[Vision2020] Freedom is a Wonderful Thing

[rvrcowboy]

Again.... two in a row!

My God!   Where are my boundries going?

This is of particular interest to me since I have a friend (from church) who
originated from Guatamala.  He was charged under a phony circumstance with
domestic violence about a year ago and has been in limbo ever since, as far
as his immigration status is concerned.  He is married and has two
wonderful, beautiful children.  His wife is American, as are his children by
birth.  However, the government has been threatening to deport him back to
Guatamala.  I helped him get in touch with Senator Craig's office and they
have sped up his hearing and helped him prepare his papers so he can stay.

His final hearing is Aug. 1, in Seattle.  He told me in church today he
didn't have a way over there because his car is broke down so I am taking
him and serving as a witness to his character.   Please keep him in your
thoughts and prayers, if you don't believe in prayers at least wish him best
of luck.  His name is Jose and he is a great guy.

For this reason, your article was of interest to me.  Thanks Tom...

Dick S.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Hansen" <thansen at moscow.com>
To: "Joan Opyr" <joanopyr at moscow.com>; "'Moscow Vision 2020'"
<vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 02, 2006 9:35 AM
Subject: [Vision2020] Freedom is a Wonderful Thing


> Four true stories, concerning immigrants, from today's (July 2, 2006)
Parade
> Magazine -
>
> http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2006/edition_07-02-2006/AImmigrant
>
>
> "As the debate over immigration policy continues, it's easy to forget one
> simple fact: The United States is a nation of immigrants. On this Fourth
of
> July weekend, we introduce you to four remarkable Americans. These men and
> women came here in pursuit of dreams known to many of our own families:
> freedom from political oppression, liberty to worship without government
> interference, and the economic opportunity for which the U.S. has long
been
> known. Their stories remind us that the words engraved at the base of the
> Statue of Liberty bear witness to a noble truth: For the tired, the poor,
> the world's huddled masses yearning to breathe free, America remains a
> powerful beacon of hope."
>
> - The Parade Magazine Editors
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I Came For Religious Freedom
>
> Ngawang Sangdrol, 27
> Born: Lhasa, Tibet
> Today: Student
>
> Before I was born, the Chinese destroyed much of Tibetan culture. My
parents
> sent me to a nunnery so I could study our Buddhist traditions, and when I
> was 13, I joined some people demonstrating for freedom of religion. All we
> did was chant "Long live the Dalai Lama" and "Free Tibet."
>
> The police tied a rope around my neck, lashed me to a tree and beat me.
Then
> they put me in jail for nine months. I didn't understand what I had done.
> Every Tibetan loves the Dalai Lama and wants the freedom to praise him.
> After my release, I joined another demonstration. This time I was
sentenced
> to three years in Drapchi Prison.
>
> We were beaten and forbidden from practicing Buddhism. One time, the
guards
> kicked me in the head and beat me until I fell unconscious. Later, I heard
> that another nun had thrown herself on me, to save me. I had a good
> relationship with the other nuns there and, in one incident, five of them
> were killed by our torturers.
>
> At one point, 14 of us secretly recorded songs praising the Dalai Lama and
> telling people of our suffering, then smuggled a tape out. We hoped our
> families would hear our voices and learn that we were alive. But the tape
> traveled the world, and people pressured China for our release. When the
> Chinese heard about it, they added six years to my sentence.
>
> After 11 years in prison, I was sent home, and in 2003, I was offered
asylum
> in the U.S. At first I was afraid to travel to such a foreign place, but
> freedom is wonderful-I can't describe how wonderful. I live in New Jersey
> with two other nuns from the prison. We begin each day with prayer and
have
> photos of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on our walls, which is forbidden in
> Tibet. I am studying English. It is my duty to speak well enough to
explain
> how my country is suffering, to tell the world that Tibetans deserve
freedom
> too.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I Fled Genocide And Oppression
>
> Jean-Marie Kamatali, 39
> Born: Kamembe, Rwanda
> Today: University professor
>
> My whole life, I have tried to avoid politics. But in Rwanda, politics are
> impossible to escape. I was born in a village called Kamembe but moved to
> the capital because of my parents' mixed marriage: My father is a Hutu,
and
> my mother is a Tutsi. We thought we would be safer in Kigali.
>
> I was a bright student, but mostly I was lucky. I am the first person in
my
> family to receive a college education. After graduating with a law degree,
I
> refused to work for the Hutu government. I never joined any political
party,
> because I sensed the danger. But in April 1994, there was no escaping
> danger. It came right to our door.
>
> That month, the Hutus declared a campaign of genocide against all Tutsis
and
> moderate Hutus. The militia came and said, "We will kill you mixed people
> later this month. For now, bury your dead." Each night they dumped bodies
> near our home, and my father and I had to bury them in mass graves. It was
> very traumatizing. While we buried the bodies, my father and I never said
a
> word. What was there to say?
>
> My parents slipped out and hid in a shipping container. I fled toward
> Congo-traveling by night, sleeping in ditches by day, until I was able to
> swim across the border. It was a long time before I learned that my
parents
> had survived. But my mother's entire family-my grandparents, uncles, aunts
> and cousins-was wiped out.
>
> I traveled to Austria, where I met my wife and earned a doctorate in law.
In
> 2002, an organization called the Scholar Rescue Fund helped bring me to
> America, and now we live in South Bend, Ind., with our three children. It
is
> strange and wonderful to raise my children in such a safe place. Strange,
> because I still have dreams where people who died in Rwanda speak to me. I
> remember running for my life and sleeping in ditches, and I can't believe
my
> journey led here.
>
> Now I teach courses on human rights. I tell my students that terrible
things
> like genocide take place if people aren't aware of what's happening in the
> rest of the world. In America you can feel the freedom. You can breathe.
> When I returned from a conference in Europe recently, an immigration
officer
> at the airport told me: "Welcome home." I don't know why it touched me so
> much. Maybe at that moment, after so much time running, I felt I had
finally
> found a place to come home to.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> My Parents Sought Opportunity
>
> Srinija "Ninj" Srinivasan, 34
> Born: Chandigarh, India
> Today: Editor-in-chief of Yahoo!
>
> Growing up in Kansas, I got pretty used to people stumbling over my name.
> Then a volleyball coach nicknamed me "Ninj," and it stuck. In some ways,
my
> family was traditionally Indian. My parents had an arranged marriage. But
my
> mother came from a very progressive family and was highly educated. My mom
> has always been a role model for me. She has an insatiable curiosity that
I
> hope I inherited.
>
> I was born in Chandigarh, India, but when I was 3 months old, we moved to
> Lawrence, where my father became a math professor at the University of
> Kansas. He wanted us to have every opportunity. Being Indian-American in
> Kansas made my family very close. We felt like "we're all in this
together."
> I think that's the reason I chose to work in an industry where everything
is
> connected.
>
> I followed my siblings to Stanford University. In college, I tried to
figure
> out where I fit in American culture. I studied Japanese and spent six
months
> in Japan. It was there I met Jerry Yang and David Filo.
>
> In 1995, Jerry and David asked me to join them in a venture called Yahoo!
We
> felt we were yahoos, because we didn't really know what we were doing. But
> they had a vision of where the online world was going and asked me to
> organize the sorting system for a table of contents to the Internet. It's
> not like we said, "We're going to create a hierarchy for the sum total of
> human knowledge." We just wanted to help bring the Internet to life. I
think
> we've done that.
>
> The Web has incredible power to bring the world together. I've tried to
help
> provide people with the context to understand that information. And I
think
> it's fitting that a woman born in India, raised in Kansas and living in
> California is part of that process. I think Silicon Valley culture could
> only happen here. In a place where all of these people come together from
> everywhere on Earth, anything is possible.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> We Escaped Extreme Poverty
>
> Dr. Erick Miranda, 30
> Born: Morelos, Mexico
> Today: Graduate of Harvard Medical School
>
> I was born into extreme poverty. My parents lived in a shack in Morelos,
> Mexico. Whatever fish my dad caught was the food for the day. My
> grandparents were migrant workers. When I was 3 weeks old, my grandmother
> came to have a look at me. I was this little, malnourished thing, and she
> said, "He's going to die if you stay here." She took me across the border
> the next day, and my parents followed as soon as they could.
>
> Technically, I was an illegal alien, but I felt like an American even
before
> I became a citizen in 1995. Immigrant life for my parents was hard. My
> parents divorced when I was 4. My mom has been waiting tables at the same
> Mexican restaurant for 25 years. She didn't even finish eighth grade. But
> she's a wise woman who has devoted herself to giving her kids a chance at
a
> better life. When I got to kindergarten, I couldn't even speak English.
But
> I learned quickly and, by second grade, something clicked and I took off.
>
> I made it to college at U.C.-Irvine and got into every medical school I
> applied to. But when I got the letter from Harvard, I broke down and
cried.
> My dream had come true! I have a profound sense of debt to this country.
>
> In medical school, I ran a mentoring program for African-American and
Latino
> kids in Boston. Now I'm back in L.A., doing my residency at the L.A.
> County/USC emergency medical center, which caters predominantly to poor
> blacks and Latinos. I can see the relief on people's faces when they
explain
> their problems to a Spanish-speaking doctor. Everyone who comes to America
> knows about the opportunity here. No matter where you come from or how
poor
> you are, there is a path open to you here if you can navigate poverty's
> obstacle course. I'm proof that the American Dream is alive and well.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "Uh, how about a 1-strike law. Death doesn't seem too extreme for a
Level-3
> sex offender."
>
> - Dale "Comb-Over" Courtney (August 3, 2005)
>
>
>
>
>
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