KPBS Midday Edition

Young Central American Refugees Share Their Stories In Their Own Words

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Marissa Cabrera / News Producer, KPBS Midday Edition

Published May 1, 2019 at 7:41 AM PDT

This story was published more than 4 years ago.

Book cover "Solito, Solita: Crossing Borders with Youth Refugees from Central America."

Young Central American Refugees Share Theirs Stories In Their Own Words

"Solito, Solita: Crossing Borders with Youth Refugees from Central America" is a new book that features the stories of 15 young migrants who left home to seek asylum in the U.S.

Unaccompanied minors continue to make their way to the U.S.-Mexico border in large numbers.

Many of them come from Central American and often travel alone.

A new book documents the stories of young Central American migrants who left their home countries to seek asylum in the U.S. They reveal what they were escaping, what they endured along the journey and what the found once they got here.

Become a KPBS sponsor

Soledad Castillo left Honduras when she was 14. Her story is one of more than a dozen featured in "Solito, Solita: Crossing Borders With Youth Refugees From Central America."

The book was edited by Jonathan Freedman, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1987 for his editorials in the San Diego Tribune on immigration and the border.

Castillo and Freedman join Midday Edition Wednesday to talk about the plight of young immigrants.

Tags

KPBS Midday Edition Immigration Books

Maureen Cavanaugh

twitter

Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

What do you want to hear host Jade Hindmon talk about on Midday?

Marissa Cabrera

twitter

Marissa Cabrera worked as a producer for KPBS Midday Edition and had previously served as a Newscast Producer for KPBS' Morning Edition. Before joining KPBS she reported on Vatican affairs, social, and cultural issues in Rome, Italy. She also contributed to a documentary on sex abuse in the Catholic Church. Marissa has worked as a multimedia journalist at various news stations in San Diego and Monterey as well as Columbia, Missouri. Marissa graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.

See stories by Marissa Cabrera