I will survive

"Sueñan las pulgas con comprarse un perro y sueñan

los nadies con salir de pobres…” (Eduardo Galeano)

After having failed his History test, David rushed to the

headmistress office. “I wrote the answers from my granddad’s experience,
not from biased History books”, he said. Argentina’s darkest times during
the last dictatorship was a delicate topic to deal with, but it had to be
taught as it was part of the curriculum. He was immediately dismissed. At
this moment and disturbed by the noise coming from the classrooms, he
considered it to be more beneficial for him to leave school and go and
work as a bricklayer. And so he did.

David returned home to take an old jacket because he would finish

late. As he entered, he could sense the tension in the air. His father had
been upset for the last two months; he had been fired from work because
the factory had gone bankrupt – no indemnification expected. The forth
factory closed in the same month. They mainly relied and lived on social
assistance programs presently. David’s father was lying in his bedroom,
which didn’t have a door, smoking and watching TV. The mixture of odors
in the house penetrated David’s nostrils while he rushed to the door. He
later arrived to the building in construction. Nobody noticed he had left
school. Nobody noticed he had passed by home. Nobody noticed he
wanted to work; except for a raspy voice who shouted: “you’re late, half
the pay today!”

He was really angry, or hungry. His stomach was in pain, roaring. He

felt his intestines twisting. The sun shining over his face and the drops of
sweat falling from his forehead one after another did not add to his
comfort either. However, at the end of the day he preferred to give all the
money to his father –to avoid a beating–, who instead of buying a proper
dinner, used to send David to the store to fetch a cheap wine bottle and
four tiny sandwiches. On his way home, he got involuntarily involved in a
street fight, which was usual in his neighborhood. A jealous boyfriend was
assaulting his girlfriend. During the struggle they fell on the floor, hit each
other and rolled over. In the end, the angry boyfriend ran away furtively.
When David arrived to his decaying house, he walked straight to his bed,
leaving the goods on the table. His body aching; he fell into a deep and
heavy sleep.

8.30 am. “Does David live here?” David and his father were woken
up by a soft voice from outside. Furious dogs prevented the speaker from
getting closer to the door to knock at it. “It’s you someone is searching for,
I’m not needed anymore in this house, so you go and open the door!”,
groaned the father. A judge had sent a social worker to his house due to
repeated and unjustified absences from school. The woman entered the
house and could immediately understand, just by watching some
scattered stuff all over the living room, a number of issues affecting
David’s performance at school. Bottles of wine, cigarette butts, dirty
clothes and rotten food invaded the senses and tranquility of anyone who
dared to stay there. She took some papers and a pen from her handbag
and started to tick and cross, mainly the latter, some checkboxes with
crafted dissimulation. After a short talk with David, came his father, with
suspicious stares. In the end, Eva left the house with cheerful satisfaction
and a wide smile. She convinced David to stop working and continue with
his lessons in exchange for a convenient economic scholarship; the fact
that his only tutor lacked a formal job was reason enough for the state to
help him.
 II

Inevitable tears. Immense pride. Carlos was so joyful! His son was
the first member of his family in generations to graduate from secondary
school! David’s self-esteem and expectations were higher than ever. He
kissed his classmates and observed his school for the last time. He even
tenderly hugged his teachers. He had decided not to study at university
because he was tired of depending on scholarships and if he could not be
benefited with one there, it would be impossible for him to pursue a
career.

So on a hot and humid December, he got up very early and started

looking for a job. He walked through a dense morning weather. His body
was perspiring, which ashamed him every time he talked to a manager,
but he could not help it. The summer made its presence to be felt heavily.
Although the boy’s mental stamina started to decrease, he persisted
morning after morning. Month after month. Eventually, a friend of David’s
started to accompany him in the process - he himself was looking for a job
also. Roberto was older than David, and lived with an older man. He didn’t
love him, but at least he was economically supported, lovely taken care of
and carefully protected. Besides, he could escape prostitution thanks to
him. His man even romantically proposed him to marry, but he needed
more time to think about it. Anyway, he felt lucky they were living in the
first Latin-American country that guaranteed society the right to marry
whoever they wanted – a decision based on love and freedom of choice,
regardless of the sex. Roberto and David lived in the same neighborhood,
and solitary as both of them were, they became friends in one occasion.

Even though David prayed to Gauchito Gil every night, he couldn’t

get a job. He started to live less happy and more worried. His psyche was
beginning to feel the lack of dignity for not being able to work, and along
came misery and grief. Until one morning, when he saw a banner in a
corner. The national government had launched a program aimed at young
people to help them get their first jobs. Private companies would employ
inexperienced persons and the state would pay their salaries for a start.
He quickly filled an online form and waited for the call as instructed.
Einstein’s theory of relativity seemed to apply during the first week. Time
appeared to go by really slowly. Days were endless. David lived every
week as if a whole year had passed. Suddenly, the long expected call
finally occurred. It was impossible for him to hide his joy. Indescribable
feelings of euphoria and hope invaded his veins. A slaughterhouse offered
him a trial period and he immediately accepted. Working with his body
was what best fitted him.

The following day David visited Robert to tell him the news.
Surprisingly, he had another announcement to make. He was selected to
work in the city council. A local law compelled the provincial government
to employ a small percentage of homosexual and transgender persons in
any section of the municipality. Indeed, they had every reason to
celebrate for this wonderful week together. And so they did.
 III

David loved the commute. He was delighted every morning by the

sounds of birds chirping and the smell of wet sand on the way to the
slaughterhouse. The monotonous engine buzz of the bus was like a sweet
symphony for him. It daily reminded him that he had a formal job with
access to health care program and contribution to his future retirement.
All the employees rotated positions; they had to learn every step of the
process in the plant. David’s favorite post was where he had to execute
cows with an electric hammer. It gave him a sense of power and control.
Feelings he experienced for the first time in his life.

After several bus drivers’ strikes because the managers didn’t pay
salaries in time, David started to think about buying his own car to gain
independence. He saved some money but cars cost way more than he
could save in a whole year. Fortunately, another ‘miracle’ happened. As a
way of fomenting and raising vehicles sales, the national government
launched a program to help low and middle classes people obtain their
first brand new cars. Benefited people just needed to have a formal job
and a minimum amount of savings.

Two months later when David visited Roberto, he came out of his
house and was really impressed. He saw a shiny and spectacular black
automobile and his heart instantly felt sincere love. The kind of love you
feel when you see a son honestly prosper in life. Tears of joy ran down
Roberto’s cheeks. “I need to ask you for a favor”, said Roberto. “I want
you to take me to my wedding’s in that car”. They hugged tenderly.
 IV

One morning before going to work, David saw a postman

approaching. He predicted a bad omen judging by the man’s countenance.
When the worker saw the owner of the house in front of it, he changed his
posture and his facial expression. A messenger from hell. The man handed
David some taxes. Among them there was a warning about the mortgage.
The deadline to leave the house expired in six months. Of course, he
didn’t have the money to cancel the loan, but he raised his forehead. He
had an alternative solution. The banks and the government had reached
for an agreement to grant new made houses to people of any social class,
with the condition of not having one already. He applied some months
before and got beneficiary of one. They promised he would have the key
in three months at the most.
 V

Having achieved all David had felt like a dream. And indeed, he was.
Due to the fight with the angry jealous boyfriend the very same day he
had failed his History test, he had to be hospitalized and later fell into a
coma. He got stabbed in the stomach. When he woke up he felt his arms
as heavy as an anvil; he couldn’t even lift them. His eyes were swollen and
ached terribly. Even the people there, carefully whispering, stunned his
ears. When he recovered himself, he learnt he had spent a whole month
in a coma and that he was still a teenager struggling to finish school. A
kind of tachycardia took hold of him, his body was very hot. It took him
some minutes to cool down and he then fell asleep again.

After being discharged from hospital, he decided to quit school and

work full time. He also started going jogging during the nights to make
pump blood again inside every muscle and be fit again. It also served him
to avoid the heartbroken sight of his depressing father for some minutes
at least. During his second night he was shot and died on the street at the
age of fifteen. A firm voice shouted him to stop because he looked
suspicious wearing a dirty jumper and an old cap, but he didn’t. He
couldn’t listen as he was wearing earphones, hidden at first sight by the
hood of his clothing.

The current conservative government had passed a national law

which allowed police officers to shoot first and ask later in any ‘suspicious’
situation, as one of the many violent ways of decreasing crime rates. This
rookie was eager to exert authority. His gun gave him a sense of power
and control. Feelings he experienced for the first time in his life.