Despair?
Hi everyone!
I don't know whether I just need to vent or I'm looking for actual help.im drained at this point and I don't really have anyone else to talk to...
I moved to Spain over 6 months ago. I foolishly trusted someone who promised us work (we had legitimately sent our CVs through etc.) I was told to come over on a tourist visa and while I'm here convert that tourist visa to residency, apparently the company my husband was supposed to work for had already applied for his work permit.
We were even given a deadline to be in Spain as many of the workers were retiring and they could not afford to slow down the work flow.
It was all a lie and while we were accommodated we had to figure out food and transport for ourselves. There was no actual public transport near us so we relied heavily on taxis. We would work on a finca and not get paid for any work done so our savings ran out pretty quickly as we had to get my daughter to school everyday.
This also meant that we are in the country irregularly! Aside from not getting paid for work done, we were verbally and emotionally abused. We were told not to tell people about our irregular status, not to ask for help from any charities such as Cruz Roja or Caritas. We were told how to eat, how to dress, how to talk, we were made to feel like barbarians coming into civilization.
Now we are in a position to apply for our regularization via the new approved mass regularization law passed recently. Over the last few months our families back home have helped us tremendously with money for groceries and transport and with our police clearance which costs us over €750.
We, now, need to pay for translation services and we do not have the money for it. Some traductors are charging €70 per page while others are €0.10 per word. And with all our documents, the figures are adding up.
We have tried getting some informal work but with no luck, we have tried reaching out to Caritas without any luck. We're afraid that after the hearing on Friday, the regularization process will be suspended and we will be living in Spain without food, money or anything really.
We don't even have the funds to return home.
When we left home, we sold all of our belongings and came to Spain with a suitcase each and the clothes on our back. I have 4 t-shirts, a pair of jeans and a pair of tights. I am not even allowed to wash my clothes regularly as the person we live with complains about it. I feel so drained, so depressed and the worst part is that Spain is such a beautiful country, from the actual land to the people to the traditions to the lifestyle.
We can't even enjoy the little we have here because we are constantly stressed about our situation and how to get out of it.
Again, I'm not sure if I'm asking for advice, help or just to vent but ja.
Thank you for reading
EDIT: Thank you to everyone who read or commented. I do respect everyone's opinion regardless of what they think of me.
I have found that some comments are affecting me more than I thought it would mentally. This is part of putting yourself out there and I understand that. However, I'm not in a position where I can cry in a corner. I have to be strong to power through the next few weeks.
That being said, I've asked the mods to close commenting on this post. I'm not sure when it will be done and I will not be on Reddit at all.
Thank you all for taking the time to read and respond.