The World for Obama

A remarkable young man, Willy, gave a lecture on immigration today at my school. Willy was part of the resistance movement in the 1990's where he fought and worked for human rights. In 1996, just before the signing of the peace accords, Willy had to leave his home in Guatemala for political and economic reasons and immigrated to the U.S. He went from being a beacon for social change in his own country to being a janitor in Wisconsin. This period, far from everything he knew and stood for, was the hardest and saddest time of his life.

After a few years, Willy moved to New Mexico to be warmer and closer to his culture. In Santa Fe, he began to fight for immigrant rights and was able to accomplish some amazing feats, including raising the minimum wage to $9.50 and supplying all immigrant workers with drivers licenses. It was there that he founded MIGUA (Movimiento Immigrante Guatemalteco); a group that started as 4 and is now 4,000 strong.

After 12 years in the States, Willy decided to move back home last year. His choice was the result of the massive deportations of Guatemalans in the last few years from the U.S. Last year alone, 23,000 Guatemalans were deported. This Thursday, he is releasing a documentary of his and others experiences; of people being deported in the most inhumane manner, "of grown men crying". The documentary is called, Voice of the Mountain. He will be traveling to several U.S. cities this winter for screening.

I don't pretend to understand all the complexities of an issue such as immigration. I know there must be some good reasons why we have borders, but I am becoming less and less certain what those reasons are the more I travel. I do know that on the most basic level, every human being wants to live happy and healthy, wants what is best for his family. And from stories today and articles I have read lately, I know that "our" treatment of immigrants in the U.S. is embarrassing and lacking common decency. I know the U.S. has lost the trust and respect of countless people in the world, but I also know that most of those people make a distinction between the people of the U.S. and the current government. So it is no surprise that every single person I have met here, Guatemaltecos y Estadounidenses alike, are hoping Obama wins. I am feeling hopeful...