Research on US Immigration Policy

I don't know much on the US Immigration Policy, but I do know that it has become even more difficult for people to come in this country legally and in a timely manner. Most of the paperwork that it takes to come in legally has become very expensive,unaffordable for people, and difficult because in many cases you need to have a legit reason for coming into the country. In which case people would rather cross illegally into the country. Paying a coyote may be expensive as well, but the process most of the time is much quicker and you don't really need a legit and authorized reason to come in.

The US Immigration policy is very complex and difficult to understand. According to the INA (Immigrant and Naturalization Act) only a limit of 675,000 permanent residents can be allowed with exceptions to close family members. Immigration is based on the following principles: reunification of families, admitting those valuable to the US economy, protecting refugees, and promoting diversity. (This part I find ironic because certain acts and laws being passed in certain states don't seem to apply well to this because many Americans seem intimidated by diversity and it almost seems as if the US wants to push that away rather than accept it).

 Family-Based Immigration allows US Citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents to bring certain family members into the United States. There are 480,000 family visas available each year. Family members must be either immediate or fit under the category of the family preference system. There is no limit on the number of visas given out for immediate members. Some immediate family members would include spouses, unmarried minor children of US Citizens, and parents of US Citizens. For family members under the Family Preference system the limit of visas must not be below 23,400 by law.

I can personally relate to this because me and my husband are currently in this process. I am petitioning for him to receive legal permanent resident status and citizenship. This process is difficult on so many levels, the only relief I feel is that he is here on a work permit and that he is considered an immediate family member. But as a student you can just imagine how difficult it must be to afford this. My husband is the only one that works while I go to school. We struggled to get him on a work permit and differed action ($465 dollars) so imagine how much more difficult it is going to be for us to afford this process. Currently to petition for him it is $420 then the visa process is a little over $500 and the waiver is another $300-$400 dollars and if you get a lawyer then it is roughly another $4000 dollars.

This nice thing now about this process is that family members can now apply for the waiver inside the United States, but you still have to leave the country and wait for a court date and this can take anywhere from one month to years depending on your case (This is what I am afraid of because I don't think I can sustain myself here alone without my husband). The waiver is basically a pardon you ask for for coming into the country illegally and all you can do is hope that they grant you that pardon. If they don't you are basically kicked out of the country for 10 years. In my case my husband was brought here as a minor so you would think that this wouldn't apply to him because a minor can't really consent to crossing the border, but what most people don't know is that once that child turns 18 from that point and on they begin to accumulate unlawful presence. When it becomes really difficult is when you have more than one year of unlawful presence anything before that eases the process and the 10 year punishment. My husband is going to be 23 so technically he has accrued 5 years of unlawful presence.

Now you may ask, but why didn't he just go back to his country when he turned 18? Well, it is not that easy. First of all you need money to travel back and we can barely afford ourselves traveling back would be a burden on us financially. When you are raised most of your life in one country, speak the language, graduate, and make a life here this country suddenly becomes your home and any family members that you may have in your native country may not know you and vice versa. Like the book Crossing the Wire, you get lost because your native country is strange and new. You were never raised there and life is different than what it was in the United States. Just imagine being sent back to a country your ancestors are from, but that you never visited or lived for a sufficient amount of time. Like Britain, Ireland, Asia, Africa etc.? I was born in Lynwood, California and my whole family is Mexican, but the last time I went to Mexico I was 10 years old if I remember correctly. Even if my family has tried to keep our Mexican culture alive after so many years of having been over there I guess you could argue that I would do just fine in Mexico and maybe I would, but my life is here. I was born here, this US culture is part of my life, I am used to living here, so if I were sent back to Mexico I would have a difficult time adjusting. Not so much on the culture aspect of it, but on the currency, perhaps a bit on the language, the school system and so much more because I was never raised there. Nevertheless, the US Immigration policy is a complicated process and I am praying that we can make the process easier and much smoother in the nearer future.

Review of crossing the wire

When I first knew we were going to read this book I couldn't wait because I knew it was something that I could relate to. Perhaps not personally because I was born in Los Angeles, California but my parents, husband, in-laws all went through something similar to this. A lot of the stuff I read about in this book I was already familiar with like the journey, the desert, and the struggle. What I didn't know was exactly how bad the corn business was over in Mexico. It was sad to hear how Mexico's corn was worth basically nothing because Mexico was instead buying Corn from the States because it was cheaper and how the maquiladoras were closing to move to China because people work for less. Its not understandable how countries are doing international business and moving their business across seas while leaving people without jobs in their own country. I feel very strongly about this topic because I am Mexican and I very well could have been born into this situation because I am part if the first generation of my family to have been in the States. I feel that sometimes people take this topic the wrong way they see as a 'what's mine and what's yours' for example sayings such as "go back to your own country", " you are not American", " We are in America speak English" or my absolute favorite " they are taking away our jobs." None of these make sense to me because the States was built on immigrants if any one has the right to say something ig is the Native Americans who were already here before anyone else. Because if many of us has the privilege of living in the states it is because our ancestors migrated here seeking opportunities and a better life so why what the Mexicans doing any different. I know that if the States was a poor country with no jobs or ways to make money I would do anything to help my family out even crossing into countries illegaly. Not everyone can get a visa either because there is no money or chances of getting approved are slim. Also, one us taking away jobs if anything they are jobs that most people don't want. I know for sure I am not cut out to work in factories or the fields.
In the book I also noticed how a young man basically raised in the United States was deported to Mexico, but being there he was completely lost. He hardly spoke Spanish and didn't know anyone or currency system. Just imagine you don't have documentation (even if generations of your family has been here, think about where your ancestors are from) now what if you were sent back to that country that you have never been to, how would you feel? I don't think we should be seperating families or making it hard for people who just want to work and survive to come here, the people we should be focusing on are smugglers etc. Isn't the States the Land of Opportunity, isn't that what it is known as, so why now all of a sudden we want to take that away from others. If thanks to our ancestors we are here. If other groups of people had that privilege to come here why shouldn't another group be able to benefit from that as well.

Review of SOLD

This was probably one of the most saddest stories I have read in a very long time. The moment I started reading this book I was surprised at so many things. Not only were the living conditions in which Lakshmi lived surprising, but the family structure and roles. The stepfather was a no good, lazy, not worth anything, drunk, gambling kind of guy who didn't care about anyone, but himself. The mother on the other hand not only supported her family and took care of them, but she would basically bow and kneel at the feet of her husband and yet he was ungrateful dumb-ass (for lack of a better word). I still couldn't understand how the mother would tell her daughter Lakshmi that having a man in the house despite his behavior is better than no man at all.

There was a point in the story that I felt like slapping the stepfather when he talked about the difference between a son and a daughter. He basically compared a girl to a goat saying that basically all they were good for was for providing and nothing else. This idea was also confirmed by the mother when she said that a son is breastfed for four years while a daughter is only breastfed for a season in hopes of trying to conceive a boy. With this you can see that women aren't valued as much as men and there is a gender inequity.

As I continued reading the book I highlighted so many things because Lakshmi was so good at describing her surroundings and feelings once she was sold by her stepfather and brought into this human trafficking business under deception. I was literally able to feel what she was feeling and put myself in her shoes. All I remember thinking is that I wanted her to escape and be freed as soon as possible. I wanted police or some sort of help to come to stop that lowlife of Mumtaz. How could a woman do this to another girl or woman? I just didn't understand.  Of course Lakshmi made friends with some of the girls there which made it a bit easier to bear this cruelty, but as they started to disappear you can see how Lakshmi was starting to feel even more and more alone.

It was also disappointing to hear that Monica--one of the girls at the Happiness House who had returned home-- was rejected by her family. She thought that after helping them so much with medicine and surgeries etc. that they would be grateful and take her back, but instead they begged her not to because she would shame their family and her father beat her with a cane. And to top it all of they told her daughter that she was dead. That right there was heartless and cruel especially when the family are the ones that sell these children in the first place. I wish I could strangle them all, it makes me so angry that there are people out in this world doing these things to other people. There are no words to describe this sort of act. 

I saw how after everything she experienced trust became an issue for her. When the American men came and asked her questions and would leave and pay just to talk, she was wondering whether to believe them or not since she already did that once and this is where it led her to. Eventually, she believed and waited for their return. Once the American men came back she was saved and hopefully taken to a much better place.

The only two things that I probably enjoyed in the book were her rescue at the end of the book and her relationship with her pet goat at the beginning of the book. Those were the only times where I felt she was truly happy.

Human Trafficking in Nepal and India

The Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) compiled by the US State Department rates Nepal as Tier 2, the explanation of which is that the government does not meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Human trafficking is basically exploitation of people in multiple ways. Either for sexual purposes or forced labor through the use of abduction or deception.

Nepali victims are trafficked within Nepal, to India, the Middle East, and other areas such as Malaysia and forced to become prostitutes, domestic servants, beggars, factory workers, mine workers, circus performers, child soldiers, and others. With as many as 5,000-10,000 women and girls trafficked to India alone each year.

 Mainly young girls and women are trafficked for sexual exploitation in places such as cabin/dance restaurants, other places within tourism sector, or massage parlors. Some women at these places entered to do sex-work voluntarily and some began that way but were forced to stay.

An estimated 100,000-200,000 Nepali trafficked persons are in India so it is one of the busiest routes of human trafficking. Nepali girls are especially desirable as prostitutes in India because they are considered more attractive due to their lighter skin color, and because Nepali virgins are believed to be able to cure AIDS. The border is pretty wide making it easy for this to happen and both Nepali and Indians can come and go as they please because of the peace treaty. Experts believe China is also becoming an emerging hub for Nepali victims.

After finding out all this research on human trafficking I am appalled. I can't believe how this is happening right this moment and in this century. What is even more shocking is that this is happening right here in the United States and many other developed countries. Being a female myself I can't imagine what it would be like to be born into that or to be in that kind of situation. I would probably feel hopeless, frustrated, and screaming at the top of my lungs preferring to die than to live. I know that drug cartels and human trafficking is sometimes the only source some people have to survive and being human we are probably willing to do anything in order to make that happen, but what confuses me and I can't wrap my head around is how can someone do something like this to someone else. If we put aside all circumstances we are still all human so how can you not feel compassion towards someone else on a human level. To do something like this is to have a cold heart and it's not being human, but a monster.

Please let's all work together to make this stop. It may not be something we want to hear, but we have to hear it and do something about it. 

Research on Nepal

 The People
I would like to start off with a few interesting facts about Nepal. Nepal has it's own calendar and their new year is around the middle of April. They also consider cows to be sacred so you can not touch them or point a foot at them. Also, personal privacy is not common so to spend time alone is unheard of.
Language
Their official language is an Indo-Aryan tongue related to Hindi, almost 48 percent speak Nepali, but most prefer to speak in their native language. There are about 20 to 100 different languages spoken in Nepal. Some of  those include Maithili and Newar. English is also spoken in urban areas and considered the language of instruction and represents better education and status.
Religion 
 81 percent are Hindu, 11 percent Buddhists (Buddhism was abolished), 4 percent is Kirant, 4 percent is Muslim, and less then 1 percent are Christians.
Population
Nepal is comprised of Tibeto-burmese groups who migrated from the north or east. They are Gurung, Magar, Rai, Limbu, Thakali, and Sherpa, among others. Also, Newar and Tharu as well as Indians and Tibetans. Kathmandu has more than one million residents with half of the population lives in the Terai. Most like to live near water sources with some groups shifting from place to place to take advantage of varying climates. Others travel to India for jobs, supplies, and to trade. More than 800,000 Nepalese live abroad.

In Nepal there was a caste system that first was introduced by Hinduism and became law. The different castes are determined by religion and ethnicity. The first caste were the Khas people (Hindu religion and Indo-Aryan ethnicity). The next two castes were people of other ethnicities and religions. And the last caste were Hindus which are viewed as untouchable which was partly determined by occupation. In the 1900's it was abolished, but the upper caste dominate the political system.
General Attitudes 
Nepalese are very religious, family oriented, and modest any rebellion from tradition or caste are frowned upon. Incidents are fate or Karma. They believe that ghosts, evil spirits, witches, and a bad positions of the planets are bad luck and can cause disease, crop failures, and accidents so flowers and and food is offered to pacify the spirits and sometimes a rooster or male goat is sacrificed.
 Attire
 Men wear Western clothing and only on special occasions do they dress traditionally. Traditional clothing is comprised of daura surwal (tight, thin cotton pants and a flowing knee-length cotton tunic). Women wear a sari (long, colorful wraparound dress) and cholo (blouse). Most women wear gold jewelry; some wear nose rings. Married women of Tibetan background wear a bhaku (wraparound jumper) and a colorful apron. Unmarried women wear kurta surwal (colorful pants, tight from the calves down, with a matching knee-length tunic), also called punjabi. Married Hindu women wear a red tika (made from vermilion powder) on their foreheads and vermilion powder in the part of their hair to signify their husbands are alive. Widows do not wear the tika, powder, jewelry, or colorful clothing.

Customs and Courtesies 
Namaste is the most common greeting and parting gesture. A person places the palms together (fingers up) in front of the chest or chin and says Namaste or Namaskar for elders. Men then grasp (not shake) right hands and then clasp it in the left. You also don't Namaste a child unless they do it first. In urban areas you address people by their titles otherwise you address by using terms such as dai (older brother), didi (older sister), bhai (younger brother), and bahini (younger sister).

 It is rude to touch another person's head or shoulders. Men do not touch women in public. But, members of the same sex may publicly express friendship by walking arm in arm or holding hands. One never points the bottom of the foot at another person or uses it to move objects.Pointing with a finger is impolite. Only the right hand is used in gestures, eating, or handling objects.Nepalese do not whistle inside a home or at night, as it is thought to attract spirits. Winking at someone of the opposite sex is vulgar.When passing a temple, a stupa (Buddhist shrine), or a banyan tree, a person will walk around it (if necessary) to keep it on one's right.

Education
Primary school begins at age three. Students are roughly 16 years old when they enter grade 10. At the end of grade 10, students take an exam called the School Leaving Certification (SLC). Grades 11 and 12 are available and are considered upper-secondary levels. After grade 12, students can choose to continue their education or begin a career. Rural areas often do not have enough schools or teachers, and students may have to walk miles to school. Rural girls generally leave school before age 12 to care for younger siblings or to work on the family farm and marriage is considered more important. Education is free, but students must purchase their won books, supplies, and uniforms. English is the language of instruction, technology is rare, and teaching authoritative and instruction is largely memorization. Teachers also have the ability to use physical punishments.

Museum Display

Review of Kampung Boy

Before reading the Kampung Boy I wasn't really sure what to expect because I didn't really know much about Malays or Malaysia for that matter.And after doing some research on Malaysia it was a bit unclear to me what culture the book would be about because Malaysia consists of people of different ethnicities and backgrounds. Nevertheless, before Kampung Boy I hadn't read many graphic novels or books. The illustrations weren't all that beautiful in my opinion, but they were funny. I especially thought it was funny the way his mom's angry expression was illustrated. It kind of made me laugh because it was something we could all relate to. I am sure there were plenty of times where our mother's would get angry and that's how we thought our mother looked like that.

I am Mexican, but have grown up basically all my life around American culture so as I was reading the book I was comparing it to what I know of both my American and Mexican cultures. Some discoveries I made were mostly on the differences in traditions and customs. Apparently, in Malaysia women would give birth at home and once they had the baby her recovery time was a time of taboo and the baby nor the mother were allowed to leave the house for some time. That's different to how women give birth here, usually it takes place in a hospital and there aren't really any restrictions on leaving home. Another thing I found interesting, but relatable was the shaving of the baby. Some Hispanics also have a tradition of shaving a baby's head in the first few months.  Both my sister-in-laws have done it and they say it's so that the baby either grows more hair, comes out thicker, or even. I personally don't think that's true because genetics plays a huge part in hair texture and how much you have and also because much of it is baby hair anyways. I truly don't know if there is some real meaning behind it. Also, when the father first took Kampung Boy to school he handed over a cane to his teacher and gave him permission to discipline his son if he misbehaves and to treat him as he was his very own. I thought that was interesting because if we did that here we would be in big trouble, but it didn't surprise me because my parents have told me a lot about this custom that they had in Mexico. Teachers would either smack you with a stick or pull your ears. They would treat you like their own because I guess it was their responsibility to discipline and teach you while under their supervision.

As I came upon the part in the book where the young boys undergoes circumcision, I was surprised that it was done at a much later age because I have heard that it is typically done when the baby is born. In the book it also seemed to be an event that involved the whole community.I wish the book would have gone into more detail on that tradition the Malays have as well as others mentioned in the book. I did see however that education is very important to their culture and that they go through things that we go through as well and that are relatable. For example, it seemed to me that the father not only emphasized how important school was, but it also looked like he was also having trouble letting go of his son. Before, his son would await his arrival to be with him, but kampung boy now had his own friends and was spending more time outside with them than with his dad. I thought it was sad to hear near the end of the book that tin might be found in their village and that would change everything and affect the people. The reason why I thought it was sad is because Kampung boy grew up his whole life there and there seemed to be a sense of community and family with everyone in the village. It gave me a sneak peak to how sometimes countries focus a lot of profit, industry, and not enough on what really matters. Those above us seemed to be driven more by ambition and don't care who they have to step on along the way to get there. I would have really liked to know what happened to the village and the people, but overall I enjoyed reading the book and being able to put an illustration to the novel. 

Research on Malaysia

 A Little of Malaysia's History
Malaysia is  a federal constitution monarchy in Asia. Malaysia had been conquered by many other civilizations including the British and the Portuguese and they didn't gain their independence until 1957 when the British granted it to them. Malaysia is comprised of thirteen states and three federal territories. Some recent events in Malaysia have been the reelection of Razak and his governing coalition in May 2013. Razak favors the Malays in land purchases, university admissions, and bank loans. Another recent event was the flight disappearance on March 8, 2014 that disappeared while in route to Beijing, China with 239 people on board.

 Religion
Religion in Malaysia is usually tied to ethnicity. The official religion is Islam and about 60  percent is Muslim. They believe in Allah, devote through the five pillars of Islam and pray numerous times throughout the day. 90 percent of the Chinese are Buddhist. Indians generally Hindu (6 percent), Christian (9 percent) or Sikh.

General Attitudes
General attitudes Malaysians have is that success, failure, opportunities, or misfortune are fate or the will of God. Those influenced by Western ideals believe that they result from education or hard work. The government encourages traditional "Asian values" which typically means to put the needs of  the community before one's own needs. Asian countries tend to be more community based and not individualized. Status is determined by property and background. There are still a lot of ethnic tensions between the different ethnic groups in Malaysia.

Attire
Urban residents are influenced by Western style clothing, but both rural and urban residents tend to mix traditional clothing with Western clothing. Like many Muslims, men wear a black velvet cap (songkok) on Friday and women wear head covers, veils, and long dresses or a long shirt made of Batik fabric--quite expensive, but encouraged to wear in order to support the economy.

Greetings and Courtesies
Men shake hands or greet with a bow or nod. When they greet a friend they use both hands to grasp the hand of the other. Women on the other hand greet elderly people with verbal greetings. People of opposite sex never shake hands because it is part of the religion. Some greetings are Selamat pagi- good morning or Al-salam 'alaykum- peace be upon you in more formal situations. Chinese greet with Tze pau le ma- Have you eaten? and Indians with Namaste or Vanakam.How people are addressed depends on their ethnicity and religion. Christians may have a Christian name, Malays are called by their first name, Chinese are addressed by their family name, and Indians address elders as "uncle" or "aunt".

Malaysians tend to bow as an "excuse me" non verbal sign. It is not polite to point fingers or beckon adults. Beckoning is done by waving all fingers with the palm faced down. Gifts must be given and received using both hands. The left hand is considered unclean because it is reserved for personal hygiene. They can't use their feet to move things or point at something and it is impolite to touch another person's head because it is considered the most sacred part of a person's body. You must also cover your mouth while yawning or using a toothpick and public display of affection is inappropriate.

 Visiting
Visiting is done mostly like here, except that for many Muslim states the weekend is on Thursday and Friday. Being punctual is also not so important since people are expected to value people more than schedules. When visiting one must remove our shoes when entering a home and hosts normally serve guests tea or coffee and treats. Drinks must also be received with both hands and guests are not expected to bring gifts unless they are for the children.

Eating
Forms of eating depends on ethnic backgrounds. Guests are usually served first and get to eat first and it is impolite to leave food on the plate. Placing chopsticks or drops of one's drink can indicate that one is finished with the meal.

Marriage
Family is extremely valued in Malaysia. Young married couples tend to live near their parents and unmarried adults live with their parents until they marry. Rural families tend to live with more than one generation and tend to be very large. Dating usually begins around age 17 or 18 and marriage is seen as a joining of two families not just two people.

Birth
Traditions marking birth for Malays is having the dad rub the baby's mouth with a white cloth so that they may always speak the truth, the placenta is buried, and a party is held 44 days after. For the Chinese the mother does not cleanse or leave the house for several weeks after birth as well as the Indians. Most traditions are ethnic based.

Sports
Soccer is the most popular sport as well as many other common activities done in Western countries. Music and dance are prominent and Batik is a popular handcraft. Holidays include the birthday of the monarch the first Saturday in June. The Chinese New Year is in January or February, Ramadan etc.

Education
Education is considered the key to social status and success. Six years of primary and three years of secondary are given. An exam follows to determine whether a student may continue school for two more years or in a trade school. Malay is the main language of instruction, but Chinese and Indians may attend schools with their own native language.