Journalistic Writing - Magazine Article

“Social media saved my life”
by Magdalena Bush


Social media has made life easier to keep up with friends and family around the world. Yet, one may have never imagined that a source like “Facebook” would be the cause of reuniting a mother with her children, after having been kidnapped for half a century. Lydia M. Quiles was a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico who came to Chicago with her husband to provide a better life for her two small children Nelson 2, and Nelly 1.  After a few months Lydia found a job working in a factory, then became ill. After being in the hospital for nearly two months, she went home to find her husband and children gone. Lydia’s husband took the children and “left with another woman,” according to a family member who was babysitting the children. While in the hospital, Lydia’s husband told her he was buying a home and had her sign divorce papers. Since she did not read English, she just trusted her husband. Lydia was poor and had no means to find her children.


Years went by and Lydia remarried and had five more children. Yet still she longed to see her lost children. 52 years went by and Lydia was diagnosed with Colon Cancer. She feared that she would die without ever seeing her children again. A nephew of Lydia decided to turn to social media to search for Nelson and Nelly. After a ton of searching, the son of Nelson was found on “Facebook.” Shortly after, a phone conversation turned into a trip to Chicago. Nelson and Nelly were overwhelmed with emotion after seeing their biological mother for the first time. Lydia told her children that she had no means to find them, but was grateful for technology that made it possible for her to see her babies.


Nelson and Lydia meet for the first time

“She would beat us”

Nelson explained to his mother that their father told them she was abusive and that is why he had to take them away. Nelson then told his mother that the woman they believed to be their real mother was a monster. “She would beat us especially my sister, she was her slave and if she did not do everything right she get the beating so bad. “ Nelson told Lydia the details on how his mother used to torture them and treat them like animals. Nelson contemplated taking his life on several occasions because of the pain and suffering he and his sister endured. Yet, Nelson kept praying and asking God to unite him and his sister with their biological mother. Nelson explains how “social media saved my life.”


Shortly after the reunion, Lydia lost her battle to Colon Cancer. Nelson and Nelly continue to talk to their siblings through social media.  Nelson and Nelly wished they could have met their mother decades ago, but are grateful for the time they had. “Even though it was for a short time it was enough time and it filled my empty space in my heart.”  

#JournalisticWriting #Magazine Article#JRN-330

Reference:
Huffingpost. "Soical media." [Online image] 13 December 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-pontefract/social-media-in-the-

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