Illustrations by Pete Gamlen... RELIEF
... NO REGRETS
SUSAN CARY DEMPSEY, 73, VIA NEWTOWN, PA.
OSWALDO, 30, VIA COTOPAXI, ECUADOR
Suzanne Warshell and Víctor Manuel Ramos
contributed translation.KAREN COLLIGAN, 65, VIA SAN FRANCISCOWhen Covid hit, I asked,
What would I regret if
I didn’t make it? The only
thing I could think of
was that I had never lived
in Manhattan.
I’m a curious person;
I like to explore. I was
like, I’ll sell my condo,
and I’m out! I got on an
airplane. When it took off ,
I cried like a baby. Then
I thought, OK, you’re on
this adventure, so why
not order a Bloody Mary?
Life in Ecuador was going well.
Unfortunately, the Rafael Correa
government came to an end,
and there is now a lot of corruption.
A salary of $420 a month was not
enough — and we had debts. So
we left in search of a better future. I
migrated with my wife, but we had to
leave our two daughters behind.
Now I have only one purpose: to help
my little girls. One is 9, and the other
is only 3.
We put our lives at risk: We
had to pay $17,000 per person
to coyotes, the people who
guide you and know the routes.
We took a fl ight to Nicaragua,
which doesn’t require a visa.
Then to get to Mexico, we had to
squeeze into trailer fl atbeds so
we wouldn’t be caught by the
authorities. At one point,
there were hundreds of us in the
trailer. In Mexico, they separated
us into groups of people to
take diff erent routes. We crossed
the Rio Grande and eventually
made it to New York. Altogether
the trip took a month.
What I feel is relief, not happiness.
I have a goal to reunite with my
daughters in fi ve years, God willing.My husband and I raised
our three children in
a fi ve-bedroom house
on two acres. Eventually
the children all moved
out, and we said, ‘‘You
know, what are we
doing here?’’ Our two
daughters had moved to
New York. One had
a 9-month-old and was
working in the mayor’s
offi ce with a special
assignment for the city’s
vaccination program,
which meant she needed
to work basically 24/7.
So we moved to the
Upper East Side and tag-
teamed to help out.
The neighborhood
was really quiet when
we got there. Bit by
bit, apartments have
been lighting up.
We live within fi ve blocks
of both our daughters,
and we all have
keys to one another’s
apartments. We
were there when
Oscar learned to walk
and talk. It really
has been a gift for us.
... MY GRANDKIDS
Illustrations by Pete Gamlen... RELIEF
.. .NO REGRETS
SUSAN CARY DEMPSEY, 73, VIA NEWTOWN, PA.
OSWALDO, 30, VIA COTOPAXI, ECUADOR
Suzanne Warshell and Víctor Manuel Ramos
contributed translation.KAREN COLLIGAN, 65, VIA SAN FRANCISCOWhen Covid hit, I asked,
What would I regret if
I didn’t make it?? The only
thing I could think of
was that I had never lived
in Manhattan.
I’m a curious person;
I like to explore. I was
like, I’ll sell my condo,
and I’m out!I got on an
airplane. When it took off ,
I cried like a baby. Then
I thought, OK, you’re on
this adventure, so why
not order a Bloody Mary?
Life in Ecuador was going well.
Unfortunately, the Rafael Correa
government came to an end,
and there is now a lot of corruption.
A salary of $420 a month was not
enough — and we had debts. So
we left in search of a better future. I
migrated with my wife, but we had to
leave our two daughters behind.
Now I have only one purpose: to help
my little girls. One is 9, and the other
is only 3.
We put our lives at risk: We
had to pay $17,000 per person
to coyotes, the people who
guide you and know the routes.
We took a fl ight to Nicaragua,
which doesn’t require a visa.
Then to get to Mexico, we had to
squeeze into trailer fl atbeds so
we wouldn’t be caught by the
authorities. At one point,
there were hundreds of us in the
trailer. In Mexico, they separated
us into groups of people to
take diff erent routes. We crossed
the Rio Grande and eventually
made it to New York. Altogether
the trip took a month.
What I feel is relief, not happiness.
I have a goal to reunite with my
daughters in fi ve years, God willing.My husband and I raised
our three children in
a fi ve-bedroom house
on two acres. Eventually
the children all moved
out, and we said, ‘‘You
know, what are we
doing here?’’ Our two
daughters had moved to
New York. One had
a 9-month-old and was
working in the mayor’s
offi ce with a special
assignment for the city’s
vaccination program,
which meant she needed
to work basically 24/7.
So we moved to the
Upper East Side and tag-
teamed to help out.
The neighborhood
was really quiet when
we got there. Bit by
bit, apartments have
been lighting up.
We live within fi ve blocks
of both our daughters,
and we all have
keys to one another’s
apartments. We
were there when
Oscar learned to walk
and talk. It really
has been a gift for us.
... MY GRANDKIDS
The New York Times Magazine P. 1 9