Dear beautiful readers,
Today was a great day to learn about a complicated issue we face everywhere in the world, and that is immigration. Throughout the day, we met different immigrants from two different countries: Venezuela and Haiti. They told us their stories and the struggles that they have been through. We also watched a documentary called Chantravay, a documentary about the the relationship between the D.R. and Haiti that was worked on by a former Global Glimpse Program Coordinator.
The first activity we did was to meet up with an immigrant that had problems in Venezuela. The guest speaker was named Mariangel and she immigrated to the Dominican Republic to hide from the dangers that are currently happening in Venezuela such as theft, lack of medicine, kidnapping, and physical violence in the streets. Mariangel stated that this problem started three years ago when Hugo Chavez died and his chauffeur, Nicolas Maduro, took over the presidency. The country fell into economic chaos and that is the reason Mariangel left. Mariangel also taught us how to create a bracelet using the colors of the Venezuelan flag. Then we went to learn about the differences between the two countries: the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The documentary I have mentioned earlier takes place in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The documentary focuses on a Haitian man and his troubles with medical issues. The documentary made me think about the two countries and how different they are. The final activity was to meet with a family of Haitian immigrants and hear how they have suffered while living as Haitians in the Dominican Republic. The Haitians are treated unfairly because their skin color is darker than the Dominicans. The guest speakers also mentioned how a Haitian was shot after an argument with a Dominican over 20 pesos (which is 40 U.S cents). This blew my mind because of the injustice that the Haitians must face. I have no knowledge of the Haitians because they are never mentioned in the news that I read at home. One of the guest speakers also mentioned how he had lived in the Dominican Republic for 20 years and nothing between the Haitians and Dominicans has improved. They are scared every single day, and they keep in their minds that they can die anytime. They want to go back to their homeland, Haiti, to be with their families but must stay because there is more work here, which allows them to send money to their families in Haiti.
I was an immigrant, I came from the poor area of the Philippines. The U.S supports their immigrants throughout the trip and encourages them. I never thought of returning to the Philippines because of the way I was treated in the United States. The story is different for the Haitians because they are treated unfairly and are thought to be inferior. The Haitians are trying their best and patiently waiting to return to their own country. I feel thankful for everything that has happened to me such as getting help from the United States, or I would have never heard this important story.
Hey Maria and Nickol!! It’s been super fun keeping up with your adventures and it’s made me miss my own trip like crazy. I’m glad that you’re learning so much and having a ton of fun. Remember to keep living in the moment and keep taking it all in. Can’t wait to hear more about your trip when you guys get back!
Lots of love,
Katherine and your Tino Ambassadors
Wow it sounds like you guys learned a lot today !
Maryfrances I miss you ! I will be there to pick you up from the airport very soon. Hope you’re having as much fun as I did when I went on my GG trip last year. Love you !
Erl dude, Jer really misses you. You might not believe me but she does.
Amner, you’re all Marahya talks about she’s so happy you’re here learning at the same place she was just a year ago !
Jared, me and all of the ambassadors are very proud of you !
amner i don’t know why alina lied you’re not all i talked about. i also talk to her about the fact that people cut cake really late at parties. anYways! Last year one of my trip coordinators was Venezuelan n we talked about how it was living over there and i mentioned to him how I learned Venezuela had a condom, banana, and birth control defiency. He got kinda bummed and said that he buys stacks of condoms for his brother that still lives over there and nails them over. It made me kind of sad because after when I got back i looked more in depth with the situation and it read that Venezuelans would go as far as making condoms out of cloth. Can you imagine? Condoms over there cost around $70 each… It would eventually lead to diseases and the problem would become worst. If they can’t afford condoms how would they be able to afford healthcare? It makes you so grateful for the things we have here. For immigration day we also had a guest speaker that was from Haiti. He talked about his struggle being in a country that didn’t accept who he was simply because he was of Haitian decent. He came down to our hostel and we had lunch with him while he shared his experiences. The one that stuck with me the most was that one day he was going down the street in his motoconcha and people saw that he was Hatitan so as he rode past them, the would hit him in his back the hardest they could, wether it was with their hands or objects. He spoke of his experiences like they were normal, and that’s because they were. After though, one of my delegations members started talking to him in french so he got kinda happy and it was nice seeing them interact freely like that. ALSO JARED. Your mom saw alina’s mom at the store and she talked about how you were on your global glimpse trip and how you mentioned Alina taught you a lot. Alina got hella happy because she felt like people in our workshops weren’t paying attention or weren’t understanding the ideas. You definitely made her feel better about herself! Your words defienitely matter a lot. Hope your learning lots! Can’t wait to read tonight’s blog 🙂