On Monday, March 11, the author of Enrique's Journey, NCC's common reading for 2012-2013, spoke to more than 800 members (mostly students) of the campus community. Her topic: "Enrique's Journey and America's Immigration Dilemma."
Nazario told audiences that her interest in immigration and the plight of immigrant families was fueled by a conversation with her housekeeper more than a decade ago. Discovering that her housekeeper had left several small children in Guatemala to find work in America, Nazario got her first glimpse of the stark choices facing people in countries where survival is anything but a given.
Eager to know more, Nazario set out, in her words, on her own "interesting little journey," one that took her to Honduras and to a world of impoverished children, some as young as six or seven, many determined to be reunited with parents in America. Her experiences and observations would eventually become the subject of Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper articles as well as Enrique's Journey.
Nazario's presentation touched on several issues, most poignantly the experiences of children risking their lives to get to the American border. Their journey, often atop a freight train (aptly called "The Beast") traveling through Mexico, was fraught with dangers: extreme temperatures, unsanitary conditions, and almost nonstop assaults by bandits, drug dealers, corrupt cops, and other predators.
Nazario herself rode "The Beast" through Mexico, witnessing almost unimaginable brutality and violence. Her own encounter with a would-be assailant caused her to have nightmares and (later on) to seek therapy.
But if the immigrant's journey was often terrifying, it also had its tender moments. Nazario spoke of small Mexican towns in which residents--usually women--would provide food, water, and temporary shelter to weary children. Though among the poorest Mexicans, they were living a life of compassion, Nazario said. She recalled one woman who told her, "If I have one tortilla, I'm going to give half away. I know God will give me more."
Nazario concluded by suggesting that a key to resolving the immigration issue lies in attacking the poverty that forces so many people to leave their countries. She talked about the need for a foreign policy that would create jobs in other countries, a trade policy that offers other options besides immigration, and better education for girls. She also said that offering a microloan of as little as $30--a project American students might undertake--would enable a woman in Guatemala or elsewhere to start a business that would provide for her family.
No matter where people stand on the immigration issue, it would be difficult not to be moved by Nazario's account of children in search of their parents. But her presentation did more than tug at heart strings. Those who attended her talk left informed, inspired, and with much to think about.
It was education at its best.
Sonia Nazario greets NCC student after her presentation.
(photo by Korey Oral)
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