The immigrant community needs to take a different approach if they want to accomplish anything. All these small immigrant organizations throughout the country are living proof of the lack of unity in a big scale. Media coverage, sympathy, and any other type of progress can only be made by the whole immigrant community working together under the command of strong defined leaders.
There's an undeniable need to strengthen the bonds between us. Having the African Americans, the European, The Asian, the Latino, the Middle Easterners, the Feminists, the Homosexuals, the Heterosexuals or any other undocumented immigrant group fighting their own battle, can only get us so far. There's a bigger picture; DC is my witness. United we dream, divided we fail. This reminds me of a couple living under the same roof, but not talking to one another, afraid of the divorce.
Hundreds of thousands of people marching on the streets segregated into small groups is lamentable. Can anyone name a leader of the immigrant movement for me? One that all immigrants know? I bet each one of you is thinking of local names here and there, but the reality is that the movement lacks strong national leadership. I can only think of Congressman Gutierrez, but he needs more to address some problems within the community before he can make any serious progress. Also, he needs more help.
I really thought that the whole Arizona SB 1070 deal was going to unify the movement. After following the events for a few days, I was greatly disappointed. Yes, I saw a lot of courageous people fighting their own battles! "Their own battles" I wasn't disappointed by them, I was very disappointed by their leaders!
It seems to me that a lot of these so called "leaders" only want their 5 minutes of fame and recognition. I'm not going to generalize nor denigrate the work of some valuable elements out there, but even the good ones aren't good enough to bring the whole community together. Where is that one Messiah that's going to unify the people? Where's that individual that's going to touch hearts with his words? Where's that one human that's going to say enough? where? Dime Señor, donde esta?
Someone needs to address problems such as apathy, mediocrity, radicalism, misinformation, and selfishness within the movement. Someone has to say "we got to stop thinking about ourselves for a minute and start thinking about the point of view of the American Citizens" Yes, no one has done such a thing! This is indeed a very selfish movement.
I see people left and right screaming: "We" want this, "we" want that, "we" deserve this, "we" deserve that, blah, blah, blah... The movement will never get any real results heading in that direction. Let me explain myself. wow, did you see the word "we" 4 times up there? I myself would like to see it for more times but in a different way: We will learn the language of this country (of course, we will never loose our accent and our English might not be perfect or we might be a little old, but we should try), we won't drive under the influence, we will swear allegiance to the American flag, we will assimilate the culture of this country, etc. Let's forget about what we want for a minute and think about how we can show US citizens how much we want to be part of this country. What leader is going to say that?
Also, can someone please tell our people that they're screaming things which the intended listener won't understand. Are we so lazy that we can't even take the time to learn how to say those things in English? Yo estoy muy orgulloso de mi lenguaje, pero para hacer el mensaje mas efectivo y ser tomado de una manera mas seria, debemos entender que el lenguajes de aquellas personas a las que les pedimos apoyo es el Ingles. Lo menos que podemos hacer es mostrar respeto por ello (Let me translate that: I'm very proud of my native language, but in order to effectively deliver our message, and to be taken seriously, we must do it in English, which is the language that the people we're trying to get support from speaks.
Telling people the truth ain't always pretty is it? Well, even the educated immigrants seem to want it all handed in a silver plate. How so? Well, let me say that If i was given the opportunity to go any college I wanted, even If i had to pay for it myself, I would do it. That would give me a real shot to chase my dream and I wouldn't be taking any FAFSA money from any American Citizens ( That would give more support to the movement from US Citizens). As a matter of fact, I've paid for my own tuition this last few years. I understand that this young bright individuals have to be legalized, but If they really want to achieve their dreams as much as they say, they shouldn't be afraid to work for it. Well, a lot of US Citizens who have graduated from college paid for it by themselves. Working as waitresses, fast food, etc, you name it!
My hands and my brain are a little too tired to keep going, but I have one more thing to say for all of you who really want to become part of this country as much as I do: Let's come together, on the same table, get to know each other, care for one another, and show this nation that we will do whatever it takes to prove our worthiness.
Reporting from the attic, Fernando Bello
