An Interview With Jesus

            During my class, migration and culture, we were assigned to do something that I probably never would have done on my own, but definitely should have. I am so glad that I was able to take time to get to know someone with story greater than most of my other friends. To most people, he is just another Mexican-American who works and goes to school. To those of us that know him, he is a great person, true to his word, and strong in his convictions. This is the story about our interview.

            We met up at a local McDonalds, before he went into work to talk about some things from his past. He was very open and extremely excited to talk about it. Truth is, he is very proud of his family history and even more proud to let everybody know what his dad did. His father, who Jesus did not name, crossed the border separating Mexico and Arizona in 1984 in the city of Nogales. In reviewing some supplemental information I came across a handout from class entitled “Open Season” by Bob Moser. In the story on the first and second pages tells a story of a man named Chris Simcox, a newspaper owner, publisher, and managing editor from Tombstone, Arizona. Mr. Simcox is an immigration extremist. He believes himself to be a vigilante of sorts protecting American and his local city. Truth is, he is missing the bigger picture. He is bringing back the old style racism that was so prevalent with African Americans in the 60s and earlier. He says he would “shoot every one” if he could. The scary thing is in the article others that know him say they would not put it past him. It is Mr. Simcox’s attitude that has given Americans a bad name. Mexicans are a vital part of the Arizona culture. They are no different than any of us as far as I am concerned. They have the same goals as we do, unfortunately they do not always have the same opportunities. Way too many of todays Americans share these beliefs of Mr. Simcox. That is a thought process that has to change.

            Jesus then told me about his early childhood in Mexico being raised by his mother and older sisters, with his father in America. It was not as unusual as some of us might think to him. Apparently, most of his neighborhood had the men in America, while they worked and sent money back to the women and children. In the article from Migration World, called “Remittances, U.S. Latino…” (Lowell, Garza, and Hogg) it shows a graph that is amazing to see. It is a table that depicts the amount of money that has been sent from the U.S. to Latin America from 1970-1997. Throughout the 70s there was a relatively small amount of money sent in that direction. It also shows that in 1997 money sent from the U.S. to Mexico alone exceeded seven billion dollars. This has actually started new businesses, and generated more volume to existing businesses. This is the business of electronic funds transfers. In the  70s, migrants had to hand deliver their remittances to Mexico, now they can go to their local Western Union or like company, and send the money via wire transfer to their loved ones for a nominal fee. Therefore, another reason Mexican migrants are profitable to Americans.

            Jesus did tell a story that he did not want shared, because he felt it was not a common practice of Americans when people cross the border. It made me think again of the video we watched in class and the trials and tribulations that are involved in crossing the border. I really felt sad for the people that had to endure such a struggle. I do wish that we could come up with some governmental reform to help future migrants.

            In conclusion, my interview happened to be cut short a little, and I have not been able to meet up again with Jesus. I look forward to working with him in the future, and learning more about him. We have now opened a door that makes it easier to talk about things such as family histories and migration stories. I also look forward to my life without the blinders that I used to have. It will surely be more fulfilled and more delightful to look at somebody with desire and determination as opposed to my old frame of mind. They are people and deserve to be treated as such.