The dreams of Immigration and the harsh realities of Immigration Essay

The dreams of Immigration and the harsh realities of Immigration Itself - Essay Example The story explores immigration and its impact on people’s lives. Early man migrated from continent to continent in search of food, Balboa and Florinda migrated to the Northernish Empire for work. Crosthwaite uses many techniques to illustrate the parallel struggles of 14th century Latin America in comparison to 21st century Latin and North America, which is where the focus will remain. These struggles are comparative to all different cultures, through the adversities of immigration. The struggles for most immigrants merely begin with the concept of being accepted and understood. Moving from one country to another is a very scary and exciting thing. Even in the current culture that we live in, we are judgmental of others merely based on the color of their skin, as Florinda experienced when Balboa took her to the hospital in their first meeting (Crosthwaite, p 12). This is further disheartening considering that Balboa lost his job because of his meeting and helping Florinda. Thi s is only the beginning of the fears and anxieties that immigrants feel. Leaving behind everything they have known, friends, family, life itself for a dream instills an extraordinary fear. Although they know in their hearts and souls that what they are doing is for the best, it is still difficult to take this action because of the overwhelming fears involved. The fears that immigrants have when it comes to migrating to another country are only exacerbated by the people that they encounter both on the journey and upon arrival. How quickly the people forget that they, too, descended from immigrants looking for a better life in the Northernish Empire. It is not often that people migrate from one country to another for the sole purpose of the journey and the excitement of it. Often, the migration of people from one country to another develops over time. It generally begins when a country needs additional labor forces. Then, the laborer comes to, as an example, the U.S. through a guest w orker program. This allows the migrant worker to come and go freely across the border to work. Although work is a primary reason for many people to migrate, it depends on each individuals â€Å"characteristics and vary from person to person and place to place† (Rodriquez-Scott, 2002). Although the key reason for most people to migrate to another country is work, there are those that migrate for love, the dream of a better life, a better world, education and alienation. In â€Å"The Moon Will Forever Be a Distant Love†, Florinda and Balboa come together out of love and move out of necessity. They head to the Northernish Empire so Balboa can find work. This is a true parallel to the current influx of migrant workers from Mexico, but also other countries around the globe. The two flee together in love, but soon discover that their differences are stark. It begins with Florinda questioning Balboa’s religious beliefs, where they disagree and Florinda keeps at Balboa demanding a different answer than the one she keeps getting (Crosthwaite, p 50), and continues to the eventual end of the relationship. This parallel is a similar issue with immigrants to the U.S. as well. Although the U.S. is considered a melting pot, it still realizes promotion of illegal immigration and racism on a daily basis. In 2001, Tyson Foods Inc. recruited illegals from Mexico to work in their U.S. plants. They were paid a pittance