Despite the trauma inflicted on her family in 1975 and leaving her friends and relatives, Debby Rosenthal Harris grew up to be a strong, gracious woman. In 1962, she was born to the Jewish family of Margit and Gert Rosenthal in Guatemala City, Guatemala. She was followed by her three younger sisters in later years. Debby recalls, “Guatemala is a very pretty country -- very poor but very pretty.” She grew up in a nice neighborhood and has many memories of her sisters and she playing out on their street. Her family was wealthy compared to her friends’ families. The neighborhood centered around her house and there were always a neighbor at her house, chatting with her mother. She went to an American school and remembers the yellow school bus she and her sisters had to take to get there. She loved school. Debby’s grandparents owned a coffee farm and Debby often went there to ride horses. She had her own horse at the farm.
Debby and her family attended temple every week. The only exposure to hostility towards her religion was when her sister was not allowed to come to her friend’s First Communion because the friend was told by her priest that Jews killed…show more content… She missed her family and friends in Mexico City and called home so often that the phone company called her to make sure she could pay for the $485 bill. She says, “The first thing I did after I hung up was call my dad!” Debby made friends with people with Latino backgrounds. She was often asked questions about Guatemala and Mexico by native U.S. citizens. She was especially surprised when they asked her if she went to school with donkeys or if she had ever ridden in a car. Debby was disappointed that these people were ignorant of anything about the country that was so close to their borders. Debby began to branch out and made some friends with people of different backgrounds. After her freshman year, Debby finally felt comfortable in the United
