I come from a long line of fighters, generations of travelers who have met the challenges of our world
\nwith grace and strength. Today it is my turn to fight and survive and I hope my ancestors\u2019 fortitude is
\nwith me. Here are their stories, my story.<\/p>\n
I come from a fishing family. My great-grandfather on my father\u2019s side was from Chile and was born in
\n1945. His is the oldest story of my family\u2019s challenges and victories. My grandfather was an only child.
\nHe was a twin but his twin didn\u2019t survive, he was stillborn. Many families lost babies. This tragedy was
\npart of the reason my ancestors left Chile. They kept on going but were never the same.<\/p>\n
My grandfather and his family immigrated to the United States in 1970 and lived along the coast of
\nLouisiana. The fishing life was good there and my grandparents raised a large, healthy family and
\nprospered. They loved their life. but again tragedy would strike my family. In 2010 there was a fire and
\nthere was poison and half of my relatives were killed. But we are strong and the survivors made a new
\nlife and carried on. They moved away from Louisiana and came west.<\/p>\n
My mother was born in California and my parents settled in Santa Barbara. I was born and raised during
\na challenging time. The fishing is bad. For most of my life, the haul has gradually dwindled and other
\nfamilies have had to move away, driven by poverty and hunger. I too am hungry often. I have been
\nunable to provide well for my children. But I have persevered. Until today.<\/p>\n
It is late Spring, 2015 and I lie in a hospital surrounded by strangers, scared, starving and sick. My body is
\noverheating, I can\u2019t walk, I can hardly breathe. I don\u2019t know what has happened to my body and I don\u2019t
\nknow if I have the strength of my ancestors to survive! So many of us haven\u2019t.
\nEpilogue: Our writer did not survive. Here is his story.<\/p>\n
1945: The pesticide DDT was widely used and caused a severe loss of life for the Brown Pelican species
\ndue to thinning of their eggshells. By 1960 the Brown Pelican had almost disappeared along the Gulf
\nCoast and in Southern California. The species had suffered almost total reproductive failure. DDT was
\nfinally banned in 1972. The Brown Pelican was listed as an Endangered Species from 1970-2009.<\/p>\n
April 20, 2010: The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of
\nMexico. It is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. The total
\ndischarge was estimated to be 210 million gallons. Multitudes of marine mammals were affected and
\ndied.<\/p>\n
Starting in at least 2010, the sardine population has been gradually reduced due to overfishing. Sardines
\nare the most important food source for the Brown Pelicans along the California coast. Despite a decline
\nin fish-eating wildlife due to starvation, sardine fishing continues.<\/p>\n
May 19, 2015: The Refugio oil spill occurred when a corroded pipeline failed and deposited
\napproximately 143,000 gallons of crude oil onto one of the most biologically diverse coastlines of the
\nwest coast.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>