a spot in the shelters. The system favors them, you know?
I am just another Latino riding the American immigration rollercoaster. When I arrived, I had nothing. Then, I went up and now, I am down. But I am going back up again.
Shared periodically on Medium, and soon to be published in a book, ‘Stories Behind the Fog’ is a compendium of 100 stories of people affected by homelessness in San Francisco. The project was triggered by one man’s story that will be released next year in the form of a feature-length documentary: www.mosesdoc.com
This story has been written by María Muzas and Fran Guijarro, and photographed by Juli López in collaboration with our partner organization The Gubbio Project.
