Getting to know our neighbors

This past fall was my first campaign season with UWMB&MV. It was filled with constant learning, inspiration and hard work. Perhaps what put this experience on a different level was working with a particular institution throughout its campaign. Edward is a branch manager at a bank in Boston. He is smart, well spoken and a natural leader. The employees working under him all seemed to like and respect him while his superiors come to him frequently for personnel advice. During the time that I began to develop relationships at the bank and now, Edward and I have become friends. He and his wife live close by and share many of the same interests as my partner and I. Because of this, I have gotten to know Edward’s story on a personal level and through that story, have a far deeper understanding of the world around me.

Edward was 13 years old when he, his mother and younger brother came to this country. His mother had brought them to California on a vacation, and never left. She picked up migratory work anywhere she could and upon hearing of opportunity in Massachusetts, moved again. Why did she come here and overstay her guest visa? Edward’s family made their living off of the land. Their farm was totally unable to compete with the gigantic corn farm corporations of this country. Because many farmers like Edward’s family lost their land, tax money shrunk and education suffered. Edward’s mom came here so that her sons would have better educational and economic opportunities.

And so, Edward and his brother were educated here in the United States. Edward was a high honor student throughout school. I was invited to dinner at his mother’s home and saw the walls literally papered with awards for good attendance. (Edward laughed when he told me that though he had won numerous academic awards, his mother was most proud of his attendance record.) By the age of 14 Edward could speak English without a noticeable accent. He got his first after-school job, he played football. Upon graduation from high school, he attended Boston University on a full scholarship while working full time. He helped his mother purchase the condominium that she and his younger brother live in. A few years ago, he married his high school sweetheart and they bought a lovely two story home. And he, his mom and his brother are now American citizens.

On Christmas day, I spent a lovely afternoon with another friend’s family. That day the issue of astronomical healthcare costs came up in conversation. Overhearing the conversation, one attendee at the Christmas get-together, expressed concern that illegal immigrants were becoming a drain on our resources and was disturbed at the notion that pregnant women could come to the United States to have their children who would then be citizens and entitled to all the things naturalized citizens have. It was a turn in the conversation that left me thinking…

Thinking about Edward’s mother who is a hard worker and taxpayer and who has never asked for anything other than to make a living and give her children the opportunities that were denied to her. Thinking about my own grandparents who came here from Poland to give their children a better way of life. Thinking about the diversity of a country founded by immigrants, immigrants who make up the backbone of this country. Thinking about what an emptier place my life, and the lives of everyone I know would be if our parents hadn’t wanted something better for us.

This blog is not meant to look at the economics and the problems with naturalizing the 12 million people who are in the country in an undocumented status. Rather it’s to point out that there are people like Edward in our communities who bring far more than we realize to
the fabric of this country. It’s easy to make broad statements about people we don’t personally know. But when we stop to think about our own immigrant stories and we compare the whys of our ancestors to the whys of the folks coming here now we are bound to see similarities. And from there compassion and understanding must grow.

Happy New Year.