“My mother abandoned me as an infant. My father left when I...

“My mother abandoned me as an infant. My father left when I was seven, and a year later I began working as a maid. My earliest memories are cooking and cleaning. When I turned seventeen, I got a job on a construction site. I met a much older man there. I thought he was very handsome. And he was so nice to me. He’d bring me flowers, and apples, and oranges. If anyone was aggressive toward me, he would defend me. He made me feel whole. It was the first time that I’d ever felt truly happy. When I found out I was pregnant, I was so excited to tell him. I thought I would finally have a family. He’d always told me that he wanted to be with me. But when I gave him the news, he said: ‘I have a wife and children. We can never be together.’ Even now it hurts to remember. It hurt me more than not having parents.”

(Medellín, Colombia)