TRAITORS (24 page)

“This
is
a
call
for
peace,
a
plea,
a
call
of
love,
a
simple
call
for
justice
for
our
people,
a
solution
for
everything.
Latin
America,
Africa,
Asia,
Middle
East,
they
all
have
lived
under
terrorism
at
one
point
in
time
and
have
needed
humanitarian
aid
and
received
it.
Today
our
community
needs
humanitarian
aid
and
wants
to
be
saved
from
terrorism.
This
desperate
cry
is
to
ask
for
that
help.
American
people,
we
are
waiting
for
humanitarian
aid.”

After that speech, a new movement started and it grew at national level. That general call finally came to fruition and a whole country came together to bring forth justice and freedom. A few months later, it was time for the country to elect a new President of The United States. The very first African American president in the country’s history came to power. The struggle came to an end. Within the first three months of his term, the new President, along with the House of Representatives and the Senate reached an agreement. They would finally sign the long-awaited Immigration Reform Bill. The tragedy of Luis and Zina had left a legacy in the hearts of Americans.

That morning, the President of the United States of America finally emerged. He was received with a standing ovation. The world was about to witness a change.

After his customary greetings, the president read the letter that Luis wrote before taking his own life. He then gave a short speech:

“My fellow Americans, today, the world will again witness that justice is above hatred and inequality. Today, the United States will write a new chapter in its history, because apart from legalizing all immigrants, we will also put an end to racial discrimination, establishing stronger and more stringent laws against any racial hate crime. With this new law, our borders will be safer than ever before.”

The President continued. “Throughout our history, we have been making strides to reach this moment: the abolition of slavery in 1865 by President Abraham Lincoln, the end of segregation in the Armed Forces in 1948 by President Harry Truman, and most importantly, achieved by President John F. Kennedy in 1964, the abolition of all types of racial segregation. Now is the time for change. A new era begins in this great nation. God bless us all and God bless the United States of America!”

Note From The Author
 

This story is not based on actual events. But perhaps the reader will make the correlation with many instances or events that occur in real life. In our journey, we immigrants come across a series of events that mark our lives in a very special way, and although most of the time, we reach our dreams, we lose what we value the most along the way.

The Catholic Church, along with other religious groups has been a pioneer s in the struggle for immigration reform in conjunction with many pro-immigrant groups. And although the movement has grown in recent years, there is still much to do.

As an immigrant myself, I have realized the great need to project the true values, sentiments and courage of the people who decide to leave in search of better opportunities, and to demonstrate that the effort we make is often times stronger than that of an American citizen, by the enormous challenges that we encounter every day, and the obstacles we must overcome.

While writing this book, I was witness to the tragic loss of parents and siblings of some of my closest friends and relatives. And because they are undocumented, were unable to return to their country of origin to bid their loved ones a final farewell.

Later, during the translation phase of this book (from Spanish
to English), I sadly had the tragic misfortune of losing one of my own—my loving brother. And as if destiny had written a book on my life, I too was unable to be with him in his final moments.

After all, faith is what will enable us to reach our wildest dream, yet to be fulfilled: a comprehensive immigration reform to end the pain and the uncertainty of a people who fight tirelessly for the welfare of their families.