For a change from the posts about raids and militarized borders, an immigration story with a very happy ending.

It happened in Spain, a country with an “immigration problem” like the U.S., but where people as a whole tend to be a lot more likely to look at immigrants as people rather than “problems”. Hassane Moctar, at 21 years old, arrived by night on a makeshift raft to Spain from Mauritania, taking his life into his own hands to try to find a better life in Europe. He ended up in Galicia, where a family from Cangas do Morrazo, a town near Pontevedra “adopted” him. Hassane has been living with the Veiga family for 6 months, and the family who were once strangers now consider him part of their family.

But things weren’t so rosy with Hassane’s legal situation. Two weeks ago, Hassane, now 24, went to court to answer to a deportation order which would send him back immediately if something wasn’t done. His attorney demonstrated that the people of Cangas supported him, that he spoke Spanish, and that he even had job offers. The Veiga family began a signature campaign and managed to collect 5,000 names from townspeople in support of Hassane staying in Spain. His Galician “sister” testified on the stand to the fact that he was now part of the Veiga family:

“Ever since he started living with us, he’s been just like any member of the family. He’s never had any problems and we all love him. My 95 year old grandmother asks where Hassane is as soon as she gets up, and he spends a lot of time with her. If he gets deported, my grandmother will die.”

But initially much of this was considered irrelevant to his case by the judge. Now he had to wait for the verdict.

The people of Cangas said that if justice wasn’t served in the case, they wouldn’t let it go. Hundreds stood outside the court with signs that read “We are different. We are the same.” A 70 year old woman from Cangas do Morrazo told reporters “The young man came here with his pockets empty, but he is a very good person and we love him a lot. I also had family who emigrated.”

That last statement is key to drawing parallels to our perspective of immigration to the U.S. Galicia was the region of Spain with the most emigration (estimated at 3 million) to Latin America and Europe as a result of the Spanish Civil War and subsequent dictatorship. Galicians live all over Latin America, and while some have returned to Spain, in general, the community has always understood the phenomena of immigration and empathizes with the human side of the phenomena. In the U.S., the country that politicians like to tout as “a nation of immigrants”, we don’t emphathize of even sympathize. Looks like we could learn a lot from a town in rural Galicia.

So what’s become of Hassane? Last night, his story made national news, as the verdict was returned amid the expectation and fear of the people of Cangas do Morrazo, hundreds of whom had rented buses to get to the courthouse in Parda. The judge said that Hassane’s defense proved that the deportation order was not “sufficiently justified”, given his family and community situation and his lack of criminal record. He gets to stay in Cangas, with the Veigas, indefinitely. Yes, Hassane is undocumented, and a court ruled that he doesn’t have to leave. Oh, and he doesn’t have to pay any fines, either.

Meanwhile, here at home, the ICE raids continue. People who have relatives in the U.S. don’t get the consideration that Hassane received and their families are ripped apart.

What do you think?

Via / Faro de Vigo

Photo: El País