Anna
was sitting on a wooden swing in a backyard of her house. She was smiling as
she watched her three school-age grandchildren joyfully jumping on a
trampoline. She really embraced being a grandma. Her own children were around
the same age when she had to leave them with their father and move to Italy to
work. It was a really hard decision to make, but she didn’t want her daughters
to grow up the way she did- in poor living conditions with no money to persuade
their dreams.
Twenty
years earlier the bus arrived at the bus station in her home town- Bilgoraj. Her three children and a husband were with
her. The driver got out of the brand new looking bus and opened the trunk. Anna’s husband placed her little suitcase in there
while she hugged and kissed her kids. “Don’t cry,” she asked them in a warm
voice, ”I will be back soon.” She didn’t give them any hint that inside her
body she was crying more than them. She was really scared of moving to unknown
country- Italy, living with strangers and not knowing their language. However,
the scariest part was to be separated from her daughters. Was her husband up to
this challenge? Are her kids going to be fine? Battling her own thoughts she
entered the bus. She sat down and looked at her waving family. She had to stay
strong because she was doing it for them.
Live
wasn’t spoiling Anna. She grew up in a village called Zurawnica in the poorest
region of Poland. By the age of 8 she was doing all the farm chores that should
be done by adults. That didn’t really bother her, but she was rather content
that she could support her sick mother. Her favorite part of day was school. To
get there she had to take an hour walk on a gravel road regardless of the
weather, but it was worth it. She loved
to learn new things. Studying let her escape a gray reality, broaden her
horizons, dream and hope that one day these dreams will come true. She finished
high school on the top of her class. Anna’s teachers were advising her go to
Maria Curie-Sklodowska University but sadly that wasn’t an option. The reality
was that her family could barely afford food on the table. That’s why she got a
two-year diploma in a nearby collage. During the same time she started seeing
Henryk- a handsome graduate student from a nearby village. When after 6 months
of dating he asked her to marry her she said, “yes”, not because of big love
but rather a need of change for the better.
First
months in Italy were a nightmare. When Anna met her arranged employer- middle-aged
women called Francesca, she got rejected. Francesca looked at Anna with pricing
sight and with contempt tone compered her to a model. The truth was that Anna
was very pretty. She had a blond, curly hair put in ponytail, deep blue eyes
and a flawless skin. She was petite size and skinny. The woman was clearly
jealous of her beauty. This situation didn’t break Anna’s motivation. She was even
more determined to find another job, work hard and earn much needed money. With
a help of her friend she finally got a job as a housekeeper and PCA for an
elderly couple that lived in Frascati- a town within a short distance from
Rome.
Weeks
were going slowly. Anna missed her kids
and kept waiting for Sunday- her only day off, to hear their sweet voices
asking “Mom when are you coming back?” The truth was that she didn’t know the answer. All she knew was that her family desperately
needed a new place to live. They were renting a very old one-bedroom apartment.
Whenever it was raining drops where falling from a celling like there was no
roof. Anna use to put pots all over apartment to protect it from unwanted water.
Now it was her husband’s job. Her goal was to save enough money to give her
daughters a better place to live.
From
Monday To Saturday she wasn’t allowed to go outside the house. She felt like
she’s locked in a prison gasping for fresh air. She would wake up at 6 am and
study Italian. After that she would leave her room and go upstairs to cook, serve,
vacuum, scrub, wipe and help her handicapped employer- Laura with personal
care. She could go back to her room at 8
pm where despite being exhausted, she would study for a few hours. After four weeks, she got her first cash – 800
lire. The next day she went to Rome and spent 50 lire on clothes for her
daughter. She didn’t buy herself anything. The rest of her money had to be was
saved.
In
August 1998 Anna went to spent summer vacation with her family. That was her
yearly routine now - to work for 11 months and come back to Poland for a month.
Her daughters were very exited to finally see her. By then they were use to
living without their mom. Anna was proud how independent and mature they became.
They reminded her of herself when she was growing up. The whole family was also
intensively looking to buy a dream house. When they finally saw it, it was like
a love at a first sight- they didn’t notice any imperfections, only possibilities.
It was a four bedroom, three-story brick house with a huge yard located in a
very good neighborhood. Anna couldn’t enjoy her purchase. Her thoughts where
already in Italy and how the next 11 months filled with 70-hour workweek will
put a severe strain on her body. She was
trying to cover up those worries with positive thoughts. She was proud of
herself to be able to reach her goal. She was proud of her daughters becoming
ambitious, focused and hard working young ladies. She had to push herself
little more to pay for their education and renovating their new home.
It’s
been 3 years since Anna came back to Poland. Her daughters finished colleges
and build their own business. They don’t know what it means to be separated
from their kids. They don’t know how it feels to have their days filled with
physical work.
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