The American Dream or the Immigrant’s Nightmare. What is it?
All of us are immigrants into this country. For many of you, you are following in the
tradition and spirit of your immigrant parents, grandparents or great-grandparents….
As for myself, I have started my own generation of Americans. The paths that brought us here may have been
different; but the dream that attracted us, the dream that shed light along the
risky trail has always been similar: to prosper on this land of opportunity and
freedom, and to provide a better future for ourselves and our families.
However, there is not a guarantee of success. Some may reach and fulfill their American
dream. For others life in here may
become the American nightmare. As an
example I will compare my experience with the experience of a woman I came
across recently at my church.
This woman, Lupita, was a seventeen-year-old teenager when
she thought for the first time about the American Dream. She is from Chihuahua, Mexico. As a young teenager she was always a very
poor girl, always lacking many essentials: she did not celebrate Christmas with
many gifts or a Christmas tree; and frankly, there were not many days when she
had a complete meal either.
One year a neighbor arrived from the United States. He brought with him a lot of things and what
seemed to her like lots of dollars. He
talked about how much money was available in the United States, how abundant
the food was, and the many life comforts.
Lupita, thought about how great it would be if she too
could live in the United States. From that moment all her thoughts focused on
how she could enter the United States.
The neighbor told her that crossing the border would be an
easy task: It would only cost about
$1,500 but she would need to walk through the Arizona dessert for about two
nights. He also said that there would be
many people crossing the border and that if she wanted to do it he would be
happy to help her cross the border, he would talk with the people in charge and
would ask them that she be allowed to pay them only after they would find her a
job in the United States.
At that moment she felt that the American dream was within
her reach. Her main dream was that she
would be working in the USA and her parents and younger siblings would not be
lacking anything in the future.
Finally the night selected for crossing the border arrived. It was the longest night in her life (so many
scares, so many close encounters with the border patrol, and long distances to
walk, so much adrenaline flowing). She didn’t
rest at all that night. She slept on the
ground during the day, and continued walking again the next evening. It was dawn when the group was met by a car that
was waiting for them on the other side of the border.
She was dropped at a safe house. A month and a half went by and the coyotes
still would not release her. She was
feeling desperate. Where was the great
American dream? Where were the plentiful
jobs so that she could start working?
She managed to escape.
She walked for over a week on the streets of Phoenix without knowing
anyone, not knowing where to go. She
survived on whatever food she could get from strangers. Eventually she met a woman who helped her: she
offered a place to sleep and some food in exchange for taking care of her two
children and cleaning her house.
She went through many more survival experiences and
situations during the next months.
Her American dream became a nightmare. She discovered that the American dream was very
different from what people had told her. She had many difficulties and problems. Soon she even had her first child.
Finding herself alone in this world, with a baby and without
money, she thought many times about going back to her homeland. But she would feel embarrassed about having
to face her mother and father. As time
went by she had her second child. The
thought of both of them drove her to continue working.
Today, she lives here in Albuquerque with four
daughters. In poverty, no documents, no
job. Her American dream has transformed
into just the hope that her daughters will have a good education and perhaps a better
life.
Now, my brief personal story. You remember that I came to this country dreaming
of getting a graduate education. No
difficulties for me crossing the border since I had a student visa documents.
Thirty-five years later, married, with two grown up children,
I am ready to retire after a successful career in project management consulting. I am even ready to start new intellectual
challenges such as being an interpreter/translator.
What a difference in lives experiences. What a contrast between dreams and
nightmares. My start in this country
was helped by having the right documentation and by having the good luck of
meeting a few contacts who helped me with job placement and document
sponsorship. It wasn’t just my effort,
it was the help and support that I received at the right time from caring and
good-hearted people.
As we walk through the streets in Albuquerque, in the
shopping centers and restaurants, we see many immigrant faces. Each one has a very personal, poignant, and
incredible story about their pursuit of the American dream: a vision that for some has materialized in
pleasurable achievements and for others has evolved into terrible nightmares.
Most of us have reached the point in our lives when our
personal fulfillment is measured not by how much we achieve for ourselves, but
by how much we help others achieve.
As we approach the holiday season, let us be thankful for
how our American dream has evolved. And
in the spirit of caring and sharing, let us reach to the immigrants and let us
try to help them achieve their own dream, as humble and as fulfilling as it may
be.
Our small help may make the difference between someone
fulfilling his or her American dream, or their remaining in an American
nightmare.
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