I
fundamentally disagree with President Trump questioning WHY we should allow
immigrants from African nations, Haiti, and other less developed/educated
nations into the United States of America. He is correct in stating that many
nations in Africa are largely underdeveloped when compared to The United States
– he called these countries “Shitholes” trying to emphasize the extent of the
lack of development. An ignorant and single-sided story, but it holds a very
simple truth – many countries in Africa are significantly less developed in
ways of public services (water, sewage, garbage, food, etcetera) than The
United States.
As I will
argue below, The United States should be taking more immigrants from these
nations than from our developed peers in Europe. The basis of my argument
hinges upon research by Malcolm Gladwell and his book Outliers. A brief example from Gladwell’s book examines the
National Hockey League (NHL). To set the context, hockey leagues in the US are
broken by the calender year. So, those born in January of 2018 play against and
with those born in December of 2018. In 3rd grade every month makes
a huge difference on physical development and ability – height, size, speed,
etcetera. In the NHL 70% of players are born in the first 6 months of the year:
January through June, leaving only 30% from July to December. The leading
theory is many Elementary and Middle School students stop playing hockey when
they have to play against people 6+ months older than them. Pretty logical so
far – faced with a degree of unfairness many people stop playing.
Here’s
where it gets interesting: in the Hall of Fame 50% are NHL players born January
through June and 50% born July through December. Even though December through
June babies account for 70% of the NHL they only account for 50% of the Hall of
Fame. Gladwell suggests that the 30% of NHL players who stick it out in their
younger years develop phenomenal abilities with respect to the 70% because of
the pain, suffering, and challenges they faced growing up.
If we want
a country full of Hall of Famers we need to have immigrants that come from the
30%. Immigrants who despite a lack of education, food security, job security,
or what have you still have a desire and will to fight, live, and improve their
lives. It’s like the traits of a successful entrepreneurial team – if you have
a decent idea and grit your team will succeed. Grit. That’s what The United
States needs out of its immigrants. Immigrants ready to take on the challenges
of today and look toward tomorrow. Immigrants who have been through hells but
still know how to laugh, love, and enjoy life. Grit is developed through trials
and tribulations. And where do you think more trials and tribulations are
found? In a life where you can turn any tap or spigot on for water? Or a life
where the well is an 1000 meter walk away?
I do not
want to diminish the trials and tribulations of any person – we all have had
our fights and our battles. No one’s pain is comparable to another’s. I am
saying that I have encountered endless people in Mozambique who have developed
exactly what we should be looking for in our immigrants – Grit. Below I have
outlined brief stories of people I have interacted with.
Eusebia –
she is one of the nurses in our town from the suburb about 30 km South East of
downtown Namuno. She has had 5 children with 5 different men. She has been
divorced and left many times to tend to her family and children alone and
without support. Her youngest two sons frequent my house to color and play.
When my house was robbed, she brought me food. When I was trying to figure out
how to properly put grates on my windows, she sent a metal worker and a mason
to do the repairs. For 3 months last year she hosted 15 nurses doing an
internship. That’s Eusebia – a single mother with a full household who works
fulltime as a nurse and all the while supports every single Peace Corps
Volunteer in our community. She is our caretaker and mother.
Mana Lina
and friends
Lina is the
leader of this group of neighbourhood kids. She is the oldest and just started
8th grade. They are the only female children/young adults who
frequent my house. They are constantly outnumbered by males easily 3 to 1. But
week in and week out they come to color, to play, to draw, to learn – and led
by Lina. She is responsible and keeps the children well behaved. Mind you –
she’s in 8th grade. Lina has better people skills than many adults
I’ve met in The United States. She’s tough, resilient, creative, and
passionate. She’s a fighter.
Richard and
Caroline Wakefield
Richard is
Zimbabwean forced out during Mugabe’s rule. Caroline is South African. About 10
years ago they moved to Chimoio, the central of Mozambique. About 5 years ago
they moved to Montepuez about 60 km north of my site. Richard worked as an
operations director for an English based cotton company that owns the
concessions to the cotton in my province. Last year, Richard retired from the
cotton company to start a 5 acre vegetable farm and a mid-sized chicken farm.
Richard ran the numbers and determined his break even and profit margins for
selling his produce. He determined that he could sustain his current lifestyle
by selling tomatoes for 50 MZN (~0.80 USD) per kilogram. The current market
price of tomatoes is 100 MZN (~1.70 USD) per kilogram. He could easily raise
his price to the market price or probably even above market price since the
quality of his tomatoes is much better than anything else sold in the market.
He doesn’t and wont. He and Caroline started the vegetable farm for the
community. They saw the need with regards to food insecurities and decided to
do something about it. They could have returned to Zim or SA if they wanted.
They could have moved to where their family and friends live. They didn’t. They
are staying in Mozambique to do something about the issues the country and
people here face. It’d be easier for them to call it good and retire back home.
They’ve got mad loads of grit.
(photo taken by Dionisio - featuring his younger brother)
Dionisio
Venancio
My 12th
grader roommate who will turn 21 this year. He is the second oldest of 8. His
older sister is going to nursing school. They are the only 2 siblings in their
family who have attended any High School because their family does not have
enough money to pay for registration. Sending one of their kids to highschool
requires about ½ of all the peanuts they produce in one year. So for a long
time they altered Dionisio and his older sister. Stories like these are
abundant. I hope I have painted a broad spectrum of many of the people whom I
trust and love here in Namuno, Mozambique. Here’s his last two facebook
statements:
“Bicicleta
já tenho o meu sonho é de ter uma mota depois caro depois um barco e finalmente
um Navio”
-I already
have a bicycle. My dream is to have a motorcycle then a car then a boat and
finally a ship.
“Em
momentos tristes sempre lembramos Deus!! Mas porke esquecemos nos momentos
Felizes??”
-In the sad
moments we remember God. But why do we forget [Him] in the good moments?
Those are a
few short stories about Africans who have grit. Who’ve experienced hells and
continue to experience challenges. They do it for their families, friends, and
for the community. They fight for the betterment of all people. Some are more
educated than others. Some have more business skills than others. The one thing
they all have – mad grit. The United States would be lucky if they wanted to
become US citizens. People like them should be welcomed, sought after, and
fought after. Not discarded because of the challenges they faced in their
pasts.
It seems
ridiculous to me – to dismiss a person’s capabilities and potential simply
because they’ve had a tough life.
“No one
[and nothing] can make you feel inferior without your consent” – Eleonore
Rossevelt (and brackets added by Alex Jansen, fellow PCV)
“I did some
things that were not smart, but I always stayed on the good side of people” –
Sanjay Mathur, Country Director Peace Corps Mozambique
May we
continuously examine our judgements and predisposition in search of truth and
companionship. May we continue to build a better society, one day at a time,
and together.
With all of
my heart,
Daniel
Bladow
P.S. A
brief update on my life – things have turned for the better! A serious of calls
and the governor speaking to the superintendent of my province turned our
situation around. We were approved to be teachers moments before Peace Corps
was coming to collect all of our possessions and move us.
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