Enrique's Journey

Summary

A brave Honduran boy makes an unforgettable journey to find his mother in the United States.  His mother leaves Enrique when he is just a little boy and 11 years later, Enrique wants to find her and understand why? His travels are hostile and full of thugs, bandits and a corrupt police force.  Enrique and other immigrant travelers often cling to the sides and tops of trains, and carry very little.  It takes courage and hope.  The author, Sonia Nazario, is an award-winning journalist who embarked on the journey herself from Honduras through Mexico in order to better relate and write the National Best Seller, Enrique’s Journey.

Facts – Afterward of the book: Page 241 + [The information from this point is all from Enrique’s Journey.   They are the findings of Sonia Nazario and opinions of Enrique and Lourdes themselves.]

“An estimated 1.7 million children live illegally in the US, most from Mexico and Central America” (Pg. 241).

“Throughout Latin America, even in traditional societies such as Mexico, where most legal and illegal migrants to the United States come from, divorce and separation are increasingly common.  That promises to produce more single mothers who feel forced to make the same choices.” [Migrating to the United States and leaving their children]

Question:

Is it good for the migrants themselves, for the countries they come from, and for the United States and its citizens?

For immigrants – there are material benefits they can gain from coming to the United States.  Women are able to find relatively higher paying jobs, which allow the ability to send money and material goods to their children. This money goes towards food, an education, clothes, and to help the relatives taking care of the children.  In the United States, lower income housing is still better than what housing can be in countries such as Honduras.  One example of a housing benefit is the water quality and indoor plumbing. 

There are some drawbacks, according to Enrique, of living in the United States.  He lives in fear of being deported at any time. He is prone to racism because of his race and the American made stereotype of illegal immigrants and anyone who may appear Mexican. Life in America is too hurried.   The biggest downside is the effect that parent-child separation has on the family.  Conflicts in the children can be seen in the schools and administrators work together to help med the damage caused by the years of separation.  Children try to find love in other places such as getting involved in gangs or pregnancy and living with the boyfriend.  These trends are much more common in children who have been reunited than children who were born in the United States.

Economy

Outflow of workers keeps unemployment from climbing higher in the US. 

According to Lourdes, “Immigrant labor is the engine that helps drive the American economy.  Immigrants […] work hard at jobs no American wants to do, at least not for minimum wage with no health benefits or paid vacation time.  Immigrants’ willingness to do certain back breaking jobs at low wages provides goods and services to all Americans at reasonable prices” (pg. 252).

Immigrants send one in ten dollars they make back to their home country.  This brings $30 billion a year to Latin America alone. The cash flow makes 15% of El Salvador’s gross domestic product.

Immigrants also learn skills of a more technologically advanced country.  They bring back lower levels of tolerance for corruption and the demand for a democratic society.  Because of the desire to communicate with families back home in Latin America, there have been improvements in telephone and internet services.

“36,000 gangsters in Honduras come from families in which the mother migrated north.”

Overall, immigrants use more government services than native-born.  They have more children, and therefore a higher use of the public school system. Immigrants are poorer, have lower incomes and qualify for more state and local services and assistants.  Their US-born children are entitled to welfare, food stamps and Medicaid.  Because immigrants earn less money and are less likely to own property, they pay lower taxes. Some receive salaries in cash, therefore paying no taxes at all.

Immigration

“Each year, the United States legally admits nearly a million people, more than twice as many as in the 1970’s.  Another 700,000 arrive illegally, up from 200,000 to 300,000 a year in the 1980’s to early 1990’s” (Pg. 251).

“More than six in ten residents of Miami and four in ten of  Las Angeles are from another country” (Pg. 251).

Immigration has affected public services: Classrooms, hospital emergency rooms, jails.  In Los Angeles County, jails have had to release prisoners early because of overcrowding cause by criminal immigrants. 

Enrique's Journey Reflection Questions.. Continued

Northern Arizona University Common Read Discussion Questions:

All pictures were found at www.Enrique'sJourney.com

• Discuss Enrique’s relationship with his mother.

Enrique is upset with his mother and has a very hard time forgiving her for leaving.  A child's number one question is if their mother still loves them and why they left? Once he is with his mother in the US, he gives her trouble and doesn't make life easy. He feels abandonment, is spiteful and continues to do drugs.  Enrique gives her attitude and doesn't accept when she tries to be a loving mother.  Lourdes has been in other relationships and now has another child. Typical of other children immigrants, Enrique feels jealousy, that Lourdes has created a new family and doesn't love him or Belky anymore.  From Lourdes' point of view, she left FOR him and found work in America FOR him! She wanted to provide him with a quality life in Honduras. She demands and expected respect and appreciation for her hard work. 

• Discuss the attitudes toward immigrants and immigration Lourdes and Enrique encounter in Honduras, Mexico, and the United States. Do those attitudes differ even within different parts of each country?

One of the hardest areas, by means of travel and getting through is the entry into Mexico. It takes Enrique several attempts just to get through the many checks and "la migra". He continuously gets sent back to Guatemala or Honduras and must start all over again.  This is the point that a portion of children immigrants simply give up.

Chiapas is the next major point and is known as, "The Beast".  This area is the most dangerous and known for bandits who will rob, murder, rape, etc.  Enrique learns several things: Don't take the busses because they pass through immigration checkpoints.  Never ride alone and don't trust anyone in an authority role.  There are several days where no women aboard the train because it is simply too dangerous. The Grupo Beta, a government migrants rights group works hard here. 

Veracruz, a city located nearly a third of the way up the length of Mexico, is where immigrants receive gifts!  People are friendly and signal in warning of hostile police. People who live on the tracks offer food and clothing up to the migrants on the trains. Many participate in helping as a way to protest Mexico's policies against illegal immigration. Instead of trying to cross at night to avoid the immigration check points and la migra, immigrants hope to cross Veracruz during the day.  The remarkable thing is that, "42.5 percent of Mexico's 100 million people live on $2 or less a day" (Pg. 105). Despite their extreme poverty, families have a generous spirit and through sweaters, tortillas, bread and bottles filled with lemonade, etc. The villagers of Veracruz believe in God's teaching, "When I saw you naked, I clothed you.  When I saw you hungry, I gave you food". 

In Mexico City, "crime is rampant [...] people are edgy and often hostile" (Pg. 126). The citizens of this area have experienced more negative behaviors from the migrants than positive and have nothing left towards immigrants except suspicion. 

• Trace the different names given to the train. What does each name reveal about the journey?

El Tren de la muerte: The Train of Death - Some areas of the train and tracks are over 20 years old.  They are very dangerous and aren't stable at all for children and mothers riding on top.   

El Tren Peregrino: The Pilgrim Train - At time the train is packed with migrants, all making a journey north.  They have different experiences and expectations and are all traveling together for a new land of the unknown.

El Caballo de Hierro: The Iron Horse - To Enrique, the train is magical, strong, powerful, dedicated.  It holds the weight and anxiety of the migrants on top.  It will get him where he needs to go. 

El Tren Devorador: The Train That Devours - The train itself has the ability to suck its riders under when they are trying to jump on.  Many have lost arms, legs, hands and feet, or have faced death from the pull of the tracks.  People also fall from the tops of the trains, sometimes being thrown off by street gangs.  

• How do you feel when Maria Isabel leaves Honduras?

I can understand it, but its repeating the cycle of a mother leaving her child.  It was hard for Maria to leave and she missed Jasmín very much.  Part of me is glad that Enrique and Maria were able to work things out and both showed commitment. Maria and Jasmín also give Enrique a reason to clean up and do better for himself.  They were his incentive to save money from working rather than spending his earnings on drugs.  

Enrique's Journey Reflection Questions

Northern Arizona University - Enrique's Journey Reader Guide, Discussion Questions

• How did Sonia Nazario write this book?  Examine the author’s background.  What about her background gives her empathy for her characters?

Sonia Nazario wrote this book after her own embark on the journey from Honduras through Mexico in order to better relate to immigrants who make this trip every year. 
Her family is from Argentina and she understands the transition in immigrant families. 

• What trends in immigration did she show?

Nazario reveals the high trends of mothers and children who migrate north to the United States.  Mothers, desperately and sadly, decide to leave their children behind with relatives in order to make a better living in the United States with hopes of sending their children money for food and education, and material items that they wouldn't receive normally.  The children migrate north, looking for their mothers with the question, "Does my mother still love me".  The material things and money their mothers send to them does not compare to the physical and emotional motherly love they missed for years. 

• What is Enrique’s living situation before and after his mother leaves?  How does he feel after his mother leaves? Does this compare to any emotions you have ever felt?

Before Enrique's mother, Lourdes, leaves, they are living in a single mother household.  Lourdes has never been able to buy her kids toys and fears they won't be able to finish grade school.  When she leaves, Enrique and his sister, Belky, move homes quite a bit between their biological father, his mother and their maternal grandmother.  Enrique feels abandoned after his mother leaves and there is not much that satisfies him.  He thinks of his mother all the time.  Enrique's emotions start getting the best of him as he gets into drugs and bad behavior.  I couldn't begin to feel empathy for Enrique and couldn't imagine what this would be like.  Any separation between my mother and I has been by my decision (Going to college) and I still am fortunate to have phone contact.  My mother was able to fund my education, food, material needs and give me physical and emotional love all through childhood.  I never had to separate love or money.  I feel very blessed, even though this is relatively more common the United States to be close with a mother.  

• What negative habits does Enrique develop in his mother’s absence?  How does this compare to negative habits that college students adapt when separated from their families?

As mentioned above, Enrique begins to involve himself in drugs and negative behaviors after his mother migrates north. This is an interesting question about comparing to US college students.  I feel that Enrique was adapting because of a void and found comfort in negative activities.  After my college experience, it seems that some rambunctious freshmen students engage in "negative" behaviors such as drinking because they feel they have an opportunity now that their 'hovering mother' isn't around to stop them - it's more in spite of "rules" than filling a void. There is hope of growing out of those behaviors and becoming a mature young adult.  In Enrique's case, his drug addiction and negative behaviors are a lifestyle that is hard to come out of because he's lived with the void for over 10 years.

• What happens to Enrique on his journey?

Enrique has many uphill battles while on his journey through Mexico.  He faces Chiapas, which is the "beast" of southern Mexico.  He battles bandits who rob him, immigration check points with corrupt police.  

• What are the attitude of many Mexicans toward Enrique and other Central Americans immigrants?  How does this compare to US attitudes?

Due to a few migrants who engage in negative and harmful acts along their journey, Mexicans that live near the train that migrates north have a skeptical view of the migrants from Latin America.  They create a dangerous environment and are associated with crime.  This to me was very interesting and I realized, people look down in away or lose trust with the group that lives south.  Americans don't always trust the stereotype of Mexicans (south) and Mexicans don't always trust the actions of migrants from Latin and South America.  

• What often is the attitude of the police with whom Enrique has encounters?  Is this justified?

This was one of the more disappointing aspects of reading about Enrique's Journey.  The police were corrupt and didn't help in fighting crime on the trains.  Their main goal was getting illegal immigrants from Latin America back to their home country.  They were hostile in how they handled the immigrants and offered no help. I feel the need for a safe environment and trying to keep the illegal crime rate down, but sometimes it was a question of who the police were after.

• What is the primary mode of travel for immigrants passing through Mexico?

According to the descriptions of Sonia Nazario, migrants will ride the train up through mexico.  Riding on top makes the trip go a lot quicker than by foot!  It is a very, very long journey that takes months. 

• How does Enrique cross the border?

Enrique crosses the border through the Rio Grande with the help of a well known coyote, "El Tiríndaro". He keeps his close in a plastic bag and crosses in only his undergarments. He uses a black inner tube and carefully waits for the lights and trucks of the American Border patrol to pass him in the darkness. As soon as he reaches land, there is an SUV, driven by El Tiríndaro's smuggling network, that drives Enrique towards Dallas.

• The author says that immigration is “a powerful stream, one that can only be addressed at its source.” What is the meaning of this statement?

After reading this book, I realize the issues and debates of immigration from the American side, are at the tail end of an immigrant's journey!  They have dedicated months to migrating through Mexico, the least of their worries is crossing the border.  I agree with Nazario that in order to "solve" the immigration problems in the US, in Mexico and even in Latin America, we need to start at the source: the home countries.  From the reading, I found that mothers and children don't want to migrate north, they have to so they can give their children a good life.  If we could focus on the economy, education and opportunities in Latin America, we could help those immigrants and allow them to stay in their home country.  Right now, the US is focusing on the multi-million dollar WALL that is right on the border.  This is an enormous amount of money that can be spent in more effective ways.  One method to help these developing countries is through Micro-Lending.  This is a loan given to the citizens of a certain country, that allows them to start up their own business and make money.  This not only helps their individual families, but jump starts the economy.  Also, if we can help the education system, citizens could attend school past the 3rd or 4th grade and help themselves and future families. 

Who lives in the US?

In the past 10 years, the US population has grown 

from 281.4 million residents to 309.3 million.  

In 2010, 40.0 million people were foreign born 

(13% of the total US population)  

Did you know that 53% of the foreign-born 

US residents are from Latin America? 

*23% being from Mexico.  

Since 2000, the Latin American population in the US has increased by 5.1 million, reaching 21.2 million in 2010. 

Mexico, Central America, South America

Here is a break down of the foreign-born US population:

~ 70% from Central America (55% México)

~ 18% Caribbean

~13% South America

~ 5% El Salvador

~ 5% Cuba

3/4 of all foreign-born from Central America, 79% were born in México

Distribution of Latin American and Caribbean Foreign Born by State: 2010

In 19 states, the foreign-born population from Latin America composed over half of the state's foreign born population.

The foreign-born population from Latin America represents 65% of the total foreign-born in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, New Mexico and Texas.


32% of the foreign-born population from Latin America are naturalized citizens.
Central America had the lowest percentage naturalized - 24%
Caribbean - 54%
Jamaica (61%) and Cuba (56%) have the highest percent naturalized
Mexico - 23% and Honduras - 21%

REACTION:  A large chunk of the country's population are not US-born residents.  To me, this says even more that the US is a salad bowl and not a melting pot.  There are a lot of students, workers, family members, etc. that have been living here for some time.  What efforts are out there to help these individuals?  How does this effect the US politically, economically, socially, demographically, culturally?  The highest naturalization rate is 61%, leaving a large percentage of the population whom have not received their citizenship yet. What percentage still has family in their native country who they are supporting?

All the information listed above is directly from the US Census Bureau "The Foreign Born From Latin America and the Caribbean: 2010" - American Community Survey Briefs, Issued in September 2011

(By Yesenta D. Acosta y G. Patricia de la Cruz)
http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acsbr10-15.pdf

Antes de

Before we dive into the immigration material, here are some questions to ponder.  Put yourself in the position of an immigrant, leaving for a new place.  Maybe you want to be reunited with a family member, maybe you are looking for a better place of work to earn some money.  Think about the journey it would take to get where you want to go.  What sacrifices will you need to make - what is most important to you in this world?

These questions are from a Teachers Guide on the Enrique's Journey Educational site.  www.Enriquesjourney.com

1. Do you know anything about your family’s history?  Where did your ancestors come from?  When did they come to the United States?  Why do you think that they came to this country?
2. Have you ever been separated from your family?  What were the circumstances causing the separation?  How did you feel about it?
3. Do you know anyone who is from another country?  Why are they in the United States?
4. Do you ever hear or see Spanish-speakers working in public places, like stores, restaurants, or office buildings?  Can you imagine why they work there?  Do you think that they like their work?

My answers to the above questions: 

1.  My mother's side is from Sicily, my great grandmother was the first generation to come to the US.  So the history of my family in the US is fairly recent. I have asked my grandma, and I think my great grandma wanted to come here for her children and to seize opportunities that may not have been available in Sicily. 

2. I've only been separated for school and when I lived in Spain for two months.   I am thankful that I have a strong family and being away isn't too hard.  It is comforting to know that my family is safe, healthy and I can go home to see them whenever I need to. I am planning on living further away in the next few years.  I'm excited and thankful that technology is at a level that makes distance smaller.  If I was permanently separated, with no communication at all, it would be devastating.  I'm pretty close to my parents and sister and we have a great relationship.  I go to them a lot for advice and I'm not sure what I'd do if I couldn't call up my dad when I'm walking to class, just to tell him about my day...

3. I have a few friends/have known other students at UW-W who are from other countries.  They are here as International Study Abroad students!  Many that I have asked are studying a realm of international studies/business and will be going to school here and in other countries around the world after.  UW-W has a great connection with some other countries and we have about 200 international students on campus. Many are not sure if they will return to their home country to work, if they will stay in the US, or live in a different country.  

4. Because I am a Spanish major, always looking for opportunities to listen and speak Spanish, I have heard a lot of Spanish conversation in passing while in public areas.  The community of Whitewater has a large population of Hispanics.  At the St. Patrick's Catholic Church, there are frequent bilingual masses and I hear a lot of Spanish at the local Wal-Mart. (I almost want to start in the conversation... but I'm not sure how the person would react haha)

With respect to Hispanic workers - I'd like to look more into this area, but I get the impression that Hispanics are hard working individuals.  I'm not sure if they necessarily enjoy their jobs, it's probably just a job, but they will work hard at it and do what they need to for their family. I took a Cross Cultural Communications course and we learned that Hispanics and African Americans (among other nationalities) are very collectivist - they are family oriented and will do what they can/need to in order to help their families.