Now that everything has calmed down enough to take a breath, I wanted to publicly thank some people that rallied around me and my family and helped us deal with the onslaught of hate that was directed at us. There were so many people, I may miss some but please know that I appreciate you none the less! These three studs stepped up immediately and started taking the heat away from me and directing it at them, they are all three huge human rights activists and before I even knew what was going on, they were already dealing with it, thank you Ruben Salazar DeeDee Blase Margaret Engle Reyes! Thank you to Enrique Morones of Border Angels, thank you Christian Ramirez and Pedro Rios, To these peeps who without even knowing me or my family came out to my store and just kind of sat guard so we could work and not be bothered by the racists: Louie Gmnz Jaime Fernandez Delia A Mireles Tana, and of course to mama bear Torrey Stepp who wasnt gonna take no crap from no racist, I watched her stare some people down in the parking lot! Scotty Ricks thanks! padre Alejandro Solalinde Guerra for your inspiring pep talk and words of encouragement! Maribel Solache for you unwavering support and nudging me to speak at your events. Brent Beltran and Brooke Binkowski for giving voice to our story. Paul OSullivan for helping to get the media under control and giving me my life back! To all the local Quakers who came out to support and protect, thank you. To all our friends and family who stepped up to help us thank you!! Barry John Johnson your counsel has been immeasurable! I know there are more, and I apologize but my mind is tired, its been a long 2 months, but thank you also. Our lives have forever been changed, my personal path in life is forever changed. And, the message to my children was received and that is all that I could have hoped for, my son wrote this essay on his college application a couple of weeks ago: “Three months ago, my father told me that we were going to take a refugee family from Guatemala into our home. I knew it was for a good cause, , but I was not aware of the profound impact this experience would have on my life. Because of the drug wars going on in Central America, this family was forced to leave their home and come on foot through Mexico to the USA. When they arrived in my home, the fear and sadness in their eyes told a story much stronger than words could possibly create. Stories of rape, poverty and hunger came out, and it was obvious to me that these warriors deserved a chance for a better live in this country. After the first few days of distrust, this family became an additional piece to my home. Bonding with the two teenaged brother allowed me to learn about a different culture, and I helped them learn about ours so they could assimilate as quickly as possible. At first I had trouble coping with their situation, as if I was the one who had went through all they did. This was partially because of what happened to them, but mostly because of how guilty I felt taking my privileges for granted. Because I have lived in a first world country for most of my life, I never seriously gave thought to the struggles of others in less developed countries. I have seen commercials and documentaries portraying these places, but putting a name and a story behind these experiences has given me a whole new perspective on life. Along with all of the positives that have come with this situation, there has been some negativity. People who oppose amnesty to refugees like this family started painting my father and family in a negative light, using social media, and even started spreading lies about his small business to discourage people from supporting us. To their dismay, their plan backfired and my family got an overwhelming amount of support from the public. What was first fear for my safety and economical stability became gratitude at how many people believed we were doing the right thing. Amidst countless interviews for news stations, documentaries and websites, I became very aware that helping others is the best way to help my own mental state. Although this experience happened recently, I know it will be a part of me for the rest of my life. The compassion I have learned from father’s selflessness is of a kind that can only be gained through an experience such as this. I know that in the future, helping those in need will bring me the same satisfaction that this event has.” The experience with this Guatemalan family, the racists, the world showing its humanity to us and this essay by my 17 year old son, has shown me that there is much more to life than just waking up and working everyday, going home, sleeping and doing it again tomorrow. Helping others, giving voice to the voiceless, advocating and defending human rights at any cost, this, is life. This is now my life. Thank you to everyone for helping me to see my path.
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 18:38:28 +0000
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