Working and caring in Spain without family networks
Municipality of Huelva, Spain
Institutions involved
Public Bodies, Educational institutions
Problem addressed
The main problem that the interviewee identifies to promote integration is not being able to count on support in Spain to work and take care of their underage children. She works in the field for many hours, without rest throughout the year, and must take care of her children without having time to rest and take care of herself. She has no family networks to support her in Spain. She is the main economic provider of her family and does not master Spanish very well. At the moment, although she has a job, her administrative situation is correct, her children are integrated into the school and have documentation... she does not consider being able to integrate more into the municipality where she lives because she does not currently lack social networks and time to do so
Resilience strategies addressed by women
Our protagonist has proven to be a resilient woman since she arrived in Spain. Despite her youth and being left alone in Spain in charge of her daughter and pregnant with her son, thanks to her strength, to her daily struggle to support her children, she has been able to integrate into the municipality. This has allowed her to have economic autonomy to be able to live with dignity and have a house. Despite the difficulty of not knowing properly the language of the context in which she lives, she has been able to access the information and professional support of the local public administration in order to regularize the situation of her children, to school them and to have, at all times, the attention they need.
Description of the integration initiative implemented
The main aspects that have favored its integration have been:
- The help and guidance received by the City council, specifically the Women's Information Center.
- Have employment in the field throughout the year.
- Have a home to live with her children. In the municipality where she lives it is very difficult to access a home.
- Schooling of her son and daughter.
- The realization of some training course to learn Spanish.
Personal story
The protagonist of this story is of Moroccan nationality. She came to Spain five years ago for family reunification with her underage and pregnant daughter.
When she arrived in Spain her husband was working in a municipality of Huelva, she had already been living in that municipality for two years. She and her daughter lived in Morocco.
As a family strategy they thought it would be beneficial for their family if everyone regrouped in Spain and the child they were expecting was born here. At that time they came to Spain. However, soon she was left alone in Spain with her daughter and son.
Our protagonist had a very poor social network (she only knew a relative at the time), but she started working in the field in order to survive. Since then she has not stopped working and has cared for her children alone in Spain.
With the support of the local administration she was able to get ahead in these difficult times, thanks to the professional support and advice received.
In Morocco she had not worked before, as she married very young and became pregnant.
During the fruit collection campaign, she rents a room that she has free for other women who come to work, thus drawing some additional income.
However, being alone with her two children, when there is no school she has to pay a person to help her with the care of the children.
Although she has been living in the municipality of Huelva for five years, she has no friends because the only person she knew has migrated to another country in Europe. With his family in Morocco he continues to maintain a relationship on WhatsApp several times in weeks.
The main concern she has at the moment is that her husband may return to Spain because she is very exhausted from being the main caregiver and financial provider of her family. She is very excited to go to Morocco this summer with her children because she has already managed to arrange the documentation of the three to be able to travel to Morocco and return after that month of vacation.
Our protagonist tells us that although she is very tired, she is better off in Spain because she earns more money at work, her children have better health service and she can manage her money at home.
Analysis of the initiative and individual story
The main initiatives developed to improve the integration of the protagonist have been:
SUPPORTS AND RESOURCES:
- The Women's Information Centre of the City Council has offered her support to be able to face some of the problems she has had related to documentation, guidance or advice...
- Formal educational entities have favored the development of sonand daughter.
WORK:
- Since she was left alone with her son and daughter in Spain she has not stopped working in the fields.
CULTURAL IDENTITY:
- Maintenance of his cultural customs and continuous contact with his family in Morocco.
RESILIENCE STRATEGIES
- Be very strong and seek solutions to the problems you have had to face in order to care for and raise your son and daughter.
- The desire to improve the quality of life of their daughters and sons.
Results and Impact
The woman interviewed is currently very physically tired of working and caring for her son and daughter alone in Spain. Her personal situation, as a woman, has changed a lot since she arrived in Spain because she has had to face all the problems alone and has been able to manage them without a strong social network, only with the support of the public administration to guide her and with the effort of herself to work at all times and get economic resources.
She is confident that she will soon improve this stage because her husband hopes she will be in Spain so that he can move on with his family in the municipality where she lives. She expects her daughter and son to study in Spain and not have to work in the fields. That's their illusion.
