Prez

"All of our people, all over the country except the pure blooded Indians are immigrants or descendants of immigrants including even those that came over on the Mayflower."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt; 32nd President of the United States of America 

Do I look Illegal?

After some weekend thoughts, some opinions ...

Lets face it, if you don't look Hispanic you're probably safe to say, "No" to today's raised question. It's absolutely embarrassing that there are people in this country that have worry about 'looking illegal'. (Not to mention years of unjust criminalization of African Americans, Africans, Muslim Americans and Middle Eastern populations.) For another view (wellllll, not really, He and I are on the same side) read this article. Are the numbers of undocumented immigrants concerning? Sure. Does our country need immigration reform. Sure. Is Arizona handling the 'issue' the right way? Uhh, no.

A former boss of mine had a bummer sticker that read: NO HUMAN BEING IS ILLEGAL. Think about it.

I like that people are talking about immigration. I do. Unfortunately a lot of people aren't thinking reform, but instead BURN BABY BURN. Everyone is forgetting the bigger issues of WHY people feel the need to leave their homeland.

Now is the time to take a deep breath, clear your mind ... and ask --

Do you really think people want to leave their homeland? Their culture? Their family? The familiar? Do you think people want to live in a place where they are discriminated against? That they are deemed 'illegal'. That they do not understand the language or customs, and are often victims of violence and slavery? If you've ever talked to an immigrant or refugee it's pretty obvious immigration isn't a matter of want but rather - of need. Why did my ancestors leave Europe? Because they no longer lived in a place with freedom, work, rights, or safety... so they did what was needed for survival and life happiness.

What would you do if your family was being killed off by drug cartels & corrupt officials, or your mothers, aunts, sisters, and friends were being raped and murdered in Maquildoras, or there was no way to feed your family here in Minnesota? You betcha you'd be jumping that border to Canada.

Lets - for one second - stop thinking about walls and start thinking about human beings. (copying Robert Greenwald) Do you look illegal? What if you did?

Weekend Thoughts

Dirty Rain

After spending too long washing my clothes in the semi-automatic washing machine (dirty water digging, rinsing, hanging them on the line, etc). It decided to rain in Cairo. You can see every polluted drop that hit my clothes in the approximately 30 seconds it rained.

& now, I just saw/tried to kill the biggest living bug I've ever seen. It was crawling around in the kitchen. (The fact that I was even in there is quite the feat as I've been avoiding that half of the apartment - rumor has it we have a mouse) I wanted some crackers that Khalda and I have been saving. When I opened the new package - ants came crawling out. I am now finding them on my body.

These are examples of my exciting parts of the day.

There are moments - when 12 days seems like an eternity.

Lizard in the Bathroom

I have so many things I want to show, to share, to teach, to tell, to learn ...
There are so many things that I do not understand, do not like, do not believe, do not deserve, do not think I'll be able to live without when I leave...

My thoughts, my journal, my sentence forming skills - all a mess.

For weeks I've been forming this mini-list of things I'm going to appreciate when I return home. I've thought it would be a cute lil' diddy to post, but for reasons unknown until now I haven't been able to. Mostly I thought nothing of it; blamed backspace and my spaced-out mind.

Today I realized that it is because my list isn't very cute or funny.

A shower, comfortable bed, bug free kitchen/bathroom, English, familiar people, the concept of lines, manners, reliable electricity, cross walks, clean air, laws against litter, a basic trash program, clean water, freedom of dress/movement/media/speech...

Even I can't see where the line between superficial worries and political issues begin and end. List typed, I still don't know where to go with this.

It didn't take long to realize I wasn't just another American cruising the Nile, eating mangoes, and checking out the Pyramids. A new arrival though is the weight of being more fully emerged into a different culture.

The longer I'm here, the more I see. The more I see, the more I understand. The more I understand, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize- I have no. freaking. idea.

It is a good thing I journal. It helps me process this mess of thoughts, and keeps me from talking to myself too much. Works as a good calendar too - I actually sat and stared at the date for a while today. When did my return date get so close? I can't wait for that bed ... and shower ... and ...

chore.

Showering via leaky sink and plastic bowls of various sizes hasn't gotten easier or more graceful with time; like I once thought it would.