Carrying the Torch of Dreams
By Wentong Lin, Dreamer from Columbus, OH and Sookyung Oh, NAKASEC
IMAGE Fall 2007 p.43
ocanational.org
On a Wednesday afternoon on June 13, 2007, a train in Los Angels steamed out of its platform toward Washington DC. Four trains would pick up a total of 105 Americans from 13 cities. Each participant – or Dreamer – shared their own immigration stories and the difficulties they have to face in their daily life as Americans. They would take the message to the public through hundreds of media interviews, YouTube videos, and visits with over 70 Congressional members. The event was scheduled to run from June 18 – 20, 2007 to highlight an issue that affects all of us: the broken immigration system.
Tony Wasilewski, a Polish immigrant of 18 years, is a hard working small business owner. His wife Janina was deported to Poland after living in America for 14 years. They decided that Brian, their 6-year old son, should be raised by Janina. She is barred from entering the United States to reunite with her family for at least 10 years.
Mirna Lorena Gonzalez de Vazquez is a Mexican American in her 30s. She crossed the border when she was 17 to work in the fields. She never fulfilled her dream to become a nurse because of her immigration status.
Brian Bautista, a Mexican native who came to this country with his mother when he was 2. He was granted his legal status only after he served in the US Marines at age 18 and was stationed in Iraq for half a year.
Maria Degillo, a 17-year-old from the Philippines, never had a chance to reunite with her brother after she immigrated to the USA. Her brother was too old at 22 to qualify as a “minor” when the family immigrated here. He was left alone in the Philippines and died from cancer before he was granted a visa to reunite with his family.
Tonio Antonioni, a professional soccer player, escaped Saddam’s regime in 2000. He continues to be separated from his wife to this date, even though she too faces almost daily threats of physical violence in Iraq.
Before obtaining her legal status, Cinthia Guerrero was threatened with deportation when she asked for divorce from her abusive husband. She now is a single mother with two children.
Andrew Jung was 15 when his parents were deported to South Korea due to confusing paperwork. He is now 17 and lives with his legal guardian.
And then there is the 13-year old who will be expelled from her school and deported to her native Mexico, a young man who faces deportation to Cambodia even after serving his time, a mother who is separated from her family with two children for many years without a possibility to reunite, a landscape business owner who hires undocumented immigrant workers faces a close-down of her business, and the list goes on…
Energizing the media and all people to continue the battle for a better life for all, I was privileged to be a Dreamer myself. When all the flags came down after the event, we hoped the fight will continue until we see a day the laws will support and protect our lives instead of working against our existence as fellow human beings.
For more information about the Dreams Across America Tour, visit our website www.dreamsacrossamericaonline.org or contact Sookyung Oh at soh [at] nakasec.org or at 323.937.3703, ext. 206.
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