Blog #11: Migration

Back on March 27th I attended a lecture titled Migration: A Local and Global Phenomenon, presented by the Year of the City program. This lecture was an incentive to get Loyola students to further explore, learn more about, and become more engaged in the city of Baltimore. As students here at Loyola it is partially our responsibility to bring together the different races and cultures that divide Baltimore into many diverse sections. The five presenters at this lecture were either immigrants or group activists who discussed their personal experiences on migration with the audience.

People are constantly on the move which has allowed for the rapid acceleration of migration percentages in recent years. The migration of people into the United States has allowed for a variety of causes and effects such as global injustices, exploration, structural adjustments, as well as both anguish and opportunity. Horrifically, over the years, undocumented immigration has become very common causing major political and economical issues. From 1960-2000 there was a large growth of Latin American, Asian, and Caribbean born children in the United States. 1 out of every 5 children in public schools today has a foreign born parent. In today’s world, civil society and the church are not yet prepared for a cultural and linguistic shift.

One of the presenters spoke of the three dimensions of a response to migration. The first being social-pastoral, we must be able to look at the human experience and understand ourselves. The second being that there must be research and development of a theory in order to have a concrete plan. And lastly, there must be equal education in order to make room for change. Education helps to advocate for justice in both the government and society.

The activist group that was represented at this lecture was ASTT which stands for Africa’s Survivors of Torture and Trauma. ASTT assists in alleviating physical, emotional, and psychological trauma and torture that immigrants undergo from their foreign governments. Survivors come to the United States because they have opposing beliefs to those of their government. In many countries the governments have power over all of their citizens. Once the immigrants have entered the United States, ASTT helps them get food, clothing, shelter, and an education.

The most heart wrenching story was told by a young woman who comes from Ethiopia. While living in Ethiopia, the ruling government had complete control over her and her people. The people of Ethiopia won the vote for a new form of government. However, the present government ignored the vote and continued with their structure and form of ruling. While living in Ethiopia this young woman was abused both physically and mentally. ASTT helped her to recover from her history in Ethiopia.

I believe that Julia Alvarez’s poem Queens relates to the lecture Migration: A Local and Global Phenomenon by sharing the common theme of assimilating into a different lifestyle with opposing cultures and traditions. In Queens, lines 1-3 “Everyone seemed more American/ than we, newly arrived,/ foreign dirt still on our soles” relates to the young woman from Ethiopia and other immigrants that have migrated into America. This line hints at the culture clash that both Americans and immigrants face when new people move into new territory. Lines 4-6 “By the year’s end, a sprinkler waving/ like a flag on our mowed lawn,/ we were blended into the block” proves that it is only a matter of time before everyone unites together as a whole, depending on how accepting people are of others. ASTT helps assimilate all immigrant groups into the United States culture and ways of living. These lines are also significant to the Year of the City initiative that as students here at Loyola merge with the residents of Baltimore to fuse the parts of this city together as one. Lines 62-67 “On her face I had seen a look/ from the days before we had melted/ into the United States of America./ It was hardness mixed with hurt,/ It was knowing she never could be/ the right kind of American” relate back to the young woman from Ethiopia who had difficulties assimilating into the American culture. She was so damaged from her life in Ethiopia that she never thought she would be able to recover. However, that all changed when she came into contact with the ASTT. Lines 75-80 “One by one I imagined the houses/ sinking into their lawns,/ the grass grown wild and tall/ in the past tense of this continent/ before the first foreigners owned/ any of this free country” proves to the reader that foreigners are no longer the minority in this country. There is such an abundance of immigrants that make up a large portion of our country. Migration has both its pros and cons. As United States citizens it is up to us to either accept migration into the United States or do something to change the large amount of immigrants that enter.

Migration: A Local and Global Phenomenon helped open my eyes to look beyond migration into the United States and its negative effects on our economy and see those suffering from lack of freedom in other countries. The United States benefits from those immigrants who are dedicated and hard working individuals compared to those who come here and live off of the land for free.