August 25, 2017: Letter in Spanish from a Colombian woman in prison in HK for drug trafficking

Fr John, I send you cordial greetings. My name is ______, I am 38 years old and Colombian. I am a mother, daugher and sister, who wants to take her family forward; I am a lady who struggles and works hard. What happens when a person makes a mistake? What makes a person decide to act contrary to his/her principles? From where comes the last ‘push’ which brings her to the abyss of a bad decision?
There are many reasons, for me there was only one – love, love for my mother and daughter and siblings. Given the situation in my country, it is difficult to work in a factory whose pay hardly helps one to maintain one's family. With difficulty I got my daughter to her Baccalaureate, and just as every mother wants her children to "be someone" in life, which requires a university degree, as well as helping my mother who is handicapped, I took the decision to travel to Hong Kong with dangerous drugs. I know that nothing justifiies my actions, I am conscious that I took a bad decision which led to my being arrested by the HK authorities. Now I am deprived of my freedom, the thing we most treasure. I have written this letter to conscientise people, please dont think that (carrying drugs) is the best solution to our problems; it is not "easy money"; we end up deprived of our freedom and of our families. I want you to take into account my story, and not accept to travel to HK with drugs. You run a great risk as many Asian countries impose the death penalty, and HK gives long sentences. Don't make a One Way Trip to Hong Kong ! Dont fall into the trap! "No to Drugs, Yes to your Family". Don't destroy your life and that of your family, quitting your freedom to make others rich