Blog 10

On March 27th, I attended a presentation entitled Migration: A Local and Global Phenomenon. The presentation dealt with immigration to the United States on a broader level, but some points of the presentation focused on immigration specifically in Maryland.
The initial part of the presentation explored global injustice, exploitation, economic adjustments, anguish and opportunity of migration. The speaker brought his message closer to home by describing migration statistics in Maryland. In the entire state, one in five children in public schools has a foreign born parent. In 1990-2000, the foreign population increased by 60%. In 2000-20005, it increased by 25%. One half of the Asian population live in Montgomery County alone. To me, this information astounded me. I came from a town where the majority of the people were white, and their ancestors had immigrated to the United States in the early 1800's from places in Europe like Italy and Ireland. It's hard to imagine that in schools here in Baltimore, one fifth of the students have a foreign born parent. When I learned this information, I remembered a question a speaker had given in the beginning of the presentation: "How do we think about incorporation into a new society?" It seems like assimilating into American society would be so difficult for a student with a foreign born parent. Some of the typical American customs that we as students experienced might seem weird to a foreign born parent.
After the initial power point presentation, there were a number of speakers that gave first
hand accounts of their experiences with migration to the United States. The first speaker was an African immigrant that currently works for Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma. While I was listening to the speaker, my mind was hundreds of miles away, picturing him working in some remote area, in another country. However, I was brought to reality when the speaker told us that Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma was based in Baltimore. It stunned me when the speaker told us that horrific torture still goes on every day in some countries, which is why migration to the United States is necessary. The Advocate for Survivors of Torture and Trauma provides holistic healing services for torture victims that live right in the Baltimore area. It is hard to believe that there are enough people in this city to require a place dedicated to healing torture victims.
I'm glad I attended this presentation, because it taught me that migration and other world issues happen here in Baltimore, not just in far off places.