Nicaraguan Woman Tells
Other Side Of
Immigration
By Grace Knight /
South County Independent
SOUTH KINGSTOWN -
Sitting poised,
clutching a bright red
scarf, Gloria Alba
Andino Lopez, 48, waited
patiently as her
interpreter, Rachel
Anderson, translated her
statements.
“I want to make change
in the world,” said the
Nicaraguan woman,
addressing a group at
the Church of the Good
Shepherd in Kingston
Monday night. “I want to
have free education and
health care for all
people, everywhere.”
In a visit sponsored by
Witness for Peace, Lopez
was invited to explain
why people from her
country risk violating
the law to immigrate to
the United States.
Witness for Peace is an
organization based out
of Nicaragua that
provides funding for
human rights leaders and
other community
activists to travel
throughout the U.S.
sharing their stories of
struggle.
Lopez placed the blame
squarely on the North
American Free Trade
Agreement, which she
said collapsed local
markets. As an
alternative to selling
their crops, many local
farmers in Nicaragua had
to sell their land to
make money to feed their
families, Lopez said.
This forced farmers to
head into the cities to
make a living. After the
cities became
overpopulated by
newcomers from the rural
communities, people
started to migrate to
the United States.
Lopez is on her second
tour of the United
States, representing
institutions advocating
on behalf of people and
organizations in her
communities and how they
are affected by U.S.
free trade policies.
She was born into an
impoverished rural
farming community known
as El Regadio, Esteli
Nicaragua. She described
it as “a community
that’s very poor, but
has very large dreams
and hopes.” Now a mother
of four, Lopez described
the difficulties she
encountered as a child.
At that time, the
country was run by the
dictator Anastasio
Somoza, who oppressed
and abused the people of
Nicaragua, Lopez said.
In 1970, Lopez’s family
got involved with the
revolution against the
“brutal Somoza rule.”
“It was difficult
growing up as a child,”
said Lopez. “I grew up
without health care, or
even shoes.” Her
education ended in the
sixth grade.
Lopez said that
Americans aren’t the
only ones anxiously
waiting for the results
of this year’s
presidential election.
People in Nicaragua are
doing the same, except
they are most concerned
about the fate of NAFTA,
a law passed by Congress
to help foreign
companies enter and
compete in the global
exchange market.
According to Lopez, the
agreement severely
damaged the small
farming communities in
Nicaragua. El Regadio,
whose marketplaces were
once filled with goods
from local farmers and
traders, is now flooded
with cheap imported
goods from which sellers
can hardly make a
profit.
The reality for El
Regadio today is “ the
agricultural production
is not subsidized. It
doesn’t pay well,” Lopez
said. “The cost of
production is very high
and the amount that you
can sell it for is very
low.”
Lopez said that the
average factory worker
might make up to $3 a
day.
“We come here to
America, and see all the
love and compassion that
you give your pets. Why
can’t you treat my
people with the same
love and compassion that
you do your pets?” Lopez
said when addressing the
topic of immigration.
They come here with
these dreams to provide
for their families,
Lopez said, adding that
people who try to cross
the border suffer a lot
and “do this for the
love of their families.”
Some risk being killed,
robbed, mistreated or
humiliated, just so
their children can
receive an education,
she said.
Audience members asked
what Americans can do to
change the situation.
Lopez said that they can
“support fair trade, not
free trade.” Lopez also
said that we could “say
no to war and treat
immigrants better.”
“Don’t jail them and
don’t humiliate them,”
she said. |
