My project deals with the impact (economic, cultural and other things that would come along the way) immigration from Latin America has brought to Spain, particularly in Madrid. As in any part of the world, the capitals of each country are the chosen ones for people to migrate to. In the case of Spain, Madrid and Barcelona are the cities who experience the most of this phenomenon called immigration. A few days ago I went to an exhibition about this topic. It was very interesting and educational, both for people who are just staying in this country for a short time and to the ones that were born and live here. It is important to emphasize the reasons people migrate which is most but not all the time an economic cause.
Been in Madrid for almost three weeks and I was able to walk around a lot of areas and watch. I've been around a few neighborhoods and was able to appreciate the diversity this city is evolving into. I was quite well admired and astonished to see the diversity in this city. Some civilians do not see with good eyes the way Spain is evolving to, a melting pot of cultures and the diversity it brings with it.
This is one of the reason I am doing this project. The main reason I was given a grant to do this project is to find a way of understanding of this phenomenon and bring a bigger picture and hopefully open some minds about this subject matter.
Being an immigrant is difficult and challenging. I migrated to the United States at the age of 13. Not knowing what we will encounter along the way, I knew deep in my heart my mother made the right decision. We were always educated (my four siblings and I) to be responsible civilians and to respect others and ourselves too. After 18 years living abroad I can say I am happy and feel I've accomplished a lot of goals I've set for myself. One of them was to go to school, get a degree and pursuit and make the most out of it.
Back in the US, when I think about the term "immigrant", it does not have any negative connotation since the United States is a country who was created and founded by immigrants. We are all immigrants and there is nothing wrong with it. This could be the big picture since we know in some states there is hate, however when we really stand together we are more than those ones.
I feel Spain has a long way to go on the way they approach and understand this phenomenon. The awareness of people about this topic is very important, and most important is once they acquire knowledge they know how to use it and how to react to it. At this early point of my investigation I feel there is no knowledge and therefore there is ignorance and ignorance becomes indifference.
I am here to explore, investigate, get to know lots of people from different walk of life, from different backgrounds. They all have something to say and I want to be there to listen and document it.
This is a video that touched me and I want to share it here. We are all special.
Perdonamos pero no olvidamos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkFJE8ZdeG8&feature=player_embedded">
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