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Eduardo Bernal, the Catholic Hispanic Ministry coordinator for Smoky Mountain Vicariate and the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, spoke to the Franklin Voices for Peace Wednesday night at the Macon County Public Library. The meeting was hosted by Grace and Don Washington, and 13 people attended. The presentation lasted from 7:00 p.m. until 9:15 p.m.
Bernal began by pointing out US Census Bureau figures showing the Hispanic population in Macon County has increased by 400% in the past decade, and by almost 800% in some other counties in North Carolina. The Pew Hispanic Center
Most of these immigrants are Mexican who have come here to make money they can send back home. Some of them may have children or a brother or sister they want to put through school. Others want to help their mother be able to buy a home. "They may earn $300 a month and send back $150, or $200." Bernal says most of them have a basic dream that they live for, and that it is simply to marry and raise a family. They are accustomed to hard work - they expect it - and also expect to work without complaining. Only the poor Mexicans come north, "the rich ones go to Europe."
Not all the Hispanics who come here are Mexicans. Most Anglos can't tell the difference between various Hispanics, but the Hispanics know immediately . Many of those coming from Central and South America are better educated than the Mexicans who come north, and many of the former come to avoid political persecution at home.
The problems Hispanics face in North Carolina include language difficulties. Almost all are literate in their own language but find living in English a challenge. Authorities are another problem. There is a distrust of police because in their past experience police have often been corrupt. The first question a Mexican policeman asks a person they have stopped Bernal says, is "Who is your father?" If you father is well known or has political power, you are on your way again; if not, you will be provided a ticket, which if taken along with an offer of money from you, might result in the officer taking your money along with the ticket back, and you can go on your way. If they try this in America it has different results. They also want to hide from the police anyway if they are undocumented. Many provide different names to different people they meet. They may be known as Carlos where they work, Juan with one group of their friends, and they may be known other places by yet other names. Many of the immigrants learn how to "not exactly lie" but "to speak around the actual facts" because the "truth" is often not kind to them here.
The place they feel most at home while they are in America is the church. Most of them are not only Catholic but come from a completely Catholic community. They don't even think to ask for a Catholic church when they get here, and sometimes go to the first church they find, assuming it is Catholic. They don't speak English well of course, and expect every thing here to be different from Mexico. It may take them a while to find their error - at least in some churches - Bernal speaks of the possibility of going to the "wrong" church - a Lutheran church say, or an Episcopal church - for as long as a year before finding out, "by then, you have made friends and contacts, become part of a new community, and been accepted by a new denomination."
Coming here is not easy. The trip is hard and sometimes dangerous. It takes a lot longer than most immigrants think it will and it may be very expensive. Up to 2,000 die each year attempting the journey. Most who get here don't last more than a few months before returning. The first year is the hardest. "You are here, your body is here, but your mind is not - you mind is still at home." Bernal says that many of those who come here, come seeking a lie. "They think they are coming to a movie, which is what they know about America. What they find is a new reality. They have to learn to adjust."
©John Womack, 2005
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