VivirLatino

The NYTimes has a really important article about the elderly in the immigrant community.

In this country of twittering youth, Mr. Singh and his friends form a gathering force: the elderly, who now make up America’s fastest-growing immigrant group. Since 1990, the number of foreign-born people over 65 has grown from 2.7 million to 4.3 million — or about 11 percent of the country’s recently arrived immigrants. Their ranks are expected to swell to 16 million by 2050. In California, one in nearly three seniors is now foreign born, according to a 2007 census survey.

Many are aging parents of naturalized American citizens, reuniting with their families. Yet experts say that America’s ethnic elderly are among the most isolated people in America. Seventy percent of recent older immigrants speak little or no English. Most do not drive. Some studies suggest depression and psychological problems are widespread, the result of language barriers, a lack of social connections and values that sometimes conflict with the dominant American culture, including those of their assimilated children.

I recently was at a party hosted by U.S. citizens, but had several citizens with their immigrant parents there. None of them spoke English–which, in my mind is not a problem. If I moved to Russia tomorrow and remained there the rest of my life, I promise you, I wouldn’t physically be capable of learning more than a few words of survival.

What is a problem, is that there are SO few accommodations ever made for people who don’t speak English in the U.S.–a place where citizens are notorious for refusing to learn more than one language (I remain convinced the U.S. is the only nation in the world that prides itself on the stupidity of it’s citizens.) and finds it a point of national pride on offering no help, not one drop, and not an iota more to those whose quality of life could be vastly improved by help. For example, although many of the English speaking children said hello to the older folks, after a small amount of time, we all drifted back to each other and, through language, restricted the older folks to the outside of the conversation. We literally used language to displace people in space where they were invited in.

What must happen to these same folks who are facing ageism, racism, sexism–AND a nationalism that equates knowledge of English language with worth?

The article brings up really important points about how the children of older immigrants steal social security checks, how older folks often refuse to accept assistance they are entitled to, how Congress was sure that old folks were trying to bilk the system and imposed a 5 year wait period before immigrants (those in the country LEGALLY) could apply for aid.

But even more importantly, the article ends with a touching description of what makes a home a home, of what makes a family a family:

So at the end of his day counseling others, Mr. Shahi sits with his mother before she goes to bed. He always asks if she needs any warm milk.

“The small things matter,” he said of his mother and other elders longing for home. “The feeling that they are welcomed.”

When you are in a strange place among strange people, sometimes, all you really need is a glass of warm milk. Something to remember as we continue the endless never-going-to-happen immigration debate.

I am a Latina with a Master’s degree. I am also a Latina that got diagnosed with depression only after I went through several breakdowns while getting that Master’s degree. I had been told by liberal parents since I was a small kid that the only way a Latina would make it in this world was if I got an education–and yet I found getting education to be one of the most sustained experiences of violence I’ve ever been a part of. I promise you right now, if I hadn’t had multiple Latina and women of color mentors helping me deal with the constant racism, classism, sexism, etc, that shows itself every single minute in academia, I would have given up after the semester.

At the same time, “getting and education” has provided me with precious little in terms of economic safety. I live in a state that has consistently lead the nation in terms of unemployment. The city that employs many people on my block is also a city that has almost 30% unemployment. Three people I know have been laid off in the last year alone, and I know almost nobody who has full time employment. A Master’s degree is almost a burden rather than a help–employers know they have to pay me more. So guess whose resume makes it into the reject pile first?

But in spite of all of this, I am very glad to see that somebody is taking the needs of Latinas in education seriously.

Even if there are no jobs for Latinas to go home to once they’ve finished school, a *good* high quality education that provides support and resources is probably one of the best things that could happen to a Latina. We need the words to describe our experiences, to understand how to negotiate our experiences. And if you live in city like I do, one where radicalism looks like “white, male, citizen,” you are never going to get the words you need on the street (Lucky folks in L.A. or in Texas!!! Ya’ll got community!). Unfortunately, we exist in a world where if you don’t have the “right words,” you very rarely are taken seriously. It also becomes doubly difficult to reach out to other marginalized communities to more effectively create alliances.

We are not stupid. White folks and men had to learn the words to play the game too. They’ve just had more resources and help for a longer period of time than we have. So they are better at playing the game–NOT SMARTER.

It’s good to see that institutions are beginning to realize this.

Check out the link for a whole bunch of resources, including a list of scholarships and a whole bunch of fact sheets!