Interviewee: Irma Martinez
Interviewer: Irma Ortiz
Relationship: Mother
Date: November, 2003

She still remembers the child that she lost and left behind

What is your full name?

Irma Martinez

What is your nationality?

Puerto Rican

What is your date of birth?

November 19,1945

Where were you born?

Ponce, Puerto Rico

When did you (move to the U.S./move from somewhere else in the U.S.) to Philadelphia?

May 3, 1970

Why did you leave your country/State/former place of residence?

Because where I lived was bad and too poor.

What did you like/dislike about your home/country?

Over were I lived at in Puerto Rico I loved the climate, what I disliked about it was the poorness.

Why did you choose Philadelphia/U.S?

Because my brother Carlos was living here.

How did you travel here?/What type of transportation did you use/take to travel here? How would you change that?

I came to Philadelphia because my brother Carlos send me six air plane tickets, so I came by plane.

How did you find a place to live in Philly?

When I came to Philadelphia I lived for a while with my brother Carlos.

With whom did you travel? {Who did you travel with?}

I came over here with my five childrens.

Give 1 thing you remember most about your home town and why?

The one thing I remembered was a child of mine a boy of three years of age that died over in Puerto Rico and I had to leave him.

How did your life change when you moved and what were the differences between the two places?

The difference over between there and over here is that over in Puerto Rico life was very poor, and when I came over here to Philadelphia life became much better.

What did you expect about the US/Philly?

I always expected over here in Philadelphia would be much better.

What did you come here to accomplish and what else do you feel you still need to do?

What I came here to accomplish was to buy a nice home instead of renting and I still feel that I need to accomplish that.

What are the differences between when you came here and now?

The difference of when I came here and now to me is that back then life was a little cheaper and now life cost more.

What did you sacrifice/leave behind when you left?

The sacrifice was I had to leave my son's grave over there instead of having it in Philadelphia.

What problems did you encounter coming to the US/Philly?

The only problem I had in Philadelphia was that I didn't know English.

How much money did you have and where did you get it when you came to Philly/US?

I didn't have a single penny.

How did you adapt to your new environment?

I adapted to my new environment very quickly.

Why do you think it was worth all your changes?

Because I always knew that life over here would be better for me and my kids.

What education did you have before/after you arrived?

Over in P .R I went all the way up to the eighth grade.

Do you {ever} regret moving? Why or why not?

No, because there's only bad memory in that place.

What reason would/could make you go back to where you came from?

None at all.

Describe your first job here. If you didn't have one, how did you get money?

I didn't have a job, I joined welfare and got help from the government.

Is there anything you would like to add?

The only thing I would like to add is that I wish both my sons who died were by my side right now.