Episode 13: Refugiados (2) Episode 13: Refugees (2) Odcinek 13: Uchodźcy (2) Episódio 13: Refugiados (2)

**Martina:** She raised her kids with romantic stories about the marvelous Uruguay she had left behind, a country she still hoped she'd see soon. Months turned into years.

**Stella:** En 1985, finalmente, las cosas en Uruguay cambiaron. Stella: In 1985, things finally changed in Uruguay. El gobierno nos permitió regresar.

**Martina:** In 1985 the dictatorship ended and democracy was restored in Uruguay. It had been nine years since Stella left. It had been nine years since Stella left.

**Stella:** Regresé a Uruguay el 9 de enero del año 1985. Stella: I returned to Uruguay on January 9, 1985. Probablemente el día más feliz de mi vida. Probably the happiest day of my life. ¡Fue mágico! Cuando llegué a Montevideo, no podía parar de sonreír.

**Martina:** Stella remembers being struck by the crowds of people at the airport waving Uruguayan flags. She remembers thinking, “Someone important must be coming today because look at all these people!” But they were there for her and for the hundreds of exiles returning to Uruguay since democracy had been restored. It was a historic event.

**Stella:** Los refugiados veníamos de México, pero también de Cuba, Venezuela, Francia y Suecia. Mi familia y mis amigos también estaban allí. My family and friends were there too.

**Martina:** When she saw her father, Stella was surprised to see his head full of white hair. He seemed shorter. He had aged so much since she last saw him.

**Stella:** Cuando lo abracé, mi papá lloró – era la primera vez que lo veía llorar. Stella: When I hugged him, my dad cried – it was the first time I saw him cry. Estaba feliz y triste al mismo tiempo. En ese momento entendí cuánto había sufrido todos esos años que estuvimos lejos. At that moment I understood how much he had suffered all those years that we were away.

**Martina:** Images of their last goodbyes rushed to Stella's mind. At the time, she had no idea she was leaving not only her father, but also her country for the next decade.

**Stella:** Pero poder abrazar a mi padre, volver a casa y a un Uruguay libre y democrático… al final eso es lo que importa. Stella: But being able to hug my father, return home and to a free and democratic Uruguay... in the end that's what matters.

**Martina:** Stella Forner now lives in Uruguay and works as a copy editor at city hall in Montevideo. This story was produced by Florencia Flores Iborra, a Uruguayan podcast producer based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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I'm Martina Castro, gracias por escuchar.