It breaks my heart to read how frightened some of our neighbors are to just conduct the simple acts of daily life – buy groceries or walk their children to school. I doubt this was true when many of our older relatives (grandparents in my case) arrived in the United States. They made the arduous decision to immigrate for the same reasons that our new neighbors are coming. They wanted a better life for their families. My Irish grandfather was a policeman; my grandmother worked in a laundry. My German grandparents were part of the Oklahoma land rush. There weren’t federal officials hounding them, threatening them with deportation. Their descendants are military officers, doctors, lawyers, computer whizzes, stay-at-home moms, teachers – good taxpaying citizens. They certainly achieved their goal of giving their families opportunities and a foundation for success.
Is there a local program to help support these new families – other than Brazilian-based groups? How can we help provide encouragement and support? Any suggestions?
– Patricia Kennedy