The Sandspur

Issue date: 4/21/06 Section: Holt News

Media Credit: Monica Sawdaye IMMIGRATION RALLY: An immigrant addresses the crowd.

It is often said that one cannot truly understand something until one actually experiences it. On April 9, in the heart of Miami, and quite by accident, I was present at a rally that was held in response to the incertitude that is felt by people living and working within the boundaries of our nation, but are labeled by the laws of our country as undocumented, criminal, and alien.

This topic, which is complicated in every aspect, is causing confusion and a sense of helplessness in those citizens of authority who are considering what plans of action are best suited for the people and society of the United States, while also acknowledging and respecting the peoples, societies, and home nations of the undocumented.

As I was alluding to earlier, experiencing something is quite different from simply discussing it. I stood in awe, at the feet of a statue of Simon Bolivar, "El Liberator" of Columbia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Bolivia, who is immortalized near the Torch of Friendship at Bayside Park, as a constant reminder of the diversity in Miami.

Hundreds of people crowded around Bolivar, waving flags of their birth and US flags simultaneously. The symbolism of waving both flags appeared to be a statement to anyone watching that presence at the rally was not only a show of devotion to a nation of birth, but a show of respect to the nation in which they currently reside in, and as a mark of transnational identity.
Someone had placed a Haitian and a US flag side by side within the sculpted arms of Simon Bolivar's statue, to display that he too must have loyalty to dual identities. (Although, of course, and to the amusement of the observer, the identities of US citizen and Haitian would be false for Bolivar.)

I felt awkward, as I went from person to person seeking answers to my probing questions and requesting permission to take pictures. At first, I was the recipient of negative body language, as the participants reacted with uncertainty, obviously unsure of my motives. Then as the rally heightened in intensity, I became bolder in my intentions. I put on a smile a mile wide and informed my interviewees that I was only there as an ally for the protection of basic human rights.

As if permission had been suddenly mutually granted from the masses, the people began opening up and giving me honest and surprising answers. I felt privileged to be a participant in a social movement that is far more serious than I believe most of us have realized.

People, despite their drastic differences, are coming together for the sake of ALL undocumented and/or unrecognized non-natives living in the US amidst a realm of uncertainty. Who knows what they could accomplish if they can keep up the rhythm and the strength of a united front?

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