A few weeks ago the director of the organization I work for asked me to submit my application for the advisory council to the new Welcoming Pittsburgh Initiative that the governor of Pittsburgh is putting together. It's an exciting initiative that is part of the larger Welcoming America Initiative (http://www.welcomingamerica.org/). I must say that I was surprised that I was asked for to do this. I was surprised because I haven't been working with immigrants, refugees, and asylees very long, and although I'm passionate about helping them during their transition into our society, I didn't feel experienced enough to submit an application for this exciting new advisory council. It's not that I'm not up to the work because I am, but I had to wonder where my application would fall in the stack of other applications.
It wasn't until I actually started working on my application (my bio and answers to the application questions) that I realized I have a lot of experience to offer, not just professional, but personal. I am the daughter of a Mexican immigrant who struggled to get where she is in society. I am the granddaughter of a Mexican immigrant who married an American officer just to give her children a better life and worked hard to get everything she obtained...God rest her soul. I am the wife of a Turkish immigrant who is limited to working at universities because of the caps on H1B visas for the for-profit businesses and the fact that he doesn't have his green card yet to start his own business. I have had my own experiences as well being of mixed-race, and although they are no where near the struggles my older relatives had to experience, they are real and they are my own.
As I researched items for the application, I felt more confident about my chances for getting onto the advisory council. Now, grant you, applications are still being submitted and haven't been reviewed yet, but I am confident that mine will stand out among a lot of them. Having come from Texas, where there is a large immigrant population, I feel that I have a lot to offer the advisory council in Pittsburgh..and not only the advisory council, but the community. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I see all and know all. I know I don't.
After attending last Thursday's Global Great Lakes Pittsburgh Convening, I know I can offer productive ideas to the advisory council and help educate the community to promote mutual respect and cooperation between foreign-born and U.S.-born Americans. What I heard at the conference is everything I already knew (and it inspired me to start writing this blog). Pittsburgh as a whole has a long way to go when it comes to certain things on immigration and I want to be at the forefront to help them along. Wish me luck!
Monday, June 16, 2014
America: A Nation of Ignorance?
I take the bus quite frequently to my job in downtown Pittsburgh, not only for the convenience for not having to spend 20 minutes looking for an available parking garage, but to save money. The bus route I use takes me past the universities in Pittsburgh (CMU, UPitt, Carlow), so naturally many international students are on the bus with me.
Now, I recently came to Pennsylvania from Texas, so I'm used to hearing all sorts of foreign languages. Not to mention, my mother is a first generation Mexican-American and we lived in a border town in Texas. I grew up around foreign languages being spoken all of the time. It's no big deal to me.
Does the average American forget that we are nation of immigrants? I find it very ironic when I hear small-minded people tell others who are "not American"to go back to their country. If that's the case, we should all go back to where our ancestors came from...some only being one generation in the past...like me.
I know I'm probably preaching to the choir, but it just irks the heck out of me that there are clueless and ignorant people around here. I guess I take it more to heart because I work directly with immigrants, refugees, and asylees and I see the struggles they and their families have to go through: the discrimination, the learning of a whole new culture and language, the process of trying to integrate in a foreign society. Now don't get me wrong, I also see the good people in this world and their attitudes and efforts to help and treat everyone the way that they want to be treated. I just wish everyone had hearts, minds, and attitudes like that.
All I know is that I'm going to do what I can to educate society about the facts about immigrants and immigration so we can hopefully eliminate the myths about these topics. Let's face it, our country wouldn't exist if it weren't for immigrants and immigration.
It's strange to me how often I see typical Americans staring at someone speaking another language on the bus. I don't just mean a glimpse, I mean down right rude glaring. I mean if looks could kill or make you want to just get off the bus, those looks would do that. It's not just the older population that does this either, it's the kids that are with them. Ah...parenting at its best right there. The ignorant and judgmental teaching ignorance and prejudice. When I see that, I must say that I get irate, so I stare back at them, even though I'm not the one they are glaring at.
Now, I recently came to Pennsylvania from Texas, so I'm used to hearing all sorts of foreign languages. Not to mention, my mother is a first generation Mexican-American and we lived in a border town in Texas. I grew up around foreign languages being spoken all of the time. It's no big deal to me.
Does the average American forget that we are nation of immigrants? I find it very ironic when I hear small-minded people tell others who are "not American"to go back to their country. If that's the case, we should all go back to where our ancestors came from...some only being one generation in the past...like me.
I know I'm probably preaching to the choir, but it just irks the heck out of me that there are clueless and ignorant people around here. I guess I take it more to heart because I work directly with immigrants, refugees, and asylees and I see the struggles they and their families have to go through: the discrimination, the learning of a whole new culture and language, the process of trying to integrate in a foreign society. Now don't get me wrong, I also see the good people in this world and their attitudes and efforts to help and treat everyone the way that they want to be treated. I just wish everyone had hearts, minds, and attitudes like that.
All I know is that I'm going to do what I can to educate society about the facts about immigrants and immigration so we can hopefully eliminate the myths about these topics. Let's face it, our country wouldn't exist if it weren't for immigrants and immigration.
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