Thursday, January 29, 2009
Mucho Corazon
Since I've been back many folks ask me, "how was El Paso?" or "how was your trip?" and of course I say, "awesome!" or "great!". But, really there is so much to say about how meaningful this trip was for me. Its hard to know where to begin, really..even here on this blog...where can I begin....?
I am so thankful to all the wonderful organizations we were introduced to and the people that generously spent time with us. I'm also thankful for all our intense conversations in the big white van or over dinner. Our conversations were essential--where the learning actually happened. What an amazing group of women too--- wow! Seriously amazing--smart, witty, fun, caring, beautiful inside and out. I felt fortunate to share this time with them.
It was rather interesting how tired all of us became by the third day. We finally decided there were three reasons for this:
1. we were not drinking enough water
2. our late nights talking, dancing, and giggling in the basement
3. and lastly our poor brains were jammed packed with information --completely overwhelmed and inspired!
So what happens now--- well.... reunions galore, documentaries, brunch, service, teaching ESL, teaching citizenship classes....so much to do!
Thank you El Paso--Thank you Gardner Hotel--Thank you big white van--Thank you Fiesta Bowling--Thank you tool box--Thank you Acorn: Jose Manuel, Charlie, Chewy, Danny, Judy, Ken--Thank you Las Americas--Border Network-- Tierra Madre (Alejandro!)--Thank you Sen. Shapleigh---Thank you Annunciation House. THANK YOU MARA & AIMEE, the best trip leaders ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry to make such a mushy entry on the blog--but had to be done.
-Jackie
Staff Advisor
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Aida...can I have some of that?
Today was a pretty great day. We got to sleep in, but unfortunately had to say good-bye to one participant who left early (much love Mira!). A few of us decided to walk around, get some coffee and buy some comics. Early in the semester, we met with an artist, Laura Burns, who told us a lot about her experience in Juarez, but also told us about these comics. It's really interesting to the covers because a lot of them have very violent images of women. We were drawn to these and wanted to learn more, so a couple of us bought some. Mine was kind of crazy. It's an image of a naked woman, who might I add is very voluptuously, is covered in blood and has a giant needle covering her. The tag line is "Agarras lana o tragas plomo asi reza el narco", which means money or lead, a common phrase among narcos as a threat to people they end up getting on their side sometimes.
After that, we made a little bit of lunch and headed over to ACORN. We had planning from 1-3 on how we would teach the citizenship classes with a few women in the classes and in charge of organizing the classes. One woman, Sophia, had her test that morning and didn't pass. She had only begun the English proficiency part and got lost when the officer asked her to raise her hand and then explain why. Something was lost in translation, but when she asked him what he meant he simply said you don't understand enough and the test was over.
It's amazing how lucky some of us are that just by chance we were born here and just by chance our parents were born here or they were able to get citizenship. The test is so hard, which we went over in the class today. There were two classes, one in Spanish for those over 50 that get to take the test in Spanish, and one in English for everyone else.
In the English class, we split up into pairs and practiced speaking English. We first started with conversational stuff like "how are you?", "where are you from?", "how long have you been here?" And then broke off into the exam questions. A lot of these questions I would not know how to answer when on the spot at an interview that determined by citizenship. Stuff like what is the economic system of the U.S.? Looking at the answers I'm like duh it's market based/capitalism, but when I asked that I had no idea at first. The questions are things that you really have the reach back into your mind for the information. I obviously know these things, but the fact is that I take it for granted and don't really think about it ever.
My partner, Alejandro, was an amazing guy. He's been in the U.S. since 1992 and only became a resident in 1995, but his wife came over in 1986. What an amazing man! He has three kids, one boy and two girls. His son is being deployed for the second time in February. His older daughter goes to UTEP, while his younger daughter is still in high school. We spoke about his ride to work, an army base, which is 100 miles from his home where he's a carpenter, finisher, and is basically a renaissance man. After doing all of the real work, I began asking him questions about what he thought about ASARCO, since we had just worked with ACORN on that, and the violence in Juarez. It shocked me how articulate he was during this conversation. I told him after that it seems like he connects with the language a lot more when he was passionate about the issues, which as Jackie just pointed out is very unusual. This man was amazing.
ACORN gave us such amazing opportunities within the community and seeing how community organizing really works.
Off to bed now since we have to get up at 4:30 to hike with Elliot Shapleigh in the morning, go into New Mexico to visit a reservation, and then meet with our final organization before going out for dinner, listening to music and eating fried ice cream.
(We're also going to go bowling, but don't tell anybody!!!!)
This trip has been so amazing. I can't imagine a better group of girls. While I searched for boys to add to the trip, having all girls has made it an amazing experience. I love these girls. We all just clicked on the second day and ever since we've just been rolling along like best friends. I'm really happy on this trip and returning home is scary since we won't be together 24/7, but knowing more amazing girls and having even more people I can confide in really makes UMD feel like the place for me.
I LOVE THESE TRIPS!!!
ciao!
Mara
After that, we made a little bit of lunch and headed over to ACORN. We had planning from 1-3 on how we would teach the citizenship classes with a few women in the classes and in charge of organizing the classes. One woman, Sophia, had her test that morning and didn't pass. She had only begun the English proficiency part and got lost when the officer asked her to raise her hand and then explain why. Something was lost in translation, but when she asked him what he meant he simply said you don't understand enough and the test was over.
It's amazing how lucky some of us are that just by chance we were born here and just by chance our parents were born here or they were able to get citizenship. The test is so hard, which we went over in the class today. There were two classes, one in Spanish for those over 50 that get to take the test in Spanish, and one in English for everyone else.
In the English class, we split up into pairs and practiced speaking English. We first started with conversational stuff like "how are you?", "where are you from?", "how long have you been here?" And then broke off into the exam questions. A lot of these questions I would not know how to answer when on the spot at an interview that determined by citizenship. Stuff like what is the economic system of the U.S.? Looking at the answers I'm like duh it's market based/capitalism, but when I asked that I had no idea at first. The questions are things that you really have the reach back into your mind for the information. I obviously know these things, but the fact is that I take it for granted and don't really think about it ever.
My partner, Alejandro, was an amazing guy. He's been in the U.S. since 1992 and only became a resident in 1995, but his wife came over in 1986. What an amazing man! He has three kids, one boy and two girls. His son is being deployed for the second time in February. His older daughter goes to UTEP, while his younger daughter is still in high school. We spoke about his ride to work, an army base, which is 100 miles from his home where he's a carpenter, finisher, and is basically a renaissance man. After doing all of the real work, I began asking him questions about what he thought about ASARCO, since we had just worked with ACORN on that, and the violence in Juarez. It shocked me how articulate he was during this conversation. I told him after that it seems like he connects with the language a lot more when he was passionate about the issues, which as Jackie just pointed out is very unusual. This man was amazing.
ACORN gave us such amazing opportunities within the community and seeing how community organizing really works.
Off to bed now since we have to get up at 4:30 to hike with Elliot Shapleigh in the morning, go into New Mexico to visit a reservation, and then meet with our final organization before going out for dinner, listening to music and eating fried ice cream.
(We're also going to go bowling, but don't tell anybody!!!!)
This trip has been so amazing. I can't imagine a better group of girls. While I searched for boys to add to the trip, having all girls has made it an amazing experience. I love these girls. We all just clicked on the second day and ever since we've just been rolling along like best friends. I'm really happy on this trip and returning home is scary since we won't be together 24/7, but knowing more amazing girls and having even more people I can confide in really makes UMD feel like the place for me.
I LOVE THESE TRIPS!!!
ciao!
Mara
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Las Americas + Border Patrol
Hi, everyone! As our trip is winding down, we are still continuing to learn more and more about border issues. Yesterday we visited Las Americas, an immigrant advocacy group, to learn about the immigration process and what exactly makes it so difficult for incoming immigrants to become citizens.
The people at Las Americas were really welcoming and they provided us with helpful handouts. The very first one (and my personal favorite) was a flowchart comic that basically (or not so basically) illustrated the complexity of the immigration system currently in place. What we learned was that the "easiest" way to become a citizen in the U.S. is to be the parent, spouse or child of a current U.S. citizen. Despite the fact, this process would still take at least 6 or 7 years. The more complicated ways to become a citizen included people with no familial links or no "special skills" (athletics, investments, genius). In these cases, citizenship would not be achieved for as many as 30 years - if at all.
We also received a table that the U.S. government releases monthly to inform immigrants who have applied for visas. This month, those in China who applied in 1997, in Mexico who applied in 1995 and in India who applied in 1998 can finally get their paperwork together to make the move. We all thought that this was pretty crazy. Ray, our speaker, told us that many immigration laws are anti-family value: they disregard the basic need for families to stay together.
For the rest of the day we got to watch the inauguration which was basically a lot of speeches and us going, "aww, I love him!!" We also did a reflection that night on the differences among helping, fixing and serving another.
The next morning we set off for the Border Patrol Museum. Inside, there were models of vehicles once used for patrolling the border. There was a skidoo, a firebird, one of those olden day cars from the early decades of the 20th century, and helicopters. We got to get into the helicopter which was pretty cool too. Then we walked around to look at the history of the border patrol including the technology used by both the patrollers and the immigrants who seeked to cross the border. The museum also presented us with a training movie and a slideshow. The training movie was a little intense and slightly... poorly edited. We learned from our speaker, J. Perez, that he felt that his job was to uphold the law and that it was very necessary. However, he did see the need for the improvement of the slow immigration process.
Another exciting part of our day is when we got to visit the home of one of Aimee's contacts. The family was so fantastic and welcoming! We watched a movie called Drug Wars: Plato o Plomo (silver or lead) which was a pretty intense documentary about the decades long drug war in the U.S. We also were served delicious snacks! But back to the movie... we learned where the drugs were produced and why, as well as how, they make it to the U.S. Since drugs are strongly linked to violence and power in Mexico, the movie was appropriate for our interest in Juarez and its current problems. We were also lucky to talk to the lawyer who hosted us about his cases and the things that he has seen. Afterwards, his wife was kind enough to show us parts of the city like the oldest mission in Texas and the Indian Reservation.
Later that night, Jackie and Mara made a wonderful stir fry dinner as our last night cooking. Then we reflected on the day by finding the connotations of words that we were given such as border, citizen, and coyotes/smugglers.
It was a really informative couple of days. I personally think that learning about the immigration process - and how complicated, confusing and outdated it is - was great.
I hope everyone is enjoying the below freezing weather in Maryland!! :)
-Lien
Quote of the day: "If someone is not weird, that means you just don't know them well enough."
The people at Las Americas were really welcoming and they provided us with helpful handouts. The very first one (and my personal favorite) was a flowchart comic that basically (or not so basically) illustrated the complexity of the immigration system currently in place. What we learned was that the "easiest" way to become a citizen in the U.S. is to be the parent, spouse or child of a current U.S. citizen. Despite the fact, this process would still take at least 6 or 7 years. The more complicated ways to become a citizen included people with no familial links or no "special skills" (athletics, investments, genius). In these cases, citizenship would not be achieved for as many as 30 years - if at all.
We also received a table that the U.S. government releases monthly to inform immigrants who have applied for visas. This month, those in China who applied in 1997, in Mexico who applied in 1995 and in India who applied in 1998 can finally get their paperwork together to make the move. We all thought that this was pretty crazy. Ray, our speaker, told us that many immigration laws are anti-family value: they disregard the basic need for families to stay together.
For the rest of the day we got to watch the inauguration which was basically a lot of speeches and us going, "aww, I love him!!" We also did a reflection that night on the differences among helping, fixing and serving another.
The next morning we set off for the Border Patrol Museum. Inside, there were models of vehicles once used for patrolling the border. There was a skidoo, a firebird, one of those olden day cars from the early decades of the 20th century, and helicopters. We got to get into the helicopter which was pretty cool too. Then we walked around to look at the history of the border patrol including the technology used by both the patrollers and the immigrants who seeked to cross the border. The museum also presented us with a training movie and a slideshow. The training movie was a little intense and slightly... poorly edited. We learned from our speaker, J. Perez, that he felt that his job was to uphold the law and that it was very necessary. However, he did see the need for the improvement of the slow immigration process.
Another exciting part of our day is when we got to visit the home of one of Aimee's contacts. The family was so fantastic and welcoming! We watched a movie called Drug Wars: Plato o Plomo (silver or lead) which was a pretty intense documentary about the decades long drug war in the U.S. We also were served delicious snacks! But back to the movie... we learned where the drugs were produced and why, as well as how, they make it to the U.S. Since drugs are strongly linked to violence and power in Mexico, the movie was appropriate for our interest in Juarez and its current problems. We were also lucky to talk to the lawyer who hosted us about his cases and the things that he has seen. Afterwards, his wife was kind enough to show us parts of the city like the oldest mission in Texas and the Indian Reservation.
Later that night, Jackie and Mara made a wonderful stir fry dinner as our last night cooking. Then we reflected on the day by finding the connotations of words that we were given such as border, citizen, and coyotes/smugglers.
It was a really informative couple of days. I personally think that learning about the immigration process - and how complicated, confusing and outdated it is - was great.
I hope everyone is enjoying the below freezing weather in Maryland!! :)
-Lien
Quote of the day: "If someone is not weird, that means you just don't know them well enough."
Monday, January 19, 2009
Right On!
19 de enero, 2009
This is Steph Fiore writing today, and although I’m not much of a blogger, today was by far my favorite day and I look forward to informing you all about it. I was excited to combine my knowledge as a Public Health major and Spanish minor all throughout the day! (thanks mom and dad for helping to pay for that education!!)
This morning we stopped by a transitional home for immigrants. We dropped off food and cleaning supplies and talked to some of the residents there. It just so happened that a group of Minnesota college students are staying there on a similar trip as us, so they may be joining us for some service activities!
We spent a large portion of our day volunteering for A.C.O.R.N. Yes, that is the group with some faulty voter registration accusations, but that was not our focus today! The El Paso ACORN group has teamed with local citizens to help educate and empower the community on numerous issues, and our work today was to gather support to prevent a local smelting plant, ASARCO, from reopening to protect workers and the surrounding community.
ASARCO was a local copper smelting plant located in the middle of El Paso that already was emitting high levels of lead into the environment. Unbeknownst to the employees, ASARCO had an agreement with the US Government to dispose of military waste from the Rocky Mountain Artillery. For over 10 years, ASARCO employees were unknowingly incinerating chemical warfare such as cadmio (cadmium), arseno (arsenic), and Agent Orange. In 1999, the plant laid off all 350 employees and closed down. Most workers had been employed at ASARCO for over 20 years and didn’t think much of their skin rashes or the surrounding fog. Ten years later, the workers have noticed a drastic increase in cancers and blood diseases such as Leukemia among workers as well as lead poisoning in local children, so they have collaborated with ACORN to rally support against the reopening of the ASARCO plant.
Alongside the former ASARCO employees and ACORN staff, we went puerta por puerta (door by door) to collect data for una encuentra de salud ambiental (an environmental health survey) and to gain support from community members for an upcoming rally ACORN will be hosting. We heard many interesting stories and concerns from residents, which was a great chance to practice our Spanish!
Sana and I had the privilege of attending a meeting with a local attorney and some of the former ASARCO employees. They will soon be submitting a class action inquiry to the house and senate to 1) demand an evaluation of all former ASARCO employees and to 2) get financial compensation for the sick employees. Of course, ASARCO found a loop hole to paying workers compensation by filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy, so the employees hope to receive help from the government, which knowingly allowed the ASARCO plant to incinerate toxins without informing the employees or providing them with any safety equipment or training. So, I got to contribute my public health knowledge throughout the meeting to help them formulate ideas for health surveys, which they will be using to build support for their bill!
Thank you for reading and enjoy the inauguration events!
Quote of the Day: "Aida...speak!"-Jose Manuel
Sunday, January 18, 2009
adventures in tejas
Hello Maryland. It's day five here in sunny El Paso. I have to say that I am in love with this trip.
Yesterday was our free day, so we went out to explore the ciudad (city). We walked down through downtown El Paso to do some shopping. The stores were like the stores you would find in Mexico- doors open, shoes, clothes hanging on the outside. As we walked by sometimes they would say "jóvenes pásale" (inviting to come in and shop at their store). It was just cool to get a little taste of the Mexican language and slang.
At one point we were right next to the border. There was a long line of cars waiting to enter into the U.S. A lot of times I forget that there are people that come in and out of the U.S. on a daily basis for work or whatever reason. There were also people walking back towards the border after shopping, working, or maybe visiting family or friends (or so I imagine).
The idea of the border really blows my mind. It's an arbitrary line.. to quote Aida (a fellow AWB-er) "how many people had to die in order for the line to be where it is versus ten or fifty miles north?" It's literally a fence, like one in your backyard (minus the barbwire and electricity) that separates us from a whole people. It's just a crazy idea to think what it would be like if there was no need for the border. I mean, I understand the need for the border and regulating immigration but the thought people would have their basic needs and freedom to the extent that they would leave their lives behind in hopes for a better life.
In other news... after shopping and lunch we went to the museum of art. There was art from the renaissance to baroque to modern times. The best part was at the very end.. I entered the gifts shop and there it was: The Peace Book. It was a children's book that goes through different examples of what peace is. For example, "peace is everyone having a home" or "peace is making new friends." Legitimately, it brought a tear to my eyeball.
Later last night we went to a local restaurant called Little Diner. We had a good laugh trying to find the place. We used Tom Tom (our GPS) and one of the roads we were on was closed, so it took us through some sketchy, unlit back roads. In the end we stuffed ourselves with, for the most part, delicious and greasy Mexican food.
I love that we're such a diverse group of girls and that we've gotten to grow and know each other so quickly.
There's so much more to learn and I'm excited to do it.
Quote of the Day:
Women at the Toolbox, "This day '88, this day '88"
Yesterday was our free day, so we went out to explore the ciudad (city). We walked down through downtown El Paso to do some shopping. The stores were like the stores you would find in Mexico- doors open, shoes, clothes hanging on the outside. As we walked by sometimes they would say "jóvenes pásale" (inviting to come in and shop at their store). It was just cool to get a little taste of the Mexican language and slang.
At one point we were right next to the border. There was a long line of cars waiting to enter into the U.S. A lot of times I forget that there are people that come in and out of the U.S. on a daily basis for work or whatever reason. There were also people walking back towards the border after shopping, working, or maybe visiting family or friends (or so I imagine).
The idea of the border really blows my mind. It's an arbitrary line.. to quote Aida (a fellow AWB-er) "how many people had to die in order for the line to be where it is versus ten or fifty miles north?" It's literally a fence, like one in your backyard (minus the barbwire and electricity) that separates us from a whole people. It's just a crazy idea to think what it would be like if there was no need for the border. I mean, I understand the need for the border and regulating immigration but the thought people would have their basic needs and freedom to the extent that they would leave their lives behind in hopes for a better life.
In other news... after shopping and lunch we went to the museum of art. There was art from the renaissance to baroque to modern times. The best part was at the very end.. I entered the gifts shop and there it was: The Peace Book. It was a children's book that goes through different examples of what peace is. For example, "peace is everyone having a home" or "peace is making new friends." Legitimately, it brought a tear to my eyeball.
Later last night we went to a local restaurant called Little Diner. We had a good laugh trying to find the place. We used Tom Tom (our GPS) and one of the roads we were on was closed, so it took us through some sketchy, unlit back roads. In the end we stuffed ourselves with, for the most part, delicious and greasy Mexican food.
I love that we're such a diverse group of girls and that we've gotten to grow and know each other so quickly.
There's so much more to learn and I'm excited to do it.
Quote of the Day:
Women at the Toolbox, "This day '88, this day '88"
Friday, January 16, 2009
Day 2: AWB Bonds & Goes Deep :-)
It's nearly 11:00pm on Friday night. Back at school, most people would be out & about but we're here at the hostel playing hilarious games and having dance parties. That's one thing I love about this group-- we're 16 girls who have only generally known each other for 3 days, yet our unity has grown so much. We're able to get a long because we not only share a similar purpose for being here in Texas, but I can see the servants' hearts in each of the girls in the group. The man at the hotel desk who talked our ears off earlier (but has wonderful intentions) even said that to see groups of young people and the current young generation with so much passion really gives him hope. That's all for the cheesy stuff for now =)
Today, our group had to split up for the first time. We contacted an organization located nearby in New Mexico called Tierra Madre. This organization is geared toward forming a sustainable community with low-income housing for people who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford a decent home. The approved homeowners are basically expected to do most of the housebuilding themselves, but they have contractors to show them the ropes, and Tierra Madre coordinates logistics and supplies. I was in a group of eight girls who went to Tierra Madre, and we learned a lot about the organization and were able to do a couple hours of painting a base coat on the outside of the house as well.
The other eight girls did a variety of activities like driving near the Mexican border and visiting a Museum of Archeology. From the stories I've heard them relate, the border was crowded with lines and lines of people who were waiting to get on the United States side. The girls described the sadness they felt after seeing the situation. Also, the archeology museum ended up being an adventure because they got lost on a mountain, and once they finally reached the museum they were disappointed by the 20th century "artifacts" and dead flower gardens :-)
The two groups merged again after lunch, and we visited the El Paso History Museum. One exhibit that caught most of our eyes was a group of walls lined with pictures and stories of women who had immigrated to El Paso. These women came from Lebanon, Syria, Mexico, and many other countries.
I feel like the problems and issues we face in Maryland and around D.C. are so different from the daily worries the people here in El Paso face. The border is such a sensitive issue in many circles, and I think we are all eager to learn about the many different viewpoints concerning immigration. Being in this area has made me feel so incredibly blessed for the opportunities I have at home. Hearing about injustices has really made me and a lot of the other girls struggle with the idea that our own convenience has the potential to inflict so much suffering on others. Watching a documentary last night about women factory workers on the Mexican side of the borders really strengthened these sentiments. That's all for tonight!!
Quote of the day by the hardcore coordinator-woman from Tierra Madre:
"So I sued him, and I won."
--Whitney Beck
Today, our group had to split up for the first time. We contacted an organization located nearby in New Mexico called Tierra Madre. This organization is geared toward forming a sustainable community with low-income housing for people who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford a decent home. The approved homeowners are basically expected to do most of the housebuilding themselves, but they have contractors to show them the ropes, and Tierra Madre coordinates logistics and supplies. I was in a group of eight girls who went to Tierra Madre, and we learned a lot about the organization and were able to do a couple hours of painting a base coat on the outside of the house as well.
The other eight girls did a variety of activities like driving near the Mexican border and visiting a Museum of Archeology. From the stories I've heard them relate, the border was crowded with lines and lines of people who were waiting to get on the United States side. The girls described the sadness they felt after seeing the situation. Also, the archeology museum ended up being an adventure because they got lost on a mountain, and once they finally reached the museum they were disappointed by the 20th century "artifacts" and dead flower gardens :-)
The two groups merged again after lunch, and we visited the El Paso History Museum. One exhibit that caught most of our eyes was a group of walls lined with pictures and stories of women who had immigrated to El Paso. These women came from Lebanon, Syria, Mexico, and many other countries.
I feel like the problems and issues we face in Maryland and around D.C. are so different from the daily worries the people here in El Paso face. The border is such a sensitive issue in many circles, and I think we are all eager to learn about the many different viewpoints concerning immigration. Being in this area has made me feel so incredibly blessed for the opportunities I have at home. Hearing about injustices has really made me and a lot of the other girls struggle with the idea that our own convenience has the potential to inflict so much suffering on others. Watching a documentary last night about women factory workers on the Mexican side of the borders really strengthened these sentiments. That's all for tonight!!
Quote of the day by the hardcore coordinator-woman from Tierra Madre:
"So I sued him, and I won."
--Whitney Beck
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