Mar 25, 2007, 11:59 AM
Classmates' letters lead to reunion
Miami Herald- Noah Bierman and Erika Beras
March 23rd, 2007 - Adult-education students learning English practiced their skills last year by writing letters to the White House and other officials on behalf of a classmate -- who is blind, sometimes homeless and was desperate to bring his wife and daughter from Cuba.
The letters reached Emilio Gonzalez, the Cuba-born director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. He called Guillermo Alvarez, the 41-year-old student, and the red tape disappeared.
On Thursday, Alvarez cried at Miami International Airport as he hugged his wife and daughter for the first time in more than two years.
''This is very emotional,'' said his wife, Rebeca Bromberguez, 43. ``I've suffered so much. I've had so many sleepless nights. This is my family. I was so scared my daughter would never see her father again.''
Alvarez fled Cuba 27 months ago, making it to Texas while on a trip to Mexico, he said. In Cuba, his wife and daughter Rebeca Alvarez, 20, formed a support system that he hasn't had in Miami.
''One of the hardest things about moving to the United States was learning to walk with a cane,'' Alvarez said. ``In Cuba, I had my wife and daughter to lean on. Here it was a matter of life or death. But I learned.''
Alvarez was partially blind at birth, then lost his vision completely in 1988, the result of a botched operation, he said. He and his wife earned money at various trades -- making crafts, mulling wine, selling homemade juices, repairing bikes.
TEACHER NOTICED
Once in Miami, he enrolled in English and GED classes at Miami-Dade College. He impressed teachers with his dedication and intelligence. Last year, he started missing classes and finally showed up looking uncharacteristically disheveled, said Ana Maria Guadayol, his college English teacher.
'I stopped him [in class] to say, `Hey get your act together, what's going on?' '' Guadayol said.
Alvarez explained that a home where he had been boarding in Homestead, belonging to relatives, had burned down. He couldn't get federal housing help and was forced into a shelter.
Guadayol and Alvarez called several charity and government agencies for help, without success.
''Since he's here alone it was even worse,'' she said.
Alvarez had been unsuccessful in speeding up his wife's application for refugee status. A secretary at MDC suggested writing to the president. Guadayol figured it was worth a try. It could be a lesson in writing skills and democracy for her class.
CLASS PROJECT
She and 28 students wrote letters to President Bush and other officials -- with personal appeals about Alvarez -- and Guadayol mailed them off in a package.
Six weeks later, Emilio Gonzalez left a message on her voice mail. But she gets so many calls from students, the name didn't register. ''It didn't mean anything to me,'' Guadayol said.
Gonzalez had been trying to reach Alvarez.
''The humanitarian aspects of this case are very clear,'' said Mariela Melero, a spokeswoman for Gonzalez.
Melero said her boss was impressed by Alvarez's determination to overcome his disability and the community's impulse to rally around him.
Alvarez is studying massage therapy and expects his life to improve now that he has his wife again.
''We had never spent a night apart,'' he said. ``If I was in the hospital, she was at my side. We've been married 23 years and we have not seen each other in more than two. We were always one of the few perfect marriages in the world.''
Link to this article
Miami Herald- Noah Bierman and Erika Beras
March 23rd, 2007 - Adult-education students learning English practiced their skills last year by writing letters to the White House and other officials on behalf of a classmate -- who is blind, sometimes homeless and was desperate to bring his wife and daughter from Cuba.
The letters reached Emilio Gonzalez, the Cuba-born director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. He called Guillermo Alvarez, the 41-year-old student, and the red tape disappeared.
On Thursday, Alvarez cried at Miami International Airport as he hugged his wife and daughter for the first time in more than two years.
''This is very emotional,'' said his wife, Rebeca Bromberguez, 43. ``I've suffered so much. I've had so many sleepless nights. This is my family. I was so scared my daughter would never see her father again.''
Alvarez fled Cuba 27 months ago, making it to Texas while on a trip to Mexico, he said. In Cuba, his wife and daughter Rebeca Alvarez, 20, formed a support system that he hasn't had in Miami.
''One of the hardest things about moving to the United States was learning to walk with a cane,'' Alvarez said. ``In Cuba, I had my wife and daughter to lean on. Here it was a matter of life or death. But I learned.''
Alvarez was partially blind at birth, then lost his vision completely in 1988, the result of a botched operation, he said. He and his wife earned money at various trades -- making crafts, mulling wine, selling homemade juices, repairing bikes.
TEACHER NOTICED
Once in Miami, he enrolled in English and GED classes at Miami-Dade College. He impressed teachers with his dedication and intelligence. Last year, he started missing classes and finally showed up looking uncharacteristically disheveled, said Ana Maria Guadayol, his college English teacher.
'I stopped him [in class] to say, `Hey get your act together, what's going on?' '' Guadayol said.
Alvarez explained that a home where he had been boarding in Homestead, belonging to relatives, had burned down. He couldn't get federal housing help and was forced into a shelter.
Guadayol and Alvarez called several charity and government agencies for help, without success.
''Since he's here alone it was even worse,'' she said.
Alvarez had been unsuccessful in speeding up his wife's application for refugee status. A secretary at MDC suggested writing to the president. Guadayol figured it was worth a try. It could be a lesson in writing skills and democracy for her class.
CLASS PROJECT
She and 28 students wrote letters to President Bush and other officials -- with personal appeals about Alvarez -- and Guadayol mailed them off in a package.
Six weeks later, Emilio Gonzalez left a message on her voice mail. But she gets so many calls from students, the name didn't register. ''It didn't mean anything to me,'' Guadayol said.
Gonzalez had been trying to reach Alvarez.
''The humanitarian aspects of this case are very clear,'' said Mariela Melero, a spokeswoman for Gonzalez.
Melero said her boss was impressed by Alvarez's determination to overcome his disability and the community's impulse to rally around him.
Alvarez is studying massage therapy and expects his life to improve now that he has his wife again.
''We had never spent a night apart,'' he said. ``If I was in the hospital, she was at my side. We've been married 23 years and we have not seen each other in more than two. We were always one of the few perfect marriages in the world.''
Link to this article