Memories can be precious. But Alexander Guibault’s first memories are horrific. “I sometimes feel I am meant to survive,” Guibault said. When Alexander was about six, his family sold him to organ traffickers. He was taken from rural Guatemala and put in a basement in Guatemala City. He remembers being tied to a post and held captive with other kids. He recalls a doctor coming for each of them, examining their bodies and marking a “Y” on the children’s chests. “I was marked,” he said. “I will say the three kids before me was cut open and I can’t really specify which organs was removed.” Alexander’s instinct was to run and escape. When his capturers were drunk, he and a few others took off. He survived on the streets and in several orphanages, but his life was not without abuse. At 19, he met Leceta Chisholm Guibault from Nova Scotia while she was leading groups to volunteer at orphanages in Guatemala. How Alexander went from being sold to adopted, celebrated and loved by Leceta, is the focus of a new documentary produced by Donna Leon called “Mi Nombre es Alex,” which means “My name is Alex” in Spanish. “It’s a story of hope. It’s a story of survival,” said Leon. “It’s a story of a young man who shouldn’t be here by all accounts. He was destined to die and he survived all of that and he found a family, so it’s a story of love and it’s a story of belonging.” One of the most emotional moments of the documentary was when Alexander returned to Guatemala in 2017 to meet his biological family and press them for answers. “That’s the family that admitted that he was sold to organ traffickers,” said Leon. Alexander had to ask his birth mother several times for the real story, and in the end, she didn’t share with him everything. As much as viewers will cry, they’ll also smile as Leon contrasts Alexander’s birth family with his adoptive one and his youth in Guatemala with his future in Nova Scotia. The loving relationship between son and mother, Alexander and Leceta, comes through in the documentary. He’ll never forget when she first told him to call her mom. “It’s a beautiful song you can hear in your heart, your brain. She said, ‘You know, you can call me mom,’” said Alexander. “And I thought it was great.” Alexander is now a Canadian citizen and lives on Big Mushamush Lake in Lunenburg County with his family. He has been telling his story to schools and is writing a book. He’s studying at the Nova Scotia Community College and has his eyes on university. He said he would like to attend Dalhousie University in Halifax. “I want to be educated. I want to be a business man someday,” said Alexander. “I always dream about university.” It’s another chapter to come, because at 30, Alexander has already lived through and learned so much. “Mi Nombre es Alex” debuted on Bell Fibe TV1 on Monday night.
