I am from Piura, up in the north of Peru, next to Ecuador.

What happened in those five minutes? I talked about the reason why I am here, I talked a little bit about how I feel grateful for being here, and how I arrived here, and, well, I expressed gratitude, and I hope I can continue being here. I mean, it is more for my family, because I am far from my family, so, my husband is in Peru, my daughter is in France, and I am here by myself. So, that’s what I want to say, and that I thank Switzerland for the opportunity that is giving me. That is what I talked about: gratitude.

My daughter went to France, first, because she finished her secondary school and her bachelors… My husband is French, so she went to France to look for opportunities, because in Peru it wasn’t very… She used to waste time, doing lots of things, but she wasn’t really doing much, so I told her “it is better if you leave, if you become responsible, if you start growing, and if you start learning how is it to be out by your own, because here you have everything, and for you it’s easy, and if you don’t study, then you won’t have things easily, and it isn’t easy, you have to learn”. That’s why I sent her to France to study.

Now, of course, she thanks me, because she is independent, she works, she studies, she pays her bills. We have only helped her to pay her studies at the university. But after that, she became self-reliant, all by herself… She came [to Europe] when she was 18, and now she is 21. She will receive her diploma soon, in July. It wasn’t easy for me to go to France, because I have been here. I have worked here in Switzerland for a long time. When I married my husband, I was working here and was living here, and then I decided to stay here, almost for 14 years. Then, we went to Peru, because my mom got ill. And as my husband put it, “Things weren’t going well.” So, we stayed. But after that, my daughter came, and I told myself, “What am I doing here, without my daughter?” And I returned.

Yes, I am taking risks. I know it’s difficult, because I don’t have permission. I have nothing, but I am making it little by little. There are lots of good people helping me, and new opportunities are rising. I also speak French, not a lot, though, but I try. I talk, I laugh, and that’s what I like about [La Roseraie]. Well, I laugh, I talk, I make friends, you know, here people ask me, “How are you?” They care for me. And it has also helped me to be a good person, because my résumé… I need to work for Switzerland. The Department of Immigration has asked me why I am here. The reason is my daughter, because I must bring her here, to reconnect with her.

I want my daughter to come and stay, because she was born here. I want her to study here because she is studying in the hotel industry, and here, I think, it’s easier to do that, and to make more money; to have a different lifestyle.

That’s what mothers always want for their children: we want them to be healthier; we want them to have a better life, don’t we? I know that “better” doesn’t really mean anything, because one is always looking for more, but, well, at least, I want her to be more peaceful, without lots of concerns.