Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs

Crossing the wire is a story about the journey of a young Mexican crossing the border from Mexico to the United States. Victor the main character starts his journey to the United States out of necessity. He was the man of the family at an early age because his father had passed away working in the United States. His journey was long and hard for a young man of 15 years. Who did not give up through being cheated and beat, because it was the only way he would be able to provide for his family. Victor had widowed mother, four sisters, and the youngest his little brother, six mouths to feed. He learns a lot through his journey, and meets many others with similar or different stories and reasons of why they have the desire to cross the border, to the land of opportunity. 

We learn about the hardships that people have financially in their own country, strong enough to make one leave everything they know to provide for their loved ones, risking their lives in the process. Finally after a long journey, with hardships he is able to cross the border and find a job in Washington State, working in an asparagus field where he is able to send his family money to survive through the hunger and poor conditions. He plans to stay working in the US as long as he can to help his family finically and is very happy and proud.

Crossing the border is a very dangerous and scary thing when you are undocumented, you risk crossing all the hardships in the book and so much more now. Like in the book after the September 11 attack America has added much more security on their borders, making it more dangerous and expensive than before. 

Growing up I had heard many stories about how hard it is to cross the border. Starting with my parents. Victor from Crossing the Wire reminded me of my father. My father crossed the border illegally at the age of 16 years old. My father had the same thing in mind as victor, being able to provide for his family. It is very hard to make a living working hard in Mexico my dad has told me many times. He had heard of many coming to “el Norte” to progress in life. My father left his country to better himself through hard work, and has accomplished that. 

My father worked nonstop 7 days a week for 5 years with his brothers. He sent money to my grandparents, and his sisters. My father has 7 brothers and 6 sisters. Working in Los Angeles he said it was hard at first getting a job, but he got a job at a meat processing factory. He saved enough money in five years to go back to his beloved country and build a small home for when he married. He married my mother a few years later. And had my older sister, then hard times started coming again. My father said that coming to the US would give me a better and easier future, since he had worked and lived in Los Angeles and knew that life across the border was a better place for those who did have documentation.

Once back in Los Angeles my father found it hard to find a job again since the meat factory where he had worked at had closed down. Like the main character in the story we heard from a relative that there was work in Washington State. I was born in Yakima, WA and have lived through many hardships being in the US, I know making a living is hard. 

I was born in the US and know that I have lots of opportunity to succeed, but also lots of opportunity to fall behind as well.  Just like victor you need to have that motivation to get you through your struggles, mine is my parents. Because they have worked very hard to give to my sisters and I all the opportunities they never had in their country.

I was good about the ending of the story even though Victor’s childhood friend decided to go back after all his suffering to cross the border. Many people are instilled about a great place that America is and that money grows on trees. But once they see that it is only though hard work that you will succeed, they give up, or try to find an easy way to make money, but its not always the right way, like the book shows, with people working smuggling drugs and with Rico's brother being a dishonest man in his work.

Sometimes undocumented people lose faith that their hard work will get them to where they want, and end up in bad places or circumstances in life. 

There are many paths that one can take in life, as I have learned staying close to your faith and family, being determined and working hard and having a reason to work hard is the only way you will succeed in a place like America. 

Sold by Patricia McCormick

 As I read the book I was very hesitant in continuing to read, just because reading about young girl that gets sold into sexual slavery was not something i looked forward to read. I am a person who believes that children have rights. The right to have a childhood and have their basic necessities met. I understand there will be a place where poverty and hunger live, but its just a hard topic to talk about because where we live in America we don’t usually hear about this issue.

Sold tells a story of Lakshmi who is thirteen years old from a very poor village in Nepal. She is sold by her stepfather into sexual trade. Her mother and her are tricked into thinking that she will be working as a maid for a rich family. Because no one in her family has ever left the village they do not know of the dangers of strangers. She travels though villages not knowing where her destination is crossing the border from Nepal to India. She is sold and does not realize she has been sold for sexual trade until the moment has come to “work”. She later has a set mind of working for her freedom, but is only cheated and debt to Mumtaz the owner of the brothel, who’s only plans are to use her until she is no longer useful or has gotten a disease. She learns that working for her freedom is not an option at all and seek for the help of an American who says will take her to a better, clean place. Sold ends in her finally getting the courage to elide to leave the brothel and take a chance of possibility. 

Reading the book I thought that Lakshmi was very mature for her age and understood a lot of things in regards to directing other people and showing respect to others, and knowing what is more important. By reading the book alone I could see that women are not valued and are only worth the amount of money that they bring into the family. Their work is not recognized and women do not speak up. I know I would have trouble living in an environment where women are not valued in any way.

In the book there was a girl named Monica who was working to pay off her debt and when she finally did she returned home, but it wasn’t long before she returned to the brothel on her own will. Many of these women if they get the chance to go back to their hometown are rejected by their families. Monica’s father beat her so she would not go back, and they begged her not to return since it would disgrace their family. Reading this was so hard to picture, because she had finally worked for her debt and her family did not want her back. 

I have read throughout this story that brothels are organized and have become successful because ether take advantage of these young girls and their families. They go to families who are in very desperate needs and traffic girls from other countries to make it easier to keep them in the new country. Where there is little that girls can do to escape. For one they do not know the language, location and customs of people. And if they do try to escape their are men who look for the girls and beat them and mark them by cutting a chunk of their hair and that way if they try to escape again they will be returned to the brothel. It is a horrible thing that happens to theses innocent girls. 

It relieves me a little that there are people working to save these young girls from brothels and also victims are shown that they can have a life after their experience. That there are efforts being made to educate families and young girls about the dangers of the strangers going to recruit them for work. 

Nepal & Human trafficking

Nepal is a place located on the rocky Himalayas. The country is bordered by India and China. Nepal has five major seasons that they have, spring, summer, monsoon, autumn, and winter. I had never heard of a season called monsoon weather, basically it is a dramatic time in weather. where storms suppress temperature, they bring intense amount of rain, powerful winds and high number of lighting strikes. Nepal has 46 independent principalities.

Human trafficking: An estimated 800,000 people are trafficked every year around the world. In an article I read it says that most girls who are trafficked are from very poor families from villages where they or their families are tricked into false marriages, or promises of employment or an education. Torture is often used with these girls because it will instill fear in them and make sure they continue doing what they are forced to do. UNICEF reports that as many as 7,000 women and girls are trafficked out of Nepal into India every year! And about 200,000 are now working in Indian brothels. Although UNICEF reports about 7,000 being trafficked it may be up to 15,000 each year, who are forced into Indian brothels.

From Nepal alone an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 girls are trafficked to India every year. Some major factors that contribute to sex trafficking in Nepal are a very poor, uneducated, and exploitable population of young women who are desperate for any opportunity that may lead to a better life. Girls from other countries are sold for higher prices, because men think of it as being more exotic. Once girls are trafficked they have no connection to family or friends so they don’t have support from anybody and they do not speak the language. An organization called tiny hands works directly with the border between Nepal and India in monitoring stations that aim in preventing traffickers from illegally transporting women carious the border. They work discreetly with help of local police to stop and question ant suspicious of trafficking. Although they are border monitoring traffickers usually cross through other methods that do not require any check from police, such as buses or mule carts, even by foot. Sometimes when girls are saved from being trafficked there are sage houses where they are able to stay and return to their homes. Before they leave girls are informed of trafficking and what it really is and are advised to report it to their home towns and make people aware of what is happening since only a small percentage of girls know that it is even going on.

Education in Nepal: There have been efforts that are being made to strengthening education system in Nepal a goal is to ensure free primary (basic) education of good quality by the year 2015. Secondary education in Nepal focuses on retention, for making productive and responsible citizens. From what I have read I feel that the education system in Nepal is under construction and are trying to get on the path of success through education. 

Religion: a little over 80% of the Nepalese people are of Hindu religion. 

My Cultural Museum Display

Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe 

Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Virgin Mary who appeared to St. Juan Diego in Mexico in 1531. Juan Diego a native from a small village, who converted to Catholicism.  Our lady of Guadalupe appearing to a native during this time in Mexico’s history is very meaningful to us. It symbolizes the inclusion of the Aztecs into Catholicism, after the Spanish conquest. On December 12, we celebrate our lady of Guadalupe in many ways. Since I was a child I have dressed in native clothing and we take roses to church in the morning, and have mariachi at the church every year.

Day of the Dead

On November 2^nd we celebrate family and friends in our lives that have passed away by remembering them and praying for them. This is a tradition that has been passed down to me by my parents. For this day you create an altar of a family member you are remembering, and you decorate it with the things that the person who has passed liked/loved. An example would be to have a picture of the diseased with their favorite food, candy, flowers, and candles

Sopes

A sope is a traditional Mexican dish. Depending on the region in México, sopes are made a little different.  Its made of a thick tortilla, includes meat and vegetables for toppings. The thick tortilla is also the same that is used for making other Mexican dishes. For sopes a smaller thicker “tortilla” is made, the sides are pinched in, and then fried. Some choices of toppings are refried beans, cheese, lettuce, onions, salsa, avocado and meat choice.

Ranchera’s and Corridos 

Ranchera’s and corridos are genres of music that I like to listen to. Ranchera’s are more rural traditional folk music. Songs are about patriotism, love or nature. Corridos are lyrics that tell a story. They are stories of events that have happened, it can also be about love, but there are corridos about other topics. Topics such as immigration and drug trafficking. The difference is between the two is that rancheras are more for dancing and corridos tell a story.

Mexican-American

What it means for me to be Mexican American. I am Mexican because my parents are from Mexico and they have raised me with the traditions, food, music and language of Mexico. But I also consider myself American because I was born and raised in the U.S.  Because I was raised here I also grew up with American traditions, food, music and language.  I use both Spanish and English daily and feel that saying Mexican American describes me as a whole.

Kampung Boy

Kampung Boy, By Lat

Before reading the book, but doing the research of Malaysia I had an idea that the book was going to be about a village boy, who was Muslim. Some discoveries that I have made after reading the book confirmed what I had already discovered. They have a strong faith and love towards their family. I also noticed that just like in many places children are taken care of, raised in their faith and through their daily lives are thought values. This family in particular was concerned with Mat being able to take “life” more seriously. Mat the main character, had to become more responsible about his education, because his parents wanted him to succeed in his education. One way that they succeeded was by showing him that it was not easy work but since he was the eldest child he would be the one to inherit the plantation that belonged to his father, but only if Mat passed the special examination. If passed they would continue their schooling in an exclusive boarding school, in a bigger town.

The only thing that was different and stood out to me was the religious events, other then that I felt very familiar in a way to Kampung Boy. I thought some of their traditions were very family oriented and showed lots of love and dedication to the child. Such as the when the father cradles his son for the first time, and whispers the “muezzin’s call” softly into his ears just like any good Muslim father would do to his newly born child. (p.4)

Education was a big deal for Mats family and they did not want to see him wasting his time with bad influences of the Meor brothers.  I feel like there is always a situation similar to this in many cultures/ places. Here in America it could be going to hangout with your friends and then not doing well academics or going to school. That’s why parents try to motivate their children with what they could have. Mats father took him to see his rubber plantation and showed him what could potentially be his if he worked for it. In the United States it can be a goal. Maybe not a rubber plantation would interest a young person, but since it is a different place and time, a cell phone or even a car can be that extra motivation a parent makes so that his child can continue with getting their education.

Before I knew anything about this place I did not think that the majority of people were Muslim. Simply because of Malaysia’s geographical location, but it was not after doing the research that I learned their history and why most are of Muslim faith. I did not think that education was a priority.  But I was wrong they are willing to sacrifice a lot to send their children abroad to continue their education. Mat came from a humble family willing to spend on their children’s education so that they can become successful. In a way I can compare it to going to a university here in America.