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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 1984)
Portland Observer, October 17, 1964, Peqe3 METROPOLITAN Salvadoran refugee family adjusts to life in Southeast Portland by Robtrt Lothian Members of a Salvadoran family torn apart by the civil war are living in a sparsely furnished, rented house in Southeast Portland. They came to the U .S . to escape the chaos in their country and to provide a decent place fo r their children. They described poor food and sanitation in their home city of San Salvador, water made impure by bombs and bodies, unemployment, no school, and bodies being eaten by dogs in the streets. “ Life is better here, said 55 year- old Juan Antonio Ramirez, through a translator. Ramirez, his daughters Carmen, 21, and M aria Gomez, 26, his son- in-law Julio Gomez, 31. and grand children Ana, 6, Luis, 4, and Rene, 3, chose fictitious names to protect fam ily members who remain in El Salvador and to protect themselves from being picked up by the U .S. Im m igration and N atu ralizatio n Service. They entered the U .S . il legally. Ramirez was a bartender and head waiter in El Salvador who directed up to 20 waiters at large receptions until the war caused him to be laid o ff and he had difficulty finding other w ork. His w ife, two daughters and a son remain in El Salvador, he said, where his wife owns a small store. A nother son disappeared three years ago and is presumed dead, a victim of right-wing terrorism , he said. Also, said Ram irez, his wife's store was robbed by people they suspect were o ff-d u ty N ational Guardsmen who said, “ Give me your money or I ' l l k ill y o u ," he said. Friends and neighbors o f sus pected guerilla collaborators are of ten killed or taken away by the m ilita ry , said M a ria Gomez. “ I can't sleep well in El Salvador," she said. “ I f you hear a car coming by your house, you start to shake because you think they are coming for you. They come and take people and the next day you see their bodies in the streets." Ramirez said he first came to the U .S . in 1981 and worked for 10 months as a painter. He saved enough to return to El Salvador and bring back his daughter. Carmen, in May. He said he would rather have crossed the border legally but U.S. im migration policies make it hard for Salvadorans to enter the U .S . "Even with money and a home,” he said, “ you still can't leave El Salv- dor and get a visa to come here be cause the U .S. government thinks you are going to come here to get a jo b ." here to get a jo b ." Salvadoran refugee family ateyfng In S.E. Portland hide their facet for faar of balng identified by the U.S. Immigration and Natural ization Sarvlca. (Photo by Krla Artucher) Ramirez and his daughter had to bribe Mexican officials twice and then pay a "coyote” another $500 each to guide them across the bor der, for a total trip cost o f about $2,000 each. " It was an adventure," he said Carmen Ramirez said she received scrapes and bruises while running to avoid the searchlights of a border patrol helicopter. Julio Gomez said that he, his wife and their three children came across the border covered by plywood in the back o f a truck. Ramirez and Julio and M aria Gomez have m inimum wage jobs. Ramirez' goal is to save enough to return and visit his family, and pos sibly bring them to the U.S. Gomez is working to pay o ff the several thousand dollar debt he incurred from friends in the U.S. who helped his fam ily with the expense o f get ting here. Both Ramirez and Gomez prefer not to talk about their experience in war-torn El Salvador with Spanish speaking co-workers, "because they think we are destroying ourselves," said Gomez. Also, he said, " W e don't have friends in this neighbor hood.” Even though the fam ily is living independently o f social service agencies and charities on the income from minimum wage jobs, Gomez can still say: " L ife is better here for poor people. You have more chances to buy things cheaper, for instance, garage sales." He said the fam ily enjoys shop ping at Fred Meyer and C orno 's. Here in the U .S .," sid Gomez, peo ple have more education and the food is more pure. . .the food has more protein and vitamins.” The entire fam ily looked toward grandfather. " I like cheeseburg ers,” said Ramirez. In El Salvador, said Gomez, • The children get sick very often, and here they don't get sick: that's the difference." His 6 year-old daughter Ana is already fluent in English. " I forgot Spanish a little b it," she said with a bright smile. "She asks me for the time and I tell her in Spanish," said Maria Gomez, and she says, "M o m , please tell me in English." Ana attends a nearby grade school where she has made friends and learned " to draw a house with colors." She also likes to watch T V . " I like smurfs the best," she said. The fam ily looks forw ard to being reunited, either in the U.S. or in a peaceful El Salvador. " I miss my family a lo t," said Gomez. “ But the situation is bad. I want to stay here and see my children get an education, a diplom a. L ife here is good. I f the situation improves maybe we'll go b a c k ." U n til then, he said, " W e would like to have something like refugee status." 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