We immigrants who cross the border from the south are depicted as two-dimensional creatures who overrun your country. But this is not who we are. We are humans leaving our own countries. Sure you sometimes specify us as Mexicans, Hondurans, or Haitians, but always in a way that neglects our personal histories back home. A Guatemalan man who enters the country without documents seems to suddenly pop into existence upon crossing the southern border. The fact that he is an indigenous Mayan fleeing military persecution--which the U.S. has historically funded--disappears in the eyes of many of you "Americans" who accuse him of unlawfully invading your territory.
Beyond your borders are all those countries where us "immigrants" aren't yet immigrants, but citizens in our native lands . We, the same people who come here as unwanted strangers are only perceived of as invading homes, never as leaving behind our own homes, families and friends.
We are experts of of our own histories. Each of us have a unique life story that is a piece of the greater struggle of us all. We come from many places--South and Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean--and when we end up here, we bring our stories with us . To your country we come as mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, grandmothers, grandfathers, lovers, friends, and more.
To your country we say, enough! Know us before you see us, judge us, and resist us! Silence us no more , for our stories must be heard, seen, and felt! These are our testimonios!
