This is the third week of “Voices from Fremont,” a series sharing the experiences of Fremont-area residents since their city became the most recent in a handful of towns across the country to pass a city ordinance that attempts to regulate immigration at the local level. In this third week, we will let the voices speak for themselves. (See weeks one and two on 7/30 and 8/6. Note that the ordinance has not yet gone into effect, despite the impact it has already had on the community.)
Nuestra vida no está tranquila….y además los Americanos siempre nos ven con más odio y por supuesto nos sentimos muy mal mas por nuestros hijos por que los niños no saben nosotros lo que queremos es luchar para sacar adelante nuestra familia. (8/1/10)
Our lives aren’t calm and the Americans always see us with more hate and of course we feel bad, more for our children because the kids don’t know. What we want is to keep struggling and to strive for our family. (8/1/10)
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No hay tranquilidad porque los americanos nos demuestran el racismo. Uno de hispano no entiende porque ellos nos tratan así porque también somos personas y nosotros lo que queremos es salir adelante y no hacerle daño a nadie. (8/1/10)
There’s no peace because Americans have demonstrated racism. As a Hispanic, one doesn’t know why they treat us like they do, because we’re human beings, too, and what we want is to move forward and not hurt anybody. (8/1/10)
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Nosotros a raiz de la ordenanza tenemos miedo de salir, con la família, de ir de compras para comer, de sacar a los niños a un parque. Porque, no queremos que alguién nos pueda decir algo ya sea en la calle o en el párque, no nos sentimos bién, tenemos miedo, de la policia, de la gente, y pienso que eso no está bien porque todos tenemos derechos de andar y trabajar sin ningún temor, porque, no le hacemos daño a nadie. (8/1/10)
Since the beginning of the ordinance we have been scared to go out with family, go grocery shopping, take the kids to a park, because we don’t want to hear somebody make comments, whether it’s on the streets or at the park, we feel bad. We’re scared of the police, the people, and I don’t think it’s right because we all have the right to work and be out and about without fear, because we’ve never hurt anyone. (8/1/10)
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Yo me sentido muy triste. Preocupada porque estamos viviendo una situación muy dificil, estamos sintiendo el racismo, la discriminación. Como nos miran, también si se lleva acabo la ley cuantos ninos surfrirían los consecuencias. Pero también le doy gracias a dios porque existe “Fremont One Future” es una gran bendicion para todos los que nos sentimos humillados, y estraños, pero la organizacion “Fremont One Future” nos ha brindado su apoyo y nos estan demostrando que no estamos solos y que todos somos iguales, aunque tengamos diferente color de piel. Pero en nuestras venas core el mismo color de sangre. Gracias por su esfuerzo y su cariño. (8/1/10)
I feel very sad and worried because we are living in a very difficult situation, we are feeling the racism and the discrimination, how they look at us, also just since the law, how many children are going to suffer the consequences. But I also thank God because “One Fremont One Future” exists and it’s a great blessing for all of us who feel humiliated and estranged, but the organization “One Fremont One Future” has extended its support and they are demonstrating that we are not alone and that we are equals, and although we have different skin colors, in our veins runs the same color blood. Thank you for your strength and kindness. May God bless you. (8/1/10)
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Yo he estado viviendo en los estados unidos por 18 años y todo el tiempo me la había pasado tranquilo hasta que pasaron con la ley ordenanza ahora ya no quiero ni salir a la calle o a comprar a la tienda porque tengo miedo a que cuando vaya manejando me pare la policia y me arreste a mi y a mi familia. (8/1/10)
I have been living here in the US for 18 years and the whole time I have passed here very peacefully until the ordinance passed. Now I don’t go out in the streets or go shopping in the store because I’m afraid when I go driving, I will be stopped by the police and they will arrest me and my family. (8/1/10)
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Hola. Nuestra vida cambió radicalmente desde que nos dimos cuenta que en Fremont no somos bienvenidos. Aparte la gente Americana nos miran con odio ya, aquí ya nada es igual con ordenanza y sin ordenanza si aguantamos es nadamos por nuestros hijos. (8/1/10)
Hi. Our lives have changed radically since we realized we’re not welcome in Fremont. Aside from the fact that Americans see us with hate, nothing is the same anymore, with or without the ordinance. If we’ve stayed here to strive, it’s only for our children. (8/1/10)
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Yo me siento indignada y que nos traten como si fuéramos extraterrestres y pienso que nos todos valemos lo mismos. (7/18/10)
I feel indignant that they treat us as if we were extraterrestrials, and I believe that we are all of equal worth. (7/18/10)
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En [la tienda] una señora, en la caja me trato muy mal y pude ver mucho odio en sus ojos. Le dije “te voy a reportar con el supervisor.” (7/18/10)
At [the store] a woman in line treated me very badly and I could see much hate in her eyes. I told her “I’m going to report you to the supervisor.” (7/18/10)
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A raiz del movimiento de la Ordenanza empezamos a sentir miedo, tristeza. Tengo más de 10 años viviendo cerca de Fremont, y aunque no vivo aquí también me afecta, porque toda mi vida está aquí como mi trabajo los doctores de mis hijos, las tiendas etc. Pero tenemos que aprender a vivir con ello. (8/1/10)
Since the beginning of the ordinance, we feel fear, sadness. I have been living near Fremont for over 10 years, and although I don’t live here, I am also affected because all of my life is here, like my job, the doctors of my children, the stores, etc. But we have to learn to live with it. (8/1/10)
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En [la tienda], una señora me dijo “Quítate de mi camino por que odio ver a los Mexicanos.” Esto me lo dijo una persona que andaba comprando. (7/18/10)
At [the store] a woman said to me, “Get out of my way because I hate to see Mexicans.” This was said to me by a person who was shopping. (7/18/10)
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En mi trabajo alguién me dijo “por qué no se van para México. (7/18/10)
At work someone said to me “why don’t you go back to Mexico?” (7/18/10)
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A veces cuando vamos a la tienda hoy americanos que los miran como si fueramos algo raras. (8/1/10)
Sometimes when we go to the store today the Americans look at us like we are something strange. (8/1/10)
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Es muy triste ver unas pancartas que decían “si conoces un ilegal, repórtalo.” (7/18/10)
It’s very sad to see signs that read “if you know an illegal, report them.” (7/18/10)
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Mi esposo es Americano y la semana pasada hubo una actividad y tenían pancarta diciendo “si conoces algún ilegal, reportalo.” A mi esposo, le dió mucha tristeza. (7/18/10)
My husband is American and last week there was an activity with signs saying “if you know an illegal, report them.” This made my husband very sad. (7/18/10)
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Life has been very difficult ever since all this started because people stare at us with hate and shout out mean things. It’s sad seeing people that are illegal here with children thinking that everything has gone down the drain for them. What all this is doing is hurting families that only come to work and have a better lifestyle. Jesus was not a white man. 🙂 (8/1/10)
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Nos miran muy mal cuando vamos a la tienda. Nos contesta de muy mala gana. (7/18/10)
They give us really bad looks when we go to the store. They respond to us very rudely. (7/18/10)
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En lo personal desde que surgio la ordenanza ya no es como antes. Siempre tenemos esa inquietud or preocupación sale a la tienda. Los amigos de otro estado o en otro ciudad…nos dicen “cuidado amigo. Fremont ya es Arizona.” (8/1/10)
Personally since the law passed, it is not the same as before. We always have this nervousness or worry to go out to the store. Friends in other states or cities tell us, “be careful friend, Fremont is already Arizona.” (8/1/10)
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The situation in Fremont for Hispanics is that every day is hard – we are afraid to go out in the street or go to the store. (8/1/10)
[Note: A number of community partners gathered these handwritten, anonymous comments directly from community members. Only minor corrections to spelling have been made.]