Dear Athens Eco Latino,
I watched a state representative from Colorado speak on C-SPAN the other night and I did not like what he had to say. He was against giving "illegal" "Hispanics / Latinos" forms of personal ID that would allow them services, such as a driver's license, Medicaid, etc. This is a problem that I have been frustrated with as a social worker working in Athens because it limits them so much and forces them to break laws - so I wrote him a letter. I got a response saying that he doesn't read out of state mail.
[Open Letter to] Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO)
I watched some of your speech/diatribe on C-SPAN (May 6) concerning immigration and the validity of issuing forms of personal identification for "illegal" immigrants which may be accepted for local, state or federal transaction purposes. You don't seem to realize that these "illegal" human beings are here already and are already a part of American society. They aren't going away, no matter how much you punish them by limiting their access to services that "legal" citizens are able to receive. America is not a static society, entity, belief or theory. America is a land of opportunity, freedom and change.
What you are offering is not a solution. I propose that you consider the solution to be working with these people through legislation to devise a form of documentation/ID so that they may become contributing members of this society in a legal sense by paying taxes, by being held accountable for following the laws. And thus groups will not need to circumvent the law to get basic social services to allow these human beings to live healthy lives. These are not just statistics. They are human lives and they are not going away.
I hope that you realize this country is changing. I suggest that you take note of and embrace this change. Consider it if for nothing more than the sake of your own political career. Do you think Strom Thrumond would have enjoyed such a long political career had he not chosen to change his public and political opinion concerning segregation? Absolutely not.
Then again, maybe I should just keep my mouth shut and not help you out. As soon as the "illegal" people can vote, you will probably be voted out of office faster than you can say "Hasta la vista." If you don't read this, I won't be surprised. And if you don't read this, then it's your loss. But maybe your loss is actually a gain for the citizens of the great state of Colorado.
Thanks,
Jon Carter Bass
Athens, GA
¡Felicitaciones por su nueva revista! Me gustó ver en su último número el artículo sobre "Programs For Young Children" donde yo trabajo. Me gustaría añadir que el programa "Even Start Family Literacy" también ofrece clases de inglés a personas que hablan otro idioma aparte del español. Nuestros estudiantes reciben tres horas de inglés al día y disponemos de tres niveles: principiante, intermedio y avanzado. Mientras los padres estudian, los hijos reciben educación infantil. Soy una de las maestras para los adultos y he visto que los estudiantes pueden aprender mucho con nuestro programa intensivo. Me gustaría que todos los padres hispanos conozcan las excelentes oportunidades que existen aquí.
Nancy Heiges
ESOL Instructor
Even Start Family Literacy Program
Athens, GA
Athens Eco Latino, primero que nada quiero felicitarlos por su gran trabajo en crear la primera revista en español publicada en Athens.
Quiero decir que la persona que habla sobre los estereotipos (Maria Alzuru, segunda edición) tiene toda la razón, pero quiero ayudar a la gente que tiene una mala impresión sobre la gente mexicana a cambiar su modo de pensar. Sí, muchos mexicanos trabajan en las plantas de pollos y viven en casas móviles, pero muchos de ellos vienen de pueblos pequeños y algunos quizás viven en mejores condiciones ahora en las casas móviles que en las casas en que vivían antes de venir a este país. Contrario a los mexicanos, la gente que viene del resto de Centro y Suramérica buscan la seguridad que no hay en sus países o quizás también vienen buscando una vida mejor. Algunos tienen la idea equivocada de que la gente mexicana no le importa la escuela y que sólo le importa el dinero. Pero me imagino que en sus países también existe gente que vive en la pobreza. También entiendo que hay personas que se dedican a la delincuencia pero no es justo que por las malas decisiones de unos toda la gente mexicana tenga que pagar. Mi padre es salvadoreño y me siento orgulloso de haber nacido en México.
Jorge Lara
Athens, GA
