Landeros Jennifer

Professor Holly Batty

English 101

5/31/2017

The Journey of Rodrigo

The novel Still Water Saints, by Alex Espinoza is full of different characters that face a

challenging experience. The character I chose to write about, is the fifteen year-old boy, named

Rodrigo. I will demonstrate how he had to overcome and experience many obstacles, in order to

provide for his family. He is the victim of sex trafficking, whom was sold to a client who

sexually abused him. He would think about his family back in his hometown San Miguel, and

that gave him the motivation to continue earning money. Although many people would say that

Rodrigo is not saint-like, I say Rodrigo is saint-like, because he shows courage, benevolence, and

proves his empowerment. Rodrigo shows he is courageous when he decides to cross the border at

age fifteen. He shows benevolence towards his family, and wants to provide for them. Although

he falls into the wrong hands, he never loses hope and tries to empower his freedom by doing

something he thought he would never have to do.

Just before his fifteenth birthday, he is courageous and decides to leave his hometown,

San Miguel, hoping to cross into the United States, just like his siblings did. Rodrigos father

tells him, Be careful, that city is dangerous. (Rodrigo's father, 161.) Despite the advice his

father gives him, hes not scared and doesn't change his mind. San Miguel was turning into a

hopeless place with no jobs and he couldn't stay. Deciding to leave his family behind, in order to

go on a dangerous journey, made him a stronger person. There are many reasons why teens

decide to cross the border. For example, Rodrigo from, Saint Water Saints, needs to leave in
order to provide for his family. Others decide to cross because they want to reunite with family

members. In the article, Women Crossing the U.S. Border Face Sexual Assault with Little

Protection, by Jude Joffe-Block, The girl came from the southern state of Oaxaca and was

crossing to meet her parents in the U.S, the minor who can only be identified by her first initial

L due to her being a minor When agents arrested the group they tried to load everyone into a

truck for processing. The young girl seemed pretty scared to get in the vehicle with everyone,

Bidegain said. One of the members of the group pulled an agent aside and told him the story

about how this girl had been raped by one of the guys in the group.(Bidegain). Some teenagers

leave to reunite with family member and some leave hoping to provide a better life for their

family members. Despite knowing the danger they will face, they still decide to cross the border.

Either you're a male or female, both genders run a risk of being sexually assaulted. Over all this

minor girl along with Rodrigo, both have a strong reason of why they want to cross the border.

Compassion and benevolence is what Rodrigo felt and that motivated him to make

money for his family. When Rodrigo arrives to Tijuana, he meets a guy named Felix, who shows

him how to work at El Dompe. He promises to look out for him, take care of him, and to provide

him with money. It was too good to be true for him as, he put the condition of Rodrigo having to

give him something in return. In order for him to make money, he had to touch him in a sexual

way. He thought of his mother and father back home, waiting for money. (Rodrigo, 163.) If

that wasn't enough, he ends up homeless, with little money, desperate to make money. He

decides to do whatever it takes to make money for his family back in his hometown. He meets

Chino, who gives him a job as a sex trafficker, then gets sold to a client called Dwight. This

client only wants him to himself and smuggles him from Mexico. He then holds him captive,

threatens, and mistreats him. I'm not saying that every teen that crosses the border gets sexually
assaulted, but in the article, Homeless Youth at High Risk of Human Trafficking, The

vulnerability children experience when they are alone, hungry, and without shelter on the streets

make them particularly susceptible to trafficking, said Ryan, President and Chief Executive of

Covenant House, a shelter for homeless. Just like Rodrigo in the book, Still Water Saints, he

struggles to earn money, and ends up in the wrong hands that turn him into a sex slave.

Sometimes some human beings will do anything in order to provide for their families or for

themselves.

In order to empower his freedom, he kills the old man who held him captive and naked in

the dark room. The bag of shells and rocks you put there. I take it. Squeeze like a fist. And

swing and swing. I hear crunching, feel his hands go loose. His glasses fall off and break. I swing

and swing. Over and over until he wont move.(Rodrigo 173-174) He only has time to grab his

boots and clothes, before running to get help from Perla. He finds himself breaking the barriers,

knowing he can be beaten or killed. He commences to talk to Perla, not looking so much for

help, but guidance. Rodrigo finds himself telling Perla everything about his abuser. Rodrigo after

being beaten brutally finds himself seeking help from Perla, but panics and disappears. This

leaves him with no justice for his abuse. Similar to the article, Women Crossing the U.S. Border

Face Sexual Assault with Little Protection, by Jude Joffe- Block, We have a brave young girl

who was able to speak up, we have members of the group who witnessed the crime, and we have

alleged rapist in our custody, said Peter Bidegain, the Public Information Officer for border

patrol. She was sexually abused and mistreated by her coyote, was able to open up about it, and

justice was done for her. There is some justice for a few victims who are sexually abused. The

article Human Trafficking: What About the Men and Boys, by Ashley Greve, Associate

Director of Advocacy. It may also be easier to believe that only the weaker sex is victimized.
This notion is wrong and it is harmful. While women and girls obviously deserve protection,

correcting false perceptions is the first step towards ensuring that boys and yes, men are also

safe. (Ashley Greve). Both male and female can be victims of sex trafficking. I argue that

female victims have more justice than males. Rodrigo being a male had little help and no one

else besides Perla paid attention to him. People have more sympathy for female victims and go

beyond to help them in any possible way.

What seemed to be the steps for a better life for his family, ended up being a horrific

story of a young man. Rodrigo, only 15 from the state of Michoacn Mexico, shows that he is

saint like because he is courageous, benevolence, and proves his empowerment. Rodrigo headed

north just to find himself in his own dead trap. He left his state on a search for a better future for

his family, to find himself raped and abused in the border town of Tijuana, Mexico. Rodrigos

dreams were slowly crushed, as he found himself being sold as a sex slave. His dreams of

coming into the states were crumbled little by little, and he found himself trapped and was

looking for a way to win his freedom back. After the beatings, mental abuse, and rape, he broke

through. He broke through seeking for help, just to end up never being heard of again.

Works Cited

Joffe-Block, Fronteras Jude. "Women Crossing the U.S. Border Face Sexual Assault with Little
Protection." PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

"Homeless Youth at High Risk of Human Trafficking." The New York Times. The New York
Times, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.

"Human Trafficking: What about the Men and Boys? Home HTC Blog Human Trafficking:
What about the Men and Boys?" Human Trafficking Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2017.

Espinoza, Alex. Still Water Saints: A Novel. London: Picador, 2013. Print.