Open Letter

Dear Citizens of Arizona,

Growing up in the United States is a lot different then growing up in other countries, weather it’s Mexico or the United Kingdom.  There is a lot to learn from outside countries, and this course taught me a lot about what others are going through throughout the world.  Many things that I learned throughout this course expanded my knowledge and opinions on issues regarding immigrants; such as through the trip to Nogales Mexico, the Crossing the Valley project, and also through many of the readings.

Before I took this course, I always had thought that Mexico’s economy and exchanges, etc. were just like the United States’.   I thought that they had policies like minimum wage, medical insurance, and Social Security.  I got a reality check.  Not only did I learn that Mexico did not have many of these policies, but I learned that the typical worker made less than 7.00… a day!  That does not pay for anything but the essentials, which is what they could afford if lucky.  This opened my eyes a lot and I realized that I would be trying to migrate across the border too if I was living in these conditions. 

                 Another thing I learned was what migrants actually had to experience to cross the border.  They typically starved, were tortured by blisters and heat, and often died.  Borderlinks showed our class what the immigrants actually had to go through when they crossed the border, and then we learned what the immigrants actually went through if they got caught through Groupo Beta.    

                 The trip to Nogales opened my eyes, text educated me on why these things happened, and the projects allowed me to experience being/having/depending on immigrants.  I learned that right here in out own backyards we have different countries and without immigrants who risked their lives to be here we would not have a lot of the things we do today.  We also would not have the people who mow our lawns, cook our food, clean up our messes, because we are too lazy to do it ourselves.  We depend on immigrants to do our dirty work, and it’s very sad, but at the same time we treat them poorly after what they have already been through.  All I can say is that I am glad I took this course because I learned not to take what I have for granted, and I learned not to disrespect other people who weren’t as lucky as me.  I hope through my projects and views, you also can have the same view as I do.