If They Are Within Our Borders They Are Our Brothers

Ry and I were out for a few beers and zither music on Friday night with our friend Freeburg, who kindly informed me that my blog's been getting a little dusty. I think it's a testament to how busy this time of year is for me. Throw a job interview and mega spring house cleaning into the mix and you get zero blog updates.

Saturday we participated in the annual May Day Immigrants' Rights March organized by Voces De La Frontera. The first march was held in 2005 and it has continued each year since. This is the second year I've participated and Ry has been to six total. Given the recent hateful legislation passed in Arizona, this year's crowd was particularly large and fired up. I also think there were more white supporters and union supporters than in years past, which made me feel good knowing there were many others who want to speak up regarding the need for immigration reform now.

Thousands of people were peacefully assembled outside the Voces headquarters on 5th and National and opening ceremony speakers were on stage when smoke started billowing from the alley next door. Some hateful person started a couch on fire in a dumpster next to the building. I think it was meant to incite panic and fear in the marchers. There was a little bit of panic. I heard a couple of shouts of "la migra" from some march goers who were afraid immigration officials had come to do a raid. Things calmed down in a matter of a few minutes thanks to the calm of the organizers from the speaker's podium and a few police officers who were nearby that pulled the dumpster away from the building. But it was scary nonetheless. I was disgusted that someone would commit such an act of hate at a peaceful demonstration, especially on a windy spring day when fire could have easily spread or injured someone.

We marched up National Avenue from 5th Street all the way to Mitchell Park on 27th street. The news estimated 60,000 people participated, but that seems too high to me. I was impressed to see people of all ages and backgrounds marching despite age and physical impairments. There were kids in wagons, a young boy pushing his sister with a broken leg in a wheel chair, several elderly people in wheelchairs, politicians, academics, priests, nuns and many, many every day working people. We ended the march with a rally in Mitchell Park, where Ry and I only stayed briefly before we got some tamarind and lime ices and walked back.

I was proud to be there and glad I chose to participate despite the cleaning I wanted to be doing at the house. It matters every year, but especially this one. Arizona has taken away the civil rights of every day people (including citizens) who will be needlessly harassed and persecuted.

During the march I realized that we had originally been talking about taking our spring break trip to Arizona, but decided instead to go to Mexico. Though I loved my time living in Arizona and there were many people there I would have liked to see, I felt glad I did not support the state's tourist infrastructure with our money. I also saw it as an ironic twist that our money went to Mexico instead. Besides being hateful, Jan Brewer's choice to sign this bill into law is also shortsighted. Much of Arizona's state revenue comes from tourism and a town like Flagstaff depends on it. I'm interested to see what the economic fall out will be for a state that's already struggling financially. I hate to hope that the state will take a hit, because I know many people who live and work there, but I wonder what else can send such a strong message.

Post Trip Reflection

After having the opportunity to meet some of Ry's former students and spend some more time in Mexico, I have been feeling very, very proud of the work he does. Since I've known him I have become progressively more aware of the immigrant experience here in the United States, specifically the Mexican immigrant experience. I've learned that the immigrant experience is even more nuanced than I thought depending on generation, legal status, papers, and social class.

I see now that his job is more than teaching language. He serves as an advocate and source of support for his students. He shows them he is interested in their culture, their wisdom and the richness of their varied backgrounds. He helps them navigate an unknown world and helps them feel more comfortable in a place where no one speaks their language, they are culturally isolated and idiots say things like "you're in America, learn to speak English damn it!" and "go back to Mexico" (or worse they can't even correctly identify their country of origin).

All of this and these students are trapped between two cultural worlds feeling out of place, many of them literally trapped by rapidly evolving witch hunt-style anti-immigration legislation designed to deny them basic human rights. It didn't make sense to me before and it makes even less sense now. We need immigration reform!

The killer is that most Americans have no conception of the richness of Mexican culture. I only experienced a slice of it on our trip and I can say it's vibrant beyond my wildest notions. Most of us Americans don't see Mexicans for anything beyond small, dark-skinned people who have come here "illegally" to take their jobs. Most of us don't know anything about Mexico beyond our vague ideas that it is an "exotic" and "dangerous place". Why don't we learn about Mexican or Canadian history and culture in school? We're all North Americans, right? Shouldn't it be mandatory for us to learn something about our closest neighbors?

This trip has left me feeling more knowledgeable, blessed and conflicted. I marvel at what I learned and what I was able to experience in such a short amount of time. I feel lucky to have met and interacted with more Mexican people. I also feel sad that we know so little about a vibrant, ancient culture right next door. I feel inspired to learn more.

As a side note, I've added pictures to every post from Mexico City and am done. Be sure to scroll back for something colorful!