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Michoacan Comes to Yancy County
By Angela Dolezal
Martín Jr., Ignacio (Nacho), and Susi
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Susi was nine years old when she traveled with her aunt and cousins from Michoacan, Mexico, to Yancey County, North Carolina.
They encountered many difficulties during the 2,300-mile trip, but Susi especially remembers the last part.
"When we came across the border we stayed for three days in a cave,'' she told staff members at her new school in Yancey County.
"We hiked day and night through fields and over trails until on the sixth day we arrived on a road where we all got into a truck. I remember being very scared, very cold, and very hungry. After a day of riding we arrived in Phoenix, Arizona where we got into another truck. We rode for three days in the back of this truck until we arrived in Burnsville."
Susi and her family are among hundreds of immigrants who have faced great hardships to leave their homes in Mexico to come to Yancey County over the last few years. According to census data for the year 2000, the numbers over ten years jumped from 49 to 478 --- an 876 percent increase. The increase has also been reflected in the county schools. It is altering life for everyone, long-term residents and new arrivals alike.
Like most of the families who have immigrated, this one is escaping economic hardships at home. They are from a small "pueblito" named Sebina, which is located near Cherán in the Mexican State of Michoacan. All but one of the immigrant families in Yancey County come from Michoacan, one of the poorest states in Mexico.
Martín, the father of Susi, worked in "el campo," which means working in the fields or country. He married Marta, and they had four children: Veronica, 16; Ignacio ("Nacho"), 14; Susana ("Susi"), now 12; Martín Jr. (Martín Joven), 10. They loved living in Mexico, but it just became too difficult to provide for their kids.
When asked about her favorite memory of Mexico, Marta responded, "Pues, casi todo," which means almost everything. Unfortunately, Martín could not make enough off the land, and it was just too hard to find other work to supplement his income. Even when work can be found, the wages in Michoacan are a mere fraction of those in the U.S. Considering that prices of many items are similar, the Martín and Marta found that their income was just not enough to provide for food, shelter and education for their children. Although they have public schools in Mexico, the family still had to buy supplies, books, and uniforms.
Six years ago it got to the point where Martín decided to make the journey to the United States to look for work. He found work in Burnsville, North Carolina, knowing other people who had come to the same place. Many of the families in Yancey County come from the same part of Michoacan -- Cherán.
He lived alone in the U.S. for a year before Marta and Martín joined him. Marta takes care of other children during the day so others may go to work.
Nacho came to the United States next with his grandfather, and then Susi came with her cousins and Aunt Rosibel. The oldest daughter wanted to stay in Mexico and has recently gotten married.
They had different experiences actually crossing the border, but for all of them the trip has been arduous and often dangerous. When Marta came for the first time with Martín Joven, it took her a month and a half to cross. Four attempts were necessary to successfully make it across the border. The trip kept getting more and more expensive because the "coyotes" (people who arrange for others to get across the border at a high cost) kept charging her more.
They first flew to Tijuana and then traveled along the border through Nogales, on the Arizona border, to Reynosa, on the Texas border. They walked across the border in the water and rode in a huge vehicle with a lot of others making the same trip.
Ignacio and Susi are now enrolled in Yancey County schools, where they are learning English.
Ignacio, who goes by "Nacho" most of the time, is a pretty serious boy who also has a lighter side. It usually takes a few minutes for him to warm up, but once he gets going on a subject he likes - there's no stopping him.
Nacho started playing soccer when he was six years old in Mexico, and it has turned out to be a bridge of the gap between the two cultures. "In Sebina, where I lived, all that we had was soccer," he says.
Nacho (left front) with friends
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When he steps out on the field it is evident that he was practically born playing the game. He and his younger brother, Martín Joven, both astound their peers with their abilities. He is currently playing for the East Yancey Middle School team. He picked up English quickly and does well with his schoolwork when he puts his mind to it.
Being the oldest of the three kids living in the U.S., Nacho has spent the most time in Mexico. He is a great storyteller and likes to describe the rodeos and fiestas in Mexico. Several of his family members ride the bulls, and he talks about how courageous they are. There is fearlessness in them that he really admires. If he ever gets the opportunity to go back to Mexico, this is what he wants to see. He thinks that the bulls are so cool that he likes to find books about them and then draw them as well. Every week he has a new subject that he wants to draw, and he does it very well.
Susi, who attends East Yancey Middle School with Nacho, has not been influenced in the way of sports by her soccer-loving brother. She also does not share the same passion for drawing. Her dark brown hair with streaks of gold is always adorned with a fashionable clip. Sometimes her bangs will even be crimped or curled. Her fingernails have pink chipped nail polish, like many girls her age, and her hand is covered with pink hearts from the increasingly popular gel pens.
She has a personality of her own, although she relies on both her brothers very much. She is curious about everything that comes across her path. She always carries a purse, which is meticulously organized. Everything is always in order, and if it is not, she will spend as much time as is necessary to line up her belongings the way she likes them. Although she is young, there is a perfectionist personality coming out of her. She also erases her answers until they are all lined up exactly right.
She is a quiet girl, but opens up with time. Her confidence in English is not too high, mostly because she looks to her brothers for answers. They both came to the United States before she did, so their experiences have been quite different. Nacho doesn't understand why she doesn't speak English like he and Martín Joven do. It has been a source of frustration for both of them.
Most of the time they have fun with each other. Nacho likes teasing Susi about her habit of flipping her eyelids up to scare the kids that her mom takes care of during the day. Like most brothers and sisters, they tease each other about boyfriends and girlfriends. They have the occasional quarrel, but at the same time, share everything and always seem to stand behind each other. This is partially due to the situation they are in, but it is also a by-product of their culture. Family life in Hispanic cultures is very strong and supercedes all other relationships.
Martín and Marta are very proud of all their children. They love living in the United States but also retain their own culture. They plan to stay here for the rest of their lives.
As parents, they have been able to connect to others in the community through the activities of their children. Soccer games have become an important social event in making connections. The parents of the other kids have been friendly and helpful, proving the phrase, "familiarity breeds tolerance." They have encountered some discrimination and a few problems, but they have found "buena gente," which means good people. They dwell on the good, although the bad exists.
Santiago, their nephew, had at least one bad experience. He is a little boy with big brown eyes and silky brown hair. Those who know him say he is quite mischievous but never has malicious intent. He is so energetic that he usually gets in trouble for just bouncing off the walls. At the age of seven, Santiago climbed up the steps of the big yellow school bus just as he and the rest of the kids from the elementary school do everyday. This day, however, was not as carefree as others may have been. Some of the bullies on the bus decided to pick Santiago out to punch in the stomach. He was in tears when he later told his mother, Rosibel, that the bullies had told him that they hate all Mexicans. Out of all the kids, he was chosen because he is different. According to Rosibel, Santiago is a pretty tough kid and does not usually cry.
Santiago has made lots of friends, but there is still a group of kids that give him and the other Mexican children a hard time. Rosibel speaks no English, so there are few people she can talk to about her worries about Santiago and her own feelings of helplessness.
Two people who are working to smooth the transition for Yancey County's immigrant families are Will Hoffman, coordinator of Yancey County's English as a Second Language (ESL) program, and Julia Norris, principal of Burnsville Elementary School. They both began their journeys in Western North Carolina, Hoffman in Mars Hill and Norris in Burnsville.
Will Hoffman and Students
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After graduating with a political science degree from Guilford College, Hoffman decided to spend five years in Latin America. Most of this time was spent in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, where he served as a volunteer and was later executive director of Na Bolom, a Mexican cultural organization. He also traveled in Guatemala and Ecuador.
Once he got back to the U.S., the position of ESL coordinator became available. The number of Spanish-speaking students in Yancey County was growing steadily. "It was a lot of stumbling around for a while,'' Hoffman said. "There was no road map to go by." He just took everything step by step.
He said that the key in the first year of the ESL program was to make relationships with the families. His goal was to find a way to bring students, teachers and parents all together.
Norris also traveled within the U.S. and abroad after living much of her life in Burnsville. She lived in Texas, Miami and England. After serving as a teacher and principal at other schools, she made her way to Burnsville Elementary. She has led the school to being one of the best in the state.
When one walks into the school, there is an immediate feeling of warmth and friendliness. The cheerful, welcoming banners in the entrance to the school, along with the fountain with running water in front of the main office and the floral decorations throughout the school, create an inviting atmosphere for all visitors, students and staff.
The recent projects of the students also adorn the walls to show off their handiwork. Currently they are plastered with reds, whites, and blues demonstrating patriotism after the recent terrorist attacks. The students' works are a visual manifestation of how the staff handles the school. A large percentage of the English-as-a-Second -Language students go to this school, and this atmosphere is key to their development.
It is evident that there are stereotypes against Hispanics and African-Americans, but there are also stereotypes against mountain hillbillies and any other particular group of people. If we could just train our brains to think as children do, maybe we wouldn't have so many problems, says Norris, giving the following story as an example:
In one of the kindergarten classes there are two little boys who are good friends. One is Mexican and the other has the fairest skin and blondest hair. The fair, blonde-haired boy lost his tooth one day. He went home and told his mom that he must be Mexican. The mom said, "Well, what makes you say that?" The little boy replied, "Well, Pedro lost his tooth and he's Mexican, so I must be too." He never even realized what sets them apart.
In Norris' eyes there is no need to set anybody apart. Mexicans are not Mexicans in the classroom; they are students - just as all the other kids. She says, "Nobody gets a free ride because they have some sort of a 'handicap.' Everyone is expected to work hard."
When Norris first came to work for Burnsville Elementary five years ago, there were only five or six Hispanic children. Now there are fifty or sixty. At first, she said, "the attitude was to just be quiet and they'll go away," With the growth rate she has seen, this obviously won't work.
Knowing this all along, she and other faculty have worked hard to build connections to make one community. Dance, song and food are important parts of the mountain culture as well as the Mexican culture. The children have been able to share with each other in these aspects. A Mexican family will bring in tamales for the class to eat, while a local will teach clogging to the kids. Both cultures are celebrated in this way.
This is also true of sports. When dealing with a fight between two fifth graders, one born in Mexico, the other born in Yancey County, Norris tried an interesting tactic. She asked the boy born in Yancey County, "Do you think there is anything that (the other boy) can teach you?" After he sat for a while, Norris said, "Well, what about football? Not American football, but what the rest of the world thinks of when they hear football - soccer?" He said, "Yeah! (The boy born in Mexico) is really good at soccer." The Mexican-born boy said that he was willing to give him some tips on playing soccer.
Then Norris asked the boy born in Mexico, "Do you think there is anything that (the Yancey-born boy) can teach you?" They came to the conclusion that he could learn how to throw an American football from the boy born in Yancey County.
"You can't expect fifth grade boys to think about world peace," Norris said, "but you have to start somewhere."
Hoffman says both the long-time residents and the newcomers in Yancey County have had to give and take to make things work. When people get past stereotypes, a lot is accomplished. This year for the Christmas Parade in Burnsville, the Mexican community is collaborating to build a float. They are going to have colors of the U.S. flag on one side meeting with the colors of the Mexican flag on the other side. This symbolizes the unity of the two different sub-communities. They have also incorporated a "baile" (dance) from deep within their Mexican heritage.
The first time they were part of the parade a few years ago, Hoffman caught a glimpse of what could happen socially. People became fascinated and began to look deeper into the community, rather than accepting the stereotypes they have always believed, he says. The Mexican immigrant population has helped give the native children "a snapshot of what the world is really like." The Yancey County community was very homogenous before the arrival of the Spanish-speaking families.
Angela Dolezal
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On the whole, Yancey County's long-time residents can empathize with the immigrants, because they too have come from a farming background.
The Yancey County community has definitely started "somewhere," and now the members are thinking about where to take it next. Hoffman and Norris each talk about bilingual education as one possibility. There will most likely be an option as to which program each student participates in, but the bilingual classes will be quite competitive, Norris says. "A foreign language really works your brain. It opens up broader bands to help with critical and analytical skills." Hoffman is confident that "test scores would go right through the roof."
Hoffman is also contemplating starting a driver's education program in the summer geared toward women. Marta says her inability to drive has been frustrating. It would be very liberating for her to learn and would give her another form of independence.
As far as the ESL program goes, Hoffman recognizes that there should be an open climate in the way of integrating the program into all the schools of the county. And he is not the sort of person who will just sit around and wait for change to come. He says each school is going to have to think of ways to incorporate the program in a way that is best fitting for them. One program may succeed in one school and not another, and that is being figured out.
Norris points out, "We're in the middle of a story." American society has experienced it with the American Revolution, women's rights, and the African-American experience, she says. "Now this experience has started. Our children grow up together,'' she noted, adding that people must just keep working hard and not give up hope. " We don't know how it will turn out, but we hardly ever go backwards."
See also archived Bonner reflections by B. Shaw and C. Eleazer
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Mars Hill College Senior Angela Dolezal is a Bonner Scholar who met Martín and Marta while doing community service work in Yancey County. She speaks Spanish and currently works with Ignacio and Susi in the English as a Second Language Program in Yancey County public schools.