I am a shadow

This is an editorial for all those who don’t do anything. For those who stand in the sidelines. This editorial has been on my mind for a long time. It made me want to do something for myself, to raise my voice. Ultimately, this blog is the result of that. It was written in Spanish and I’ve translated it for the benefit of everyone. From Univision to you, Jorge Ramos, the most recognized news anchor in the Spanish speaking networks and someone I admire.

Silence that kills
The undocumented stand alone
By Jorge Ramos Avalos

It is as if they became mute. As if they didn’t have mouths. As if they didn’t have vocal cords. Almost no one defends undocumented immigrants in the US. And it is that silence that kills the hope and aspirations of 12 million people.
The new enemy
Something terrible has happened in the US. Out of nowhere undocumented immigrants have become the new enemies. Terrorists are now below them. I’m not exaggerating. Listen to latest presidential debates y you will see how the candidates dedicate more time to attack undocumented immigrants than the terrorists.
Bush’s government, that for many years have spoke about ‘compassion’ for undocumented, now hunts them down with the worse raids in the country in the last decade.
Osama bin Laden has not been captured, but undocumented Mexican immigrant, Elvira Arellano has. And the voices of the anti-immigrants multiply with impunity in the American radio and television. They attack relentlessly, and no one answers back. And because there is no other voice, most people assume that the anti-immigrants most be correct.
Unfavorable polls
This lack of a good message for immigrants can also be seen in polls. The network ABC made a poll in September in which 54% of Americans say that immigrants hurt the country.
Only 34% said that immigrants help. It can be seen, the anti-immigrants have won, for the time being, the immigrant debate.
Attacks of 2001
But lets get clear that of the 19 terrorists that killed almost 3 thousand Americans on 9/11 no one was Latino and crossed the border by Mexico.
The shouts of the anti-immigrants have drowned the voices of reason.
Why does this silence exist? The Mexican government of president Felipe Calderon, for various motives, has stayed out of the debate. I don’t see any Mexican diplomat in CNN or Fox News, in Congress defending their own, talking about the how good immigrants are and denouncing their dehumanization.
President Calderon has not even visited any of the Mexican communities in the US
I understand that distancing away from subject because his predecessor, Vicente Fox, empathized with immigrant debate but got no results. Maybe they already gave up and are now waiting for a new American president to start the talks again.
Unjustifiable Silence
But that’s not justify your silence against the avalanche of attacks against immigrants. The Mexican government is not the only one who is quiet. There are many and different groups in the US. But they haven’t been able to get a clear and effective message.
Worse still, after the failure of Washington in its attempts at an immigration reform, they left the door wide open to those who have false, flimsy, and even racist information in respect to immigrants.
The message in favor of immigrants should include the following arguments: they are not criminals or terrorists, they do give back to the services they receive, they pay taxes; create jobs, maintain low inflation, replace workers who retire, they farm our food and build our homes;, it is true that they broke the law but so have millions of Americans and thousands of employers, they can become allies in the fight against terrorism, they have more faith in the opportunities that the US offers than the many Americans, they reinforce family values, believe in education for progress, rejuvenate the country’s population, they are giving the US a new language for free, they learn English quickly, they are a bridge to Latin America, their mere presence promotes tolerance to diversity, they would be ready to die for this country (there are immigrants fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan), and in general, they make the US a better country.
Not heard, not seen
That is the message: immigrants help the US and for that we have help them. But this message is not heard because many do not raise their voices
“We have to have a side”, wrote Elie Wiesel, the Nobel Prize winner and survivor of the Holocaust, in his book Night. “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Action is the remedy against indifference. Indifference is the worse enemy we have.”
We have to apply the Wiesel’s lesson for the situation immigrants now live in. There are silences that kill. Being quiet against all the attacks against them is the greatest danger for all. That silence affects immigrants and erodes the values of tolerance, openness, and generosity that for decades have distinguished American society.
The US can and should regain that wonderful tradition of open arms for foreigners and the weak. That is what it truly means to be “American”.