Interview with Sandra
Immigration is constantly happening all across the world. Using the knowledge I have gained in Sociology 318, it is possible to apply the theories discussed in class to any single immigrant story. When I was assigned with the task of interviewing someone who had immigrated to the United States, I was certain that my grandmother, Sandra, had a fascinating story to tell. She was born in Nicaragua in the summer of 1953. Shortly after her birth, her family moved to El Salvador, where she lived for the rest of her childhood. Growing up, her family was affluent enough for her to receive a high-quality private education. As a matter of fact, she even traveled back and forth to America during her childhood in order to learn English and attend high school. After graduating from University, she stayed in El Salvador and got married to my grandfather, who was also substantially wealthy. He received higher education in the United States before coming back to El Salvador to practice medicine. The large flow of income that he was receiving gave her the flexibility to stay home with the two kids that they already had before migrating. At this point in her life, Sandra had no plans to leave El Salvador, let alone migrate to America. She liked the lifestyle she was living there because the economic comfort they had in El Salvador was more advantageous than it would be in the United States.
The thought of leaving had never crossed her mind until 19
81 when her husband was kidnapped and held for ransom by the Communist Party. He was held captive for 77 days in an underground water tank only to be let go after the Communist regime received the ransom. The kidnappers were worried that they had too much information and therefore their operation would be at risk. They were told by the communists to flee the country for a long period of time or their lives would be at risk. They instantly fled to America with the plans of returning as soon as they could. During their stay here, my grandmother realized that it may not be the last time something like that could happen to her family. She decided that no matter how comfortable the lifestyle in El Salvador was, it simply was not safe. What really mattered now was whether or not her family would be in danger living there while their corrupt government was facing a civil war. For that reason, they made the decision to apply for political asylum in the United States.
From the start of Sandra’s interview, she made it clear that her story may not be like other immigrant stories. In some ways, she was absolutely right. Though it may be true that a large percentage of immigrants do come to America to obtain work or find some sort of financial support, that isn’t always the case. Sandra, for example, was exiled. Every immigrant story is different and unique, but a lot of the time, the motives behind immigrating are the same. In terms of sociology, her reason for immigrating is not that different from numerous others. As stated by Douglas S. Massey in the Neoclassical Economic Theory of Immigration, when there is a high demand for labor, the wages will be higher, therefore more immigrants are likely to migrate there for gains in status and wealth. It is rooted in entrepreneurship. The extremely saturated job market in America is what makes this theory of immigration so prevalent and common in the United States. America has a plethora of low wage job opportunities not being filled by citizens. Even though the wages are not desirable to citizens, they are to immigrants. This differs from Sandra, as she did not have the desire to alter her current status or lifestyle in El Salvador as it was more comfortable than it would be in America. They were financially secure, had no need for a change in occupations, and could put their children through high-quality private education. Regardless, they still immigrated. From a sociological standpoint, immigration is extensive and complex. When put into simpler terms, it really comes down to the idea of someone leaving their current home to find a new one. Warsan Shire once said that “nobody leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark.” Sandra and her husband came to America wealthy and well-educated, looking for a place to find safety. Even though their economic status was not a factor when moving, their home had become that terrible shark mouth. In replacement of financial gain as a pull factor was the safety of their children and the peace of mind that they could live freely. So in more ways than it may seem, her story is coherent with those also fleeing war, poverty, or simply searching for a better life. Sandra and her husband continued to live their new lives while simultaneously becoming contributing members of society in America, much like a plethora of immigrants who work every day to make this country a better place. There is a definitive amount of evidence supporting the idea that immigrants, legal or not, are contributing members of society. They pay their taxes, commit fewer crimes when compared to natural-born citizens, and help fuel the economy. During the interview, Sandra stated her proudest accomplishment was the fact that her children are contributing members of society. “Seeing how all of my children have grown in this privileged life, I have to look around and appreciate it. They decided that they had to give back, that they had an obligation to give back to society. It just makes me super proud to see that all of them have that obligation to give back and that they love each other. I think that’s my proudest moment.” All of her children have grown up to benefit America in some way or another. Her daughter 
became a doctor, her son a lawyer, her other son a pilot. For her, it isn’t just that they are successful children of immigrants. They are her children. Not only did Sandra and her husband come to America and contribute, so did their children. The misrepresentation of immigrants and how they affect America as a whole is what created such a bias against them.
It is because of this that I then proceeded to ask her if the word immigrant comes bearing any negative connotations or if it misrepresents her. In America, and all over the world, really, there is a negative connotation that comes with the word “immigrant” that is not spoken about enough. When I asked Sandra how she felt about the word, she said, “We are all immigrants. We all came from somebody who came from another country – unless you’re American Indian. But what came before us? There are a lot of immigrants that are stereotyped. So, yes, there’s a lot of discrimination. I think there is a lot of discrimination towards immigrants because they are put into one bag.” It is safe to say that this is felt by immigrants all over the world. Too often, immigrants work grueling jobs for extremely low wages despite being able, talented, and educated. Therefore, they do not get the respect or credit they deserve, and they are often overlooked for good job opportunities. Sandra said it best when she said, “the immigrants who are picking up the crop in California, are needed. Because no one wants to pick to have, you know, that sun in your back for an event that is picking up crops for days and days at a time. Those are jobs that are very hard to fill here. Nurses, the shortage of nurses that we have, could be filled with immigrants who come with these skills. Also, we have doctors, like in our case, your grandpa, a doctor who is willing to give up his skills when they’re very well trained. We have a lot of different immigrants, even scientists, so we cannot put one bag for immigration.” The way Sandra talked about putting immigrants into one bag really stuck with me. Whether an immigrant is exiled looking for asylum or coming to America looking for work, it is unfair to put them into “one bag.” Because of the negative attitude towards immigration, many immigrants are faced with harsh racism in their daily lives. It happens to be that the more you look like an immigrant, the more likely you are to be treated differently. Although both Sandra and her husband have a relatively lighter complexion than some Latin Americans, they too have faced direct racism in everyday life. For instance, Sandra mentioned that she was told to “speak English” while getting off of an elevator with her husband. Sandra asserted that she is grateful for her lighter complexion, as she is aware that people with darker complexions face even more backhanded remarks and racist comments despite being from the same places. Not only does her complexion change the amount of daily trouble she receives, she lives in Miami, a place with larger amounts of immigrant enclaves. This made a difference, as she made evident by her remark, “remember, Miami is a city full of immigrants. So, living in Miami, you don’t feel that discrimination that you might feel, you know, somewhere else. I don’t have such a strong accent like many of the immigrants. So that makes a difference when you’re able to speak fluent English.” Without even realizing it, Sandra mentioned what I would say is a simple context of reception. Miami is heavily influenced by the large population of Latin American people living there, so much so that it is more common to speak English than Spanish. It took on the role of being a safe space for Spanish-speaking immigrants, allowing for assimilation.
On the other side of the spectrum, I asked Sandra what immigrants should and could do once arriving in America. Do they have a responsibility to give back? What can they do to give back? “First of all, you need to speak English. You need to learn English as soon as you come because that’s the language of the country. And then either get involved with your church or in any political association that you have in order to give back to the country. Because when you work, you pay taxes, but that’s not giving back. Giving back is lending a hand to something else.” Sandra believed that not only should immigrants give back to the countries that they migrate to, but she also believed that just paying taxes was not enough. This statement shows that Sandra has a deep respect for America. She even goes as far as to say, “Absolutely. I am very thankful for this country, who gave us a safe place to be when we needed it,” when asked if she felt American. Sandra also believes that America does not have an obligation to let people in, but immigration should be legal and controlled. “Every country has the right to have their doors closed and allow people in who go through a process.” I was curious to know if she had any advice for those going through the same process she did, and what they could expect once arriving here.
“You need to work hard. You cannot come to America and expect everything to be handed out to you, which I think is one of the very, very great mistakes that people and the government do. So many handouts, we need to make sure that everyone works. And that their work is valued.” This statement shows the popular conservative mindset that many immigrants may have after leaving areas with a communist party present. Giving money to those as “handouts” has been debated by conservativism, which immigrants cling to after facing communism. It also reflects on what Sandra has learned while living here. The American lifestyle is bustling and requires tireless entrepreneurship to flourish. 
Throughout my discussion with Sandra I was able to make connections to sociology and reflect on the theories that the sociology of immigration holds within. Sandra is representative of the immigration struggle that is faced by real people every day. She has adapted, learned, and grown as an American citizen. She openly states that immigration was positive for her as it forced her to adapt. Experiencing it firsthand has given her intuition, compassion, and insight into the real world of immigration that shined bright as she passionately spoke about her feelings on the subject. I enjoyed being able to speak with Sandra on her thoughts and feelings regarding her own story plus how she felt about immigration as a whole. Hearing her story and utilizing the theories from our class makes me feel confident in my ability to further analyze the role immigrants play in society. I am very grateful she shared her story.
Austin Shea 0:05
Hi there, my name is Austin Shea and this is my sociology of immigration interview project. I think now would be a great time to go ahead and have you say your name and we can get right into the questions.
Sandra 0:16
My name is Sandra and I’m originally from El Salvador. I was born in Nicaragua, but I was raised in El Salvador.
Austin Shea 0:27
Okay, awesome. So I know before we started, you were telling me that you think your story is different from many immigrant stories. So let’s just get started with the basics from the start and where you think is what’s different.
Sandra 0:44
Okay, because I never ever, ever said that I was going to come to come to the United States to live. I came to study in 1963. And stayed here for a year and a half in order to learn English. I was 10 years old. I went back to El Salvador and then came back a year later to do my high school in Louisiana. The first few years, I studied at the little flower of Jesus in Bethesda, Maryland. After I came back, I went to the Sacred Heart school in Grand Coteau, Louisiana. I finished my high school and went back home, we had a very comfortable life. Economically, we had a very good social position, there was no, no thought in my mind that I was going to ever immigrate after I married your grandfather, a few months after he was kidnapped by the guerrilla in El Salvador, who by that time were financing their guerrilla war through kidnappings. So that changed the whole view. He was kidnapped, and kept – I don’t even know how you say that. You know, those places where they feel with water in order to maintain water, when you don’t have water that they filll it, a tank. Under, under, under. Inside the earth, in Spanish it is called a cisterna. So you know, he was kept there for two and a half months by June. I was pregnant. So when he was released, he was kidnapped January 10th 1981. And he was released in March, march 25th 1981. So he was there for 70 something days. And I was very, very pregnant. But as part of you know, this, these were, that they were seldom political kidnappings, but they were not they were economical kidnap after you pay your ransom. Because the only thing they were interested in is in ransom. After we paid the ransom, they told us to leave the country for X amount of months. In order, I guess that’s in order not to for you not to give as much information of what happened. So we decided that was the time to come to the United States. And when we were here, but decided to go ahead and applied for political asylum. The person who, who said they were, you know, took responsibility for the kidnap was the PC. The Communist Party, and they were doing this all over. They were many, many wealthy salvadorans, who were kidnapped. So very much there was an 18 year old child who was kidnapped for over a year. That was very common during the 70s and 80s. So we came to the United States, and for the first time, we ever thought of staying here and we applied for political asylum. And that’s how I became an immigrant.
Austin Shea 4:28
I see so and when, when it was, it was my grandpa Betho was in and was held during that whole time. Elena ( my mom) wasn’t born yet. You had other children?
Sandra 4:42
No,I had Jose and Ronald. Elena was born after we came here. He about a month or so after.
Austin Shea 4:52
So having kids and the and being in that situation. Did it really scare you into was would you say that? That was the point when you said okay, America is where we should we should just safer there was it simply the fact that they told you to flee.
Sandra 5:10
it was safer. They told us that we had to flee. But then you say, Okay, if I go back to this country after the X amount of period that you’re supposed to stay away? What am I going to… could this happen again? That was during those days there, they only kidnapped men usually younger. Because you know, they The reason they kidnapped younger is because the older had more access to the funds in order to pay ransom. But we figured, yes, America would be a safer place for the children to grow.
Austin Shea 5:47
So it came down to just what was safest. And Is that why you would say you chose America?
Sandra 5:53
Remember during those years, a saboteur had not signed a peace accords?The Peace Accords were signed many, many years. So it was as if we started a civil war, because he didn’t have a government outside of Salvador. But he had what they call the conflict. During those days, so we had very violent times.
Austin Shea 6:19
It was and you know, now when I’ve gone to visit El Salvador, it’s still in terms of what I’m used to – It’s it’s different. It’s aggressive. And I can’t imagine what it would have been like then. So I can I can see why it was valuable to to leave, would you say America was just the safest? And that’s what made you choose America over like, you know, Canada or anywhere else,
Sandra 6:46
or Italy or thing? It was you don’t you see American as the safest, the promise land with opportunity. Then your grandfather had study of terminology here in American and he, it was much easier for him to get a position, a practice in a license in America where he had gone. He was trained, he was trained in St. Louis, out of Washington University. So for him, his straightening was here. . And for me, you know, my, it is my second language, but it’s much easier than just thinking of going to Italy or another country.
Austin Shea 7:28
I see that. It was about being more safe. So when you got here, did you like it more the lifestyle? What was the hardest part about leaving
Sandra 7:39
absolutely not, the lifestyle that we lived in El Salvador was very comfortable and very nice. But it was worth it. Even if you know, over there, you have a lot of help in the house. And you know, life life is easier. It was worth it. Because you knew your children were safe.
Austin Shea 8:02
Definitely makes sense. What was it like when you first applied and then when you arrived and applied? And you were officially saying okay, I’m in America to stay?. What was that? Like?
Sandra 8:14
You know, it took me many, many years to really say I’m here to stay. Because deep inside your heart, you always have that little flame. Romantic that you want to go back to your home.
Austin Shea 8:31
Yes.
Sandra 8:33
Because we are not such a mobile society, as the United States is, that you are born in a state and then you you move within the United States, but you move from one place to the other, you know, servitor my best friends are still by friends or elementary school. Because people tend to live in one place. So you continue to see them throughout your life.
Austin Shea 9:03
Yeah, yeah. So and now being here, do you still communicate with those people there?
Sandra 9:10
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. We always talk. And you know, because now we have become more global. And you have the WhatsApp, but you have a lot of others things. I think, you know, I always feel that, you know, those early friendships are very, very important in my life. But as I as I have grown older, and see my children and grandchildren grow in a society where you are safe, relatively safe, because this has changed a little bit. But you could do your business as long as you stay within the law. You make your progress and you leave. A family life, a beautiful family life. It makes Me appreciate more of this country. The liberty to you the first time I ever bought it for a president was in the United States, I have never had the opportunity to vote before I came here.
Austin Shea 10:14
Wow. And and that has to be extremely powerful voting for the first time
Sandra 10:20
The first time ? Yes.
Austin Shea 10:25
And it was seems to be now, you know, oh, I’m sure I can only imagine. And, and, and today, you know, as, as things have progressed more than we have people like Donald Trump in office and being in a position where your vote matters so much. Now, do you think that feeling has changed at all are you
Sandra 10:46
No. every time I every time I don’t know, every time I vote, I feel a privilege.
Austin Shea 10:55
Beautiful, awesome. And so my next one, I want to ask you, what is what are you proudest of since being here? And why?
Sandra 11:07
What am I proud of, you know, I have been a none working housewife all my life. So really, what I feel I am proudest of are my kids, how they have grown into this beautiful society and become contributing members of society. All of that out, one of my proudest moment is to see your mom (her daughter), become a doctor, and give of her life to her patients
with love. And appreciate, you know, seeing all my children that have grown into this privilege life, look around and appreciate it, and decided that they have to give back that they have an obligation to be back to society, just make super proud to see that they have all of them have that little obligation to give back. And that they love each other. I think that’s my proudest moment.
Austin Shea 12:08
And I definitely think they’ve done it as well, I think they’ve taken that on
Sandra 12:11
You know, being being that we came to America as an exiled family and, and we, we integrated into society. And I think each and every one has given back to society in their own way. And then your grandfather who worked here for many, many, many years.
Austin Shea 12:37
I want to ask you a question going off of the how you said, you know, being home, being able to stay home and take care of the kids working here. Do you feel as if you do feel as if that’s a privilege, being able to stay home?
Sandra 12:52
Austin thats the most and wonderful privilege to be able to go to go and pick up right now that we have children that are not going to school that are being homeschooled because of the pandemic, to be able to provide a space for them to safely do it so. it’s wonderful. We have been, we have been blessed from you, who is my oldest grandchild to the to Enzo (youngest grandchild.) we have been extremely blessed by this country, by God or whatever. Whatever we want to say. But we have been extremely, extremely blessed. If we had stayed in El Salvador all the time, would I have this type of life? I don’t know. Probably yes. But maybe know that. You never know, you know, the value of life. There is not what it is here. This the justice system doesn’t work.
Austin Shea 13:58
And what ways Have you seen the justice system not work versus America or not even you know, comparing it to America, but more just what have you seen?
Sandra 14:08
What have we seen? There is a there is in Central American countries. Unfortunately, there is a corruption from the top down.
Austin Shea 14:21
And it only just gets worse with the lower of the hierarchy.
Sandra 14:25
Oh, Yes, yes, there’s a lot of injustice. There is a lot of injustice.
Austin Shea 14:38
Do you think those in justices or do you think it’s less prevalent here? Do you still think it’s just it’s less here because life is valued more in America
Sandra 14:50
life is, but Well, let’s put it this way. If you do something wrong in America, you will pay for it like that there is a justice system that will also protect you In El Salvador, wel , you’re not sure if we will protect you and who is moving the strings in that moment. And the corruption of the governments is tremendous. We have I think we have one president, who is in jail. We have another one who has been who is in exile in Nicaragua, one who is wanted for corruption. So it’s really very hard to see that the poor country with so many needs are not met because of corruption.
Austin Shea 15:38
It’s a it’s sadly, it’s just not fair. But that’s something that’s getting worked on. And that’s why I’m in this class. And I’m, I want everyone to have a fair chance to go if it’s not where they are to get to where they can be safe, and they’re accepted. So do you feel as if be coming to America and coming to America and becoming an American citizen? Do you call yourself, Do you feel as if you’re American, you’ve found your place?
Sandra 16:07
Absolutely. I am very thankful to this country, who gave us a safe place to be when we needed it.
Austin Shea 16:21
And if someone were to ask you now, if if a friend or anyone, they sent you a letter, and I don’t want to get into too many hypothetical situations, but if someone were to tell you, they were coming to America, and what to expect, what would you tell them to expect
Sandra 16:38
to work hard. Because America is a place where if you work hard, and you work, honest, you will love
comfortable and you will live in a in a protected community. But you need to work hard, you cannot come to America and expect everything to be handed out to you, which I think is one of the very, very, one of the greatest mistakes. That is that people or the government do. So many handouts, we need to make sure that everyone works. And that their work is valued.
Austin Shea 17:23
I agree. And I think I think I’m going off of working. And the idea that you know, immigrants come in and take jobs away from American citizens. And the idea that No, do you disagree with that?
Sandra 17:43
I would say to me there are very different types of immigrants. But let’s put it this way. The immigrants who are picking up the crop in California, are needed. Because no one wants to pick to have, you know, that sun in your back for an event that is picking up crops for days and days at a time. Those are jobs that are very hard to fill here, nurses, the shortage of nurses that we have, this could be filled with immigrants who come with these skills. Also, we have doctors, like in our case, your grandpa, a doctor who is willing to give up his skills when they’re very well trained. We have a lot of different immigrants, scientist, so we cannot put one bag for immigration
Austin Shea 18:44
so you cannot call it good and say that’s. that’s immigrants. You can’t do that.
Sandra 18:50
We are all immigrants. Austin, we all came from somebody from another country, unless you’re American Indian. But what came before us? And there is a lot of people that are stereotyped. Yes, theres a lot of discrimination. I think there is a lot of discrimination towards immigrants, because they put it in one bag.
Austin Shea 19:23
Agreed.
Sandra 19:25
I think immigration should be legal and controlled.
Austin Shea 19:33
And do you think that’s, do you think that’s more of an I know this This might be an answer that’s two parts or something like that. But do you feel as if it’s more because of the economic standpoint that it is needed? And it could be helpful to have immigrants inside of America? Or is it more of the human rights that the door should be open and people should have
Sandra 19:58
No, no, no, no, no. Every country has the right to have their doors close, and allow people in who go through a process, what I had always thought that you know, when you when there are some jobs that need to be fulfilled, that are seasonal jobs, that they should be able to come with a work visa. And either come go back to the whatever the country is. Now, asylum, political asylum has to be proven. If it is not, say, you know, I’m here, because I’m persecuted, you need to prove it. And, it doesn’t happen that common, that persecution. El Salvador has a peculiar problem, which is the gangs, the the gangs, started in Los Angeles, with salvadorian, and Mexicans and Puerto Rican immigrants, or I don’t know, where they were, but they started and they went back to El Salvador, and it has become a terrible problem. But to me, it also is the offspring of immigration, because many people hear it from itself or came to the United States to look for economic. Oh, better opportunities, and that left children without parents, and without the, the, how you say that the structure of a family and the gang took advantage of that, and they became to structure. So it’s it’s up there, it’s what. Yes Can I tell you? Yes. People have the desire to emit to immigrate because of a economic reasons. But it’s a very thin line between the advantage that the you know, the advantage and the disadvantage for the, for the country that they came from? People come here, as you know, people think that they make they spend so much money to these countries. They make lots of sacrifice.
Austin Shea 22:36
You’re saying America makes a lot of sacrifice to these countries?
Sandra 22:39
no, the people from this country who comes as an immigrant? they come they work and they send lots of money to their families back home. Very hard life its a very hard life. So like I was telling, you know, our, our history is not a typical immigrant in history. Because we came here for a political reason. Both were professionals with college degrees. So it was not, is not typical.
Austin Shea 23:18
And were you the first in your family or in your husband’s family to immigrate to America? And ws there family here?
Sandra 23:25
No. We have family because we have people that have gone through the same process the same problems either in Nicaragua, we have friends, but as the first person to come, grandpa’s father lived in New York in the 40s 10 years because he worked at Columbia University with Dr. castroviejo, who was a scientist who worked at Columbia University. He lived here for 10 years. And then he went back to Salvador. What was his immigration status? I don’t know if he was ever a resident because you know, it was so easy to in those years, or if you had a work permit in the medical field. But people would come to train and go back. So his father lived here for about 10 years. And then but we never thought that we were going to end up here.
Austin Shea 24:27
Absolutely. Okay. So being here, do you feel like you had a support system? Did you find other Salvadorians other immigrants or was it less of like finding the support and just surviving?
Sandra 24:41
No we had no problem with that. We had, we met some people we had no trouble. Remember the war was going in El Salvador. Those years. So many people who have had similar experiences with us have immigrated.
Austin Shea 24:58
They have Had you ever Seeing someone be deported or forced to go home?
Sandra 25:03
No, never.
Austin Shea 25:09
And when you came to –
Sandra 25:10
because the people that surrounded us had had legal immigrant status.
Austin Shea 25:27
I see. Okay, I do want to get off on a tangent here. This is more about just who went with you. And did you leave? Anyone behind? And of your family who still lives there?
Sandra 25:46
At this moment? My brother Miguel, who is an American citizen, who is an American citizen who lives in El Salvador.
Austin Shea 25:55
So is there is there anyone in the family specifically?
Sandra 26:02
Two sisters, And my mother.
Austin Shea 26:08
Yes, she lives in El Salvador. Correct?
Sandra 26:10
Correct.
Austin Shea 26:13
And do you feel as if, since you’ve been here, one you’ve been accepted and two has, has the, the word immigrants when used in conversation or anything like that changed has it brought any negative connotations or just changed how people brought, you know, fed the conversation
Sandra 26:33
Remember, remember, Miami is a city full of immigrants. So, living in Miami, you don’t feel that discrimination that you might feel, you know, somewhere else, and somewhere else, also, the type of English even friends laugh and maybe because they say they have a big accent. I don’t think I have such a strong accent as many of the immigrants. So that makes a difference when you go when you’re able to go and speak fluent English. That’s a different. I could I can tell you that I can feel you, tell you that, you know, when I was in it, and when I was in California. Sometimes I would say people well, I am from El Salvador originally. And they were looking at me and said, You don’t look salvadorian I don’t know what’s up what the look in their mind is.
Austin Shea 27:37
I know other people have said that to my mom, Elena, my mom, that she doesn’t necessarily look Hispanic or she could be white or she could be or, you know, they think she’s Hispanic or they think she’s, she doesn’t they don’t think she’s Latina, or whatever it may be. Do you think that
Sandra 27:56
Maybe that look, yeah, remember, Elena has a grandfather from a great grandfather from Italy. Another one from Spain and another one from Germany. So Latin, per se, is a very small percentage.
Austin Shea 28:16
Yeah.
Sandra 28:17
And I do think that, you know, as, as everyone looks, if you’re darker, whatever it does. It does influence discrimination.
Austin Shea 28:34
But and you feel just as you know, the way that it happens that some the complexion of some Salvadorans and some Latin Americans in general tends to be lighter. Do you think that plays a role in?
Sandra 28:49
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Class comes from European countries. Not that not native Latinos, or native mestizos or Indians that are where the Mayans and the Aztecs Yes. Now, there is also a lack of culture. Even for us, that we don’t know those civilizations where we come from. So we’re proud of them. We should be proud of them. they were great civilizations
Austin Shea 29:34
Do you feel as if and going and going with that as you know, the idea of not knowing all of where you’re from like you’re not everyone and most people don’t know everything about their culture and everything about where they’re from? Do you have any interest in in, in getting to know more of your culture and do you feel like being in America sometimes, you you tend you lose yourself or find that you don’t necessarily know
what is your culture
Sandra 30:04
I find that more typical of a second generation immigrants. The kids who were born second generation, second generation or third generation, the kids who are born here, but don’t know where they came from. They lose that. And remember, I don’t know if what you know, life changes. But when your grand father came to work here, they were telling me stories, that at the hospital where he worked, they did not allow to speak Spanish years before. So when the Cubans came, and the Cubans remember they did first, I’m talking about the Cubans in 1960. The first wave of Cubans were highly educated Cubans who immigrated because of communism. They came, and they were proud of their origins. But they were not allowed to speak discrimination. They were not allowed to speak their language, in a hospital where they worked.
Austin Shea 31:16
And how that’s changed, compared to now
Sandra 31:18
I know, I remember one incident with your grandfather, we were in this hotel there. That was the Intercontinental, the Nob Hill in San Francisco. And we were speaking Spanish in the elevator and a gentleman said, “They should learn English,” or something like that. And I turned around and told him “Are you American?” And he said, Yes. “That’s a pity because you only speak English, the rest of the world speak several languages.”
Austin Shea 31:54
And that’s the thing that I think a lot of Americans forget that it’s hard to speak more than one language and, and when the effort is being put in, whether it’s broken English, or it’s, it’s, it’s barely there, if it’s if you’re getting completely clear, that is impressive.
Sandra 32:13
Honey, and many other people who come and hear it, I mean, it’s incredible that we don’t try to, to, to learn several language. Elena (my mom) speaks four languages. Or she used to at least,
Austin Shea 32:31
it’s easy to lose them a little bit.
Sandra 32:34
I imagine her French or her Italian are rusty.
Austin Shea 32:38
I can only imagine. What are two, or three most important things that people could do to make when they’re coming to America, What could they do to just I don’t know, like you said, there’s not an obligation but like your, your your kids, they were able to give back to society, what are two or three things that you think people who immigrants can do when they get to America to both enjoy and feel accepted in America, but also give back to America?
Sandra 33:12
First of all, you need to speak English. You need to learn English as soon as you come. Because that’s the language of the country. And then either gets involved with your church or in any political political association that you have in order to give back to the country. Because when you work, you pay taxes, but that’s not giving back. Its lending a hand to something else.
Austin Shea 33:41
I see. And I’m curious to what is the thing you’re proudest of when it comes to, I don’t know I hand you’ve given back to society. What are you most proud of?
Sandra 33:56
What am I most proud of?
Austin Shea 33:58
Besides besides your, you know, besides your children,
Sandra 34:04
The years that I that I helped to create an art museum in El Salvador, for the people for the children and to create a program. In it, we opened the museum, the museum did not exist. And we opened a museum and we opened an educational program where we were able to bring children from all these travesties with the you know, public schools and private schools and show them the history of El Salvador through art because that’s what you can see in most of the art, history of religion or history of the country, and make this beautiful space available for everyone. I think that was one of my proudest accomplishments.
Austin Shea 34:56
I’m sure. that’s very beautiful. how do you even how do you get into that? Especially there when when? I don’t know I can imagine it’s, it’s like you said there’s less of an opportunity to get into the art there.
Sandra 35:16
, we started, you know, going to the different schools and asking for the people to send children to send us the children free, and we will give them a snack. And you know, for them. People would not come on till we realize that the teachers have no art education. So we started with a program to educate the teachers. And then the teachers once they knew what we were trying to accomplish, and what we were trying to show the children they started to come. It’s no, it’s a it’s a, here in Miami, I had been what they call the docent, when you know you give art tours to different children, and different people. And I think what I would, what I would love to say, I would love to I’d like to do, is trying to educate.
Austin Shea 36:15
Education is important. What makes Education The most important thing,
Sandra 36:20
it opens your mind. It’s not what you learn is how it’s how you learn to see different things. Because in my view, I remember in my days when we used to, we used to recite, you know, different lessons. And then it changed the type of education that they show you how to think. But I think education is the only thing that opens your eyes to the different, different realities of life. If you only see one new channel, and you don’t see the other one that you didn’t know what it really for the truth, or what,
what is halfway.
Austin Shea 37:06
That’s very true. That’s very true. In America, how do you feel about America America’s current education system compared to El Salvador’s
Sandra 37:20
Okay, and Salvadors public system is a disaster. But I do think their private system is very good. I think it’s the same thing here. The will have very good schools, and you have not so good schools, and most of them are, I guess. I get the nuts of good schools are in poor, poorer parts of the city. And that has to change. Yeah,
Austin Shea 37:53
based on on, on property taxes, I believe.
Sandra 37:57
Exactly. And also, I think there’s less time for people here to volunteer. Because I think schools should take a lot of volunteers. A lot of grandmothers unemployed like me.
Austin Shea 38:13
So you think that Do you think there’s good opportunities to give back to the community whether you’re an immigrant or not
Sandra 38:19
Absolutely. Yes. Yes. Yes. You don’t have to give too far. And
Austin Shea 38:29
no, not not at all. It’s it’s a it’s simple to give back. In what ways do you think immigration and migrating made you stronger?
Sandra 38:41
it helped me be more adaptable to the changes. Remember, when I was 10, I came to the States. Then I went back and went to boarding schools and guatemala. Then I came back, I went to Louisiana, then and so that makes you a little bit more flexible, and you don’t get so attached. And I think that’s that’s a wonderful gift that immigration gives you the flexibility
Austin Shea 39:17
not to discredit the the challenge that I’m sure it was to come here. But do you feel as if it was less of a challenge? Or you you were able to handle it better simply because you’ve experienced that coming back and forth that to that traveling
Sandra 39:30
Absolutely. Because I mean, in my case, I had experience coming back. I had study here, in your grandfather’s case, the same he has you know, he has a title from university here that he knew was going to open doors. So I could tell you know, we have been very, very blessed within our immediate beam equation.
Austin Shea 39:54
Okay, and I think I’ll finish this off with, we have a few more minutes that I want to talk to you but I want you to just I had some questions and I went off on some tangents and I just wanted to hear your story. But is there anything you would like to add or any questions? I didn’t ask that you want to answer?
Sandra 40:09
No, my love. You can ask whatever you want if you have some more questions.
Austin Shea 40:15
Last one, say your mother is still living in El Salvador
Sandra 40:19
Yes.
Austin Shea 40:20
In terms of you coming here, was she supportive and proud? And even to this day?
Sandra 40:30
Yes. Unfortunately to this day. She only has one son living in Salvador. And he lives, As you know, half time he has a house here and one in Colorado. But she, she’s, you know, she’s older and she’s by herself. But she Yes, she’s, she feels very happy that we are here and not going through all the political turmoil and all the problems that we have in El Salvador. Yes, awesome. gives her peace of mind.
Austin Shea 41:01
I’m sure it’s nice to know your kids are safe for her, as you said and as families very important. Okay, so I think that will do it. Thank you so much for your time and I hope you enjoyed this interview.
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