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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 1996)
Volume I, Number 6 Serving Portland’s Hispanic Communities Enough! Ya Basta! November 20, 1996 N o v iem b re 20th es El día de Ia R ev o lu ció n Portland students march in D.C. Latino & Immigrant Rights marchers in Washington, D.C. Portland youth offer eyewitness reports in The Observador by C ecilia G iron For the first time in the history o f the United States, a Latino Immigrants Rights March, took place in Washington D.C. on October 12, 1996. Over one thousand orga nizations and 1/2 million people were present in the march to protest for equal rights and justice for all. Three hundred people from Oregon were present. I had the opportunity, along with five other representatives sponsored by the American Friends Serves Committee, to represent the Hispanic community in Washington County Oregon, with a message. The message was “ Ya Basta”. We have been here for years, and we are going to stay. We are not going anywhere. We were directly through public demon strations speaking for equal rights. No more discrimination. No more abuse. We are hu mans and we all have the right to an educa tion, health, housing, equal opportunities and c o n s titu tio n a l rig h ts. T h a n k s to the Coordinadora 96', and all the Hispanic Orga- nizations that worked together this march was a historic event. I am very proud to be an Hispanic woman. When I came to this country, one o f my dreams was to go to Washington D.C. My dream came true. I feel very fortunate to have been able to participate in this march because I not only went for pleasure, but fora mission El General (Emiliano) Zapata, by Diego Rivera. Palacio de Cortes, Cuernavaca (Cecilia (¡iron is a 1st generation immi grant from Oaxaca, Mexico. She is a 19- year old student at Portland Community College.) Immigrants are the pillars of the nation by J onathan F rioi . o On October 12th, thousands o f people marched on the streets o f Washington D.C. protesting a bill that would effect immigrants, ¡’legal and legal. What turned out though, was not a march o f protest, but a march o f unity. I was there. A young 18 year old male, and an immigrant. T really have never given a thought to my official status in America. I’ve lived in America almost all my life. In fact I feel just as American as football or apple pie. Exceptthat becauseofmy Filipino background, I eat rice and chicken adobo instead o f steak and potatoes before eating that apple pie. I was outraged to find out that such a bill was created. It was as if all the hard work that immigrants have given to this country meant nothing to those in power. Because o f blind ness and fear they are scared to see what America is really evolving into. Throughout history, it has always been the weak and ignorant who have been fearful o f something new, something different. What American has become is not a country with one language, one voice, but a country that echoes with many voices in many tongues throughout the nation. Cannot those in au- OCIIA Conference promotes solutions by thority see the larger picture which is right in front o f them? If it is true that we are the people, that we are created equal, and that this is the greatest nation on earth, should we not continue this great tradition by helping those who are the foundation of this country? It is the sweat, and hard work o f immi grants throughout history, that has kept the gears o f this society moving. Could it be though, and I hope it isn’t, that America is nothing but a facade where power and control have replaced human decency and justice. Is the moral fiber o f this country giving way to the greed and gluttony o f those too scared to see what greater future may lie ahead? Is America damned in its unknowingness to rise from the shadow o f oppressive ignorance? There is hope. Many o f those who marched are o f a new generation o f young, free-mind ed individuals who see the injustice in front o f them. It will be these same young people who will carry America into the 21st century and beyond. I can only hope that there is still justice in this nation and the struggles that many have endured will not be forgotten. The unity and strength o f today will be the pillars o f this nation tomorrow (Jonathon Friolo is a second generation Filipino immigrant. He is an IS-year aid student at Portland Northwest College of the Arts.) The march made a difference inside of me L e x , Bot asykeo As I stepped off the plane and set foot in Washington D.C., I knew this trip was going to be one I’d never forget. The smell o f the crisp, cold air struck my nose like a pile o f rocks. I finally realized that I was actually in Washington D C ., the nations capitol, the place where dreams come true. But the purpose o f our trip was to fight for the freedom and basic rights o f all immi grants, “legal or illegal’’. The new immigration reform bill hit hard. All the proposals were really scary and at the same time ridiculous. They word it as "all the illegal immigrants are puttinga ‘strain’ on the economy and its time to do something and do it now!” Am I wrong when I ask, who has the right to tell someone that they are “ legal” or “ ille gal”? I always thought that “America” was derived from different cultures and people. But I guess I was wrong because now there are people running the government that have. by or rather want to, categorize the people o f America and say that one group, the citizens, are eligible for alI the resources and aid from the government and the other group, immi grants, must qualify and have certain stan dards they might have to pass to attain those valuable resources and help. All along I had the impression that people come to America to ge, away from these types o f controlled societies. But the immigration march that was to take place was to change all o f that. It was supposed to be the time when immigrants, including myself, should have spoken up to tell them, the people in the government, that we didn't want to be taken advantage o f any longer, we wan, equal rights and justice, and were not going to let anyone step all over us anymore. And it was wha, happened. That Saturday o f October 12, 1996, something happened Something that should have been done a long time ago Someone did speak up In fact, over twenty five thousand people did speak up. It was our time to tell them, enough! enough! We are here and we re not going any where. We helped build and shape America into the beautiful country it is today and no one can tell us that we have to go through certain measures and steps to qualify to live and become citizens of this country. Marching down all the streets o f D C . I felt proud, proud to hold my head up high and say, “ I belong here just like everyone and I deserve the same kind of treatment o f justice just like everyone else." That day was a day I am never going to be able to forget Because that day was the day I became a part o f history. I made the first step o f many steps to fight off all the hate, the dirty looks and glares, the stereotypes and the ugly claws of racism. I made a difference for everyone, and most importantly there was a difference in side o f me. (Feng Bouasykeo is a 1st generation Lao tian immigrant. She is a 19-year old student at Portland State University.) S ean C ruz The Oregon Counci I on Hispanic Advance ment’s (OCHA) 12th annual conference brought more than 1,0(X) people together to discuss trends, methodologies and solutions to a variety o f issues affecting our communi ties and our nation. While the conference was in keeping with O CH A ’s stated mission “To provide leadership and support for educational op portunity, economic development and so cial justice for Hispanics in Oregon and SW W ashington,” the scope o f the workshops and the speakers’ themes were much broad er and more inclusive, offering important insights to people o f all colors and ethnic backgrounds. Solutions must be multi-ethnic Dr. Leo Estrada, an expert on racial and ethnic demographic trends and inner-city re development, and an Associate Professor of Urban Planning at UCLA, emphasized the importance of finding solutions that take into account the multiple ethnicities that make up our population. “Wha, really isn’t understood very well in our country is how diverse people in a com munity come togetherand resolve problems," Dr. Estrada stated. "Across the country. I am asked the same question. How do we come together'.’”’ “In a place like Oregon, nothing will hap pen unless it’s multi-ethnic," he said, adding that the time has forever passed for the North west region to conduct its affairs as if no significant cultural differences existed Erroneous perceptions of Latinos "There is an erroneous perception tha, people crossing the border are here to take rather than to give,” said presenter Elida Chavez, president o f an advertising and pub lic relations firm based in San Diego. Her clients include N ike, Coca-Cola and the Unit ed Farm Workers. Ms Chavez’ presentation focused on the U.S -Mexico border economy. “One o f the first things tha, illegal immigrants do when they cross over is to contribute to the economy by buying bottled water or Coke,” she said, "and they tend to pay premium prices, 50% to 100% more than the prices we are accustomed to seeing in stores away from the border.” Ms Chavez added that the immigrants tend to take the low-paying no-benefit jobs, while providing benefits free o f charge to their employers, such as translation skills, and by teaching them about Latino culture and lan guage, even how to market to other II ispanics The US-Mexico border economy Ms Chavez described the economy that exists along the U.S.-Mexico border as a distinct entity in several ways. Border popula tions and languages are more diverse than elsewhere in the nation, with a much greater mixing o f ethnicities. The Tijuana-San Diego border market is thethird largest Hispanic market in the nation, with a population tha, is 5 1 4% Hispanic. This border area itself is the world’s busiest, with 70,000 crossings daily, both legal and illegal, and in both directions. The result is an annual expenditure o f $6.9 billion dollars in San Diego alone, irrefutable evidence that His panics offer substantial contributions to the economy. Advertising biases Anna Maria Arias, publisher o f Latina Style magazine, spoke o f the difficulty His panic publishers have in gaining recognition from advertisers, illustrating her points with examples from the cosmetic industry. Although studies show,ha, Latina women spend more money per capita on cosmetics than any other group, the ads tend to go to general-circulation magazines like Vogue in stead o f to periodicals published by and for Hispanics. Latina Style is a nationally distrib uted glossy magazine targeting bilingual, En glish-dominant Hispanic women. Ms Arias also noted tha, People magazine ▼ Continued to page B3
