Archive for November, 2009
Don’t Quit
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow–
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out–
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit–
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
- Author unknown
Searching for answers
I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? No, my strength comes from GOD, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains. – Psalm 121:1
You can but place your hand in the hand of God and place your hope in his great wisdom and eternal love. You can rest in the knowledge that his intention for you is always good.
I believe I will live to see the LORD’s goodness. – Psalm 27:13
God, settle my heart and help me to rest in the hope that one day all my questions will be answered as I stand in your presence. Amen.
매일 새롭게
어제는 어젯밤에 끝났다. 오늘은 새로운 시작이다. 과거를 잊는 기술을 배워라.
지나간 일을 후회하지 말라. 후회한들 무슨 소용이 있는가? 그리고 오직 사랑하라. 모든 추억들을 멀리하라. 과거를 말하지 말라. 오직 사랑의 빛 속에 살며, 그 외의 모든 것은 그저 흐름에 맡겨라. _ 페르시아의 지혜
매일 아침 눈뜰 때마다 스스로에게 물어라. “오늘은 무슨 좋은 일을 할 수 있을까?” 시간이란 없다. 우리의 온 인생이 집약된 현재의 한순간만이 있을 뿐이다. 그러니 지금 이 순간에 새롭게 시작하라. 날마다 뒤돌아보는 일이 없도록 쉬지 말고 집중하라. 진정한 삶은 시간을 벗어나서 존재한다.
Immigration Timeline
Resource: NNIRR
1492 COLUMBUS ARRIVES IN THE AMERICAS
1600s -1865 SLAVERY OF AFRICANS:Millions of Africans forcibly removed from the continent, enslaved and transported to North America, primarily to work on a plantations in the South.
1790 NATURALIZATION ACT Only “free white persons” eligible to become U.S.
1830 INDIAN REMOVAL ACT ACT Forces 70,000 Native Americans to relocate in order to free land for settlement by European immigrants.
1848 MEXICAN AMERICAN WAR:War between Mexico and the United States. The U.S. annexes all or parts of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. Mexicans in these areas lose their citizenship rights.
1865-1870: 13THAMENDMENT outlaws slavery.
1865 Klux Klan is founded
1866 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT grants citizenship to people born in the United States, except American Indians.
1868 14th Amendment grants equal protection of the law of African Americans.
1870 15th AMENDMENT establishes the right of African American males to vote. Specifically excludes all women.
1882-1943 CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT: Denies citizenship for Chinese immigrants and suspends their entry to the U.S. During the late 1880s, Italians and the Irish also faced discrimination.
1890-1895 THE NEW SOUTH LAWS (JIM CROW LAWS) Beginning with Mississippi, Confederate States enact amendments denying blacks the right to vote. Forms of disenfranchisement include poll taxes and ownership of property, In Texas,these laws are also used to deny Latinos the right to vote.
1919 PALMER RAIDS Deportations and round-ups of “aliens,” anarchists, and communists, especially those from southern Europe and Latin America. 10,000 labor and immigrant activists are deported.
1921-1930 DEPORTATION OF MEXICAN WORKERS: Thousands of Mexican workers including many US citizens, are deported.
1929 U.S BORDER PATROL CREATED
1942-1945 JAPANESE INTERNMENT:U.S. forcibly moves 120,000 Japanese-Americans from the western U.S. to detention camps for 3 years.
1954 OPERATION WETBACK Massive deportation: campaign expelling more than 1.1 million Mexicans.
1961 FREEDOM RIDES challenges segregation on buses
1965 VOTING RIGHTS ACT:Literacy tests and other such requirements preventing citizens from voting become illegal.
1965 IMMIGRATION ACT: Eliminates race, creed, and nationality quotas as basis for admission to U.S.
Where Have Immigrants Come From?
Where Have Immigrants Come From?
1900
13.6% of the U.S. population was born outside the U.S.
86.0% of all immigrants were from Europe
11.4% of all immigrants were from Northern America (including Mexico)
2.6% of all immigrants were from other areas
1900: Top Ten Sending Countries: Germany, Ireland, Great Britain, Canada, Sweden, Italy,
Poland, Russia, Poland, Norway, Austria.
1960
6.9% of the U.S. population was born outside the U.S.
75% of all immigrants were from Europe
9.8% of all immigrants were from Northern America (including Mexico)
9.4% of all immigrants were from Latin America
5.1% of all immigrants were from Asia
0.7% of all immigrants were from other areas
1960: Top Ten Sending Countries: Italy, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, Poland, Soviet
Union, Mexico, Ireland, Austria and Hungary.
1980
6.2% of the U.S. population was born outside the U.S.
39.0% of all immigrants were from Europe
6.5% of all immigrants were from North America
33.1% of all immigrants were from Latin America
19.3% of all immigrants were from Asia
2.1% of all immigrants were from other areas
1980: Top Ten Sending Countries: Mexico, Germany, Canada, Italy, United Kingdom, Cuba,
Philippines, Poland, Soviet Union, Korea.
2000
10.4% of the U.S. population was born outside the U.S.
15.3% of all immigrants were from Europe
2.5% of all immigrants were from Northern America
51.O% of all immigrants were from Latin America
25.5% of all immigrants were from Asia
5.7% of all immigrants were from other areas
2000: Top Ten Sending Countries: Mexico, China, Philippines, India, Cuba, Vietnam, El
Salvador, Korea, Dominican Republic, Canada.
Source: NNIRR.ORG
Washington D.C. trip
Couple days ago, I visited Washington D.C. with Student Government members to attend N.C.S.L “National Conference on Student Leadership” conference. There was about 100 colleges and more than 700 college students were attended to the conference. I was surprised the fact that I met with students who were from Guam and Puerto Rico. This conference truly gave me an opportunity to meet with new people and share ideas and exchange resources. At this conference, I learned better understanding of parliamentary procedures, Brown Act, run student gov’t meetings, and etc… When the conference was over, I came back to Cali with excitements to share information and resources to my peers and my community. I miss Washington D.C.!
Here is few pictures that I took during the trip. Enjoy =D
불체자에 운전면허증 부여
http://www.koreatimes.com/article/560573
패트릭 주지사, 주민과 같은 등록금 허용 등
131가지 추천안 포함 서류미비자 혜택 발표
드벌 패트릭 매사추세츠 주지사는 17일 불법 이민자들에게 주어질 혜택에 관한 보고서를 발표했다. 모두 131가지의 추천안을 포함하고 있는 “New American Agenda”라고 명명된 이 보고서는 매쓰 주내에 거주하고 있는 서류 미비 이민자들에게 운전면허증을 부여하고 주립대학에 입학할 경우 주민과 같은 금액의 등록금을 내도록 허용하는 내용, 그리고 외국 출생의 이민자들에게 영어 클래스를 제공하는 내용 등을 골자로 하고 있다.
이 보고서는 패트릭 주지사의 발의로 작년부터 올해 초까지 이민자 옹호단체들과 가졌던 공청회에서 제기되었던 가장 큰 이슈들에 대한 해결책들을 포함하고 있다. 보고서는 작년 7월부터 모두 26만 달러의 예산을 들여 용역을 의뢰한 가운데 매쓰 주 서부의 스프링필드로부터 보스턴에 인접한 첼시까지 이민자 거주 지역을 대상으로 모두 1,200명의 서류미비 이민자들을 인터뷰 한 결과를 바탕으로 작성되었다. 그러나 패트릭 주지사가 이번 보고서에 발표된 추천안을 즉각 수용할 지에 대해서는 아직 확실하지 않다.
사실 이날 발표된 보고서도 이미 지난 7월에 완성된 것인데 4달여를 가지고 있다가 이날 발표한 것이었다. 카일 설리반 주지사 대변인은 90일 이내에 구체적인 시행여부가 결정될 것이라고 밝혔다. 패트릭 주지사는 이날 보고서를 발표하는 자리에서 “매사추세츠 주의 주지사로서 여러분들은 앞으로 우리 주는 물론 미국 전체의 이익에 대한 이민자 정책 개혁 과정에서 나오게 될 여론에 도움이 될 수 있기를 바란다”고 밝혔다. 주지사 직속기구인 망명자 및 이민자 대책위원회의 웨스티 에그몬트 보좌관은 “우리는 이민자 문제에 관해서 논쟁할 것이 아니라 장기적인 국가이익에 관한 관점에서 구체적인 정책적 결정이 이루어지도록 힘을 모아야 할 것”이라고 밝혔다.
패트릭 주지사는 주 전체 인구의 14퍼센트에 해당하는 91만 2,310명의 이민자들에 대해 호의적인 제스추어를 취해 왔지만 대표적인 예로 서류미비 이민자들에게 주민 주립대 등록금을 적용시키는 안건에 대해서 충분한 로비를 하지 않았다는 이유로 이민자들을 실망시킨 바 있다. 매사추세츠 주의 이민자 구성은 캘리포니아 또는 텍사스와는 다르다. 전체 이민자의 4분의 1이상이 석사학위 이상의 교육을 받은 사람들이다. 그러나 전체의 43퍼센트는 자신이 영어를 잘
말하지 못한다고 답한 것으로 나타났다. 이번 권고안 중에는 전문적인 교육을 받은 이민자가 본국에서 받은 경력증명서 등을 인정해 주자는 항목도 있었다.
이럴 경우 공립학교에는 외국어를 하는 교직 경력자를 다중언어 보조교사 등으로 활용할 수 있는 길이 열리게 되며, 기술 특허 등의 소지자가 매쓰 주에서 창업할 경우 은행융자를 받는 길을 열어주어 보다 많은 투자를 유치할 수도 있게 된다. 그러나 반대의 소리도 일고 있다.
이민 반대론자들은 이미 심각한 지경에 이르고 있는 주 정부 예산적자 문제를 고려할 때 서류미비 이민자들에 대해 주민과 같은 주립대 등록금을 적용해 주는 것은 불공평하다는 반응을 보이고 있다. 운전면허에 대해서도 만약 매사추세츠 주가 불법 이민자들에게 정식 면허증을 발부하게 된다면 이는 연방정부의 “리얼 아이디 법안”을 뒤엎는 결과가 된다는 반응이 나오고 있다. 이 보고서의 권고안은 주지사 선거가 있는 내년도에 의회를 통과해 주지사가 서명하는 과정을 거치게 되면 법으로의 시행여부가 결정되게 된다. <박성준 기자>
Robert Erickson punks Tea Party The Full Story HD
This speech exposed the hypocrisy of the white supremacist, racist & xenophobic rhetoric of the right-wing extremists, who use dangerous imagery to frame the immigration debate.
We are not criminals
Recently, I read several comments on my blog entries. I found several negative comments that caught my attention. Some of the comments were extremely disturbing, hateful, and racist.
One of the comments said, Ju: I don’t understand. You willfully overstayed your visa. You violated the law, and committed a crime by you own admission. You are displaying bad manners and making thing worse for other Koreans who wish to “visit” the USA. I have no sympathy or respect for someone like you.
Other comment said, “What are you waiting for? Get the fuck out of here, faggot. Stop whining. Just leave and come back when you’re ready to do it the right way.
I wasn’t surprised due to the fact that I received these kinds of hateful comments on my entries. In fact, this is similar arguments that other anti-immigrant people claimed over again, again, and again. The criticism, which is I violated the law and committed a crime for these following reasons: overstayed visa and displaying bad manners to people who wish to visit the USA. These are the main arguments that I received from the critics time to time, but there is no strong content, facts, examples, or even statistics to back it up the arguments.
Before I tackle these arguments, I just want to say that I truly respect the law of this country, and always will. One of the arguments they claimed was that I violated the law and committed a crime because my visa had expired. This is a blunt argument without knowing any facts or background check. Obviously, there is a clear misconception of this argument. The truth is there are thousands of undocumented students who came to this country when we were young, without knowing about our immigration status. Most of them brought here by their parents at a very young age, as young as 1 or 2 year old. We had no choice but to follow our parent’s decision. Ever since then, we grew up here and hope to contribute back to the society. We speak perfect English, follow by the rule, and show great respect for our country. Matter of fact, we pay taxes too! One research show that the average of undocumented student’s GPA is 3.8, which is an outstanding academic performance. Also, most of the undocumented students graduate from high school with honors and served thousands of hours in the community. So what makes us perceived as criminals? How can you say we committed a crime when our only desire is to give back to our peers and the community? How can you say we violated the law when we brought here at the very young age without knowing anything about our immigration status? How can you say such things like go back to our own country when we grew up this country almost entire life? The facts and statistics are clear, we are not criminals. We are Americans.
The other argument was that I’m displaying “bad” manners (?) to people who wish to visit the USA. As you can clearly see that it doesn’t make sense at all. How do I display “bad” manners to people who wish to visit the USA? Are they trying to say that I’m cutting a line for immigrants to get in the USA? I truly understand how difficult for other immigrants who wish to come here. However, it has nothing to do with us. It’s rather serious matter of our broken immigration system. If we fix our current immigration system, we can help not only people who wish to come to the U.S., but also we can help 12 million undocumented immigrants who are denied basic rights. That is why we need to find possible solution to solve broken immigration system. Again, I will repeat that it has nothing to do with undocumented students. As I mentioned it before, these undocumented students brought here by our parents without knowing about immigration status. They grew up here just like normal kids and they followed by the rule. Maria Elena Durazo once said, “They (undocumented students) have done what society has asked of them: they have worked hard, studied hard, and have obtained educational success in spite of tremendous obstacles. Now it is society’s turn to do the right thing.” Like I said, we didn’t have a choice when we were young, we simply brought here by our parents. So instead of blaming on 12 million undocumented immigrants, we need to find possible solution and fix the broken immigration system in a logical way. Of course, we have to pay the fine, learn how to speak English, and respect the law of this country. We are simply demanding for a chance to be legalized in this country. We must pass comprehensive immigration now!
Remember, we are a nation of immigrants.
Their Future Is Ours
New York Times article
Published Nov. 16. 2009
There are 16 million children in immigrant families in the United States, one of the fastest-growing segments of the population. It’s an old American story made new in the age of globalization, when waves of human displacement in recent decades have led to immigration on a scale not seen since Ellis Island. But a country that has been so good for so long at integrating new Americans is stumbling under the challenge.
That is the conclusion of Professors Marcelo and Carola Suárez-Orozco, fellows at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and co-directors of immigration studies at New York University. They have done basic research in immigration for more than 20 years, five of them studying 400 children from China, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Central America and Mexico.
The results of their research, released this month, show the stark effects of what Marcelo Suárez-Orozco calls “the age of global vertigo.” Dislocation breeds a host of difficulties, starting with family separation. Nearly half of the children in their sample had at some point lost contact with one or both parents, either through migration directly or through divorce or death. The absent parent was most often the father for long stretches or permanently. For 49 percent of the Central American children, separations lasted more than five years.
The children from separated families were, perhaps unsurprising, more likely to show signs of depression. Those symptoms were often accompanied by poverty, isolation and — despite an early period of hopefulness and engagement — a downward academic slide. Immigrant children lagged in mastering standard academic English, the passport to college and to brighter futures. Whereas native-born children’s language skills follow a bell curve, immigrants’ children were crowded in the lower ranks: More than three-quarters of the sample scored below the 85th percentile in English proficiency.
There is clearly a need for policies and programs to support immigrant parents and children, but the reality is as haphazard and tenuous as these children’s lives often are. Millions are growing up in mixed families, with some members here illegally, others not. Bills to help immigrant families with a path to legalization have died repeatedly in Congress, and small-scale reforms like the Dream Act, a path to college or the military for children of illegal immigrants have been stymied for years. New investments in language education, citizenship preparation and after-school and preschool programs have been derailed by economic crisis, harsh immigration politics and a general lack of attention.
This is the great challenge that is forgotten in the heat of the immigration debate. The children of immigrants are Americans. “They” are “us,” a cohort of newcomers who will be filling the demographic void left as the baby boomers start fading away. Their future is our country’s future. The job of integrating them is not only unfinished but in many critical ways has hardly begun.
Your hope is in God
“I will keep on hoping for you to help me; I will praise you more and more. I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power. For I am overwhelmed by how much you have done for me.” – Psalm 71:14 – 15 NLT
God, I want to put you first in my life. Keep your hand on me and don’t let me stray from your will, for you are the source of my hope.
Rescue by Desperation Band
탈무드 – 가문 자랑
옛날에 가문이 좋은 여우와 천한 집안에 태어난 여우가 길에서 만났다. 가문이 좋은 여우와 천한 태생의 여우가 어디 있냐고 의아하게 생각해서는 안 된다. 정말로 핏줄이 좋은 인간이나 나쁜 인간이라는 것도 있을 턱이 없으니까.
아무튼 전통 있는 가문의 여우 도령은 또 한 마리의 여우에게 자기 집안을 자랑하였다.
그러자 또 한 마이의 여우가 대답했다.
“너의 집안은 너 하나로 끝이 나지만, 우리집안은 나로부터 시작된다네. 나는 살아가는 방법이 중요한다는 걸 알고 있기 깨문일세.”
Interview with Prerna Lal
What’s your theory of change regarding immigration reform? How do
you think we can make real change happen?
My theory of changing the course of immigration system is to pressure Senate and President Obama to pass the DREAM Act as well as comprehensive immigration reform. I believe that this is only way to solve our solution because our representatives are the one who make ultimate decision. So it’s really up to us how hard we can pressure Senate and President Obama to pass the DREAM Act.
However, this is not going to be easy. It takes time and dedication. There are several ways to pressure Senate and President Obama to make real change happen. One way is to educate other people and the community by having a workshop or a mini conference to bring social awareness and urge them to call and send letters to representatives. Second, share your story. You can always share your story in school, church, or local community to educate people about our side of story. Third, join organizations and clubs to advocate about this issue. Last but not least, embrace online blogs like FaceBook, Myspace, Wordpress, and Twitter to reach out people and encourage them to support the DREAM Act. These are the several tactics that we can work on for the next few months because it can bring awareness about the DREAM Act and pressure senate and president Obama to be on our side. In short, we must come together and start to organize, mobilize, and take collective action to fix our current immigration reform. That’s the only way to make real change happen.
2. What initially led you to get involved in immigration activism?
I knew I had to do something when my mother and my sister were struggling to live here without any support. My mother was losing her job. On the other hand, my sister was dropping out of college. Every day, our situations were getting worse and I knew I didn’t have time to wait and wishing for politicians to do something. That’s when I initially get involved in immigration activism. First year in college, I began to join different organizations and participated in different activities to advocate about this issue. I spoke in various workshops and gave speeches to local community and local churches.
3. What has inspired you to come out and be so open about your status,
especially since most DREAMIEs who are speaking out publicly tend to
be fighting deportation?
I, too, just like any other undocumented students, afraid to come out from the shadow. But there are several reasons why I decided to come out and speak on behalf of undocumented students. First, I wanted to bring social awareness and educate other people about our tough situation. Secondly, I wanted to reach out organizations and other DREAMERS to build momentum and social network. Thirdly, I wanted to show examples and encourage other DREAMERS to come out from the shadow and share their stories. Lastly, foremost important reason why I decided to come out is because this issue affects my mom, my sister, and me. So I don’t want to just sit down and wait for another decade wishing for DREAM Act as well as Comprehensive immigration reform to be pass. It is certainly challenging and risky to come out from the shadow and speak out, but I believe this is only way to gain our rights and ultimately we will overcome our struggles.
4. What do you say to those who ask you to go back to Korea?
It’s devastating when I people say such a things like this, especially when I hear from Korean American citizens. In fact, I had couple of Korean friends who asked me to go back to Korea. I was angry and I felt like I was betrayed by my Korean friends, but I knew they didn’t know about my whole side of the story. So next time when other people ask me to go back to Korea, I would tell them to listen to our side of story first before they make a judgment call.
5. Your message for other undocumented students.
For the next couple of months, we must come out from the comfort zone and urgently work together to pass the DREAM Act as well as Comprehensive immigration reform. This is our only chance! So please, I urge you guys to start organize, mobilize, and take collective actions in local, state, and national wide to reach our DREAMS! The time is our golden key to pass the DREAM Act, so we must take direction actions starting today!
앞으로 울고 싶어지면 동전을 보거라
앞으로 울고 싶어지면 동전을 보거라.
동전의 앞과 뒤가 갈듯이, 슬픔도 기쁨도 사실을 별다를 게 없단다.
이쪽이 슬픔이라고 정하면 슬픔이 되고, 저쪽이 기쁨이라고 생각하면 곧 기쁨이다.
살아가면서 슬픔을 아주 안 만날 재간은 없겠지.
중요한 건 슬픔 속에서 기쁨을 찾아내려는 마음가짐이란다.
초창인의 <길> 중에서
