Esther Today

Covid wasn't easy for any of us, but it hit Esther especially hard. While she has attempted to get her children and grandchildren to move here like she did 40 years ago, they have established their own lives in Panama. One of her kids runs their own business creating tools for dentists, and the other one is a lawyer. Esther goes to Panama as often as she can, and her children come to visit every so often, but during the pandemic, she was unable to have any physical contact with her family for almost 2 years. They are the aspect of Panama she misses most. When I asked her that question, she didn't hesitate to answer for even a second.

Thankfully, Panama has since recovered from the days of Noriega. The militant was ousted from power in 1989, after Noriega annulled the results of the 1989 election, appointed himself "maximum leader" of Panama, and declared war on the U.S. When Panamanian troops shot and killed an unarmed American soldier in December of 1989, George H.W Bush sent in 27,000 troops in a successful mission to remove Noriega from power. Panama now has Democratic elections, its economy is prosperous, and it has been a great place for Esther's children and grandchildren to lead successful lives.

Life for Esther isn't very different in America than it was for her in Panama. She mentions how Panama was always very Americanized when she lived there, so her life didn't change very dramatically when she came to the U.S. She doesn't even live in a very hispanic neighborhood in New York. Almost all of her friends in America are hispanic, but she doesn't live in a bubble by any means. She talks to her children on the phone everyday and uses WhatsApp to video chat with them.

To wrap up our conversation, I asked Esther one last question: What do you like most about living in the U.S?

"THE TRANQUILITY, THE RESPECT FOR THE PEOPLE, AND THE EXCELLENT MEDICAL ASSISTANCE"