• Edición impresa de Enero 16, 2018.

By Zulma Prieto

According to Genesis, there were people living in Goshen, an Egyptian territory, who arrived when they experienced a severe famine in their territory. They had traveled to Egypt looking for food to bring back to their people and were invited to stay, settle down, and contribute by taking care of their crops and livestock. After their numbers increased the Egyptians feared the foreigners would become too strong so they enslaved them, leaving them without any rights.

After several generations, this people were lead to leave Egypt in a massive exodus. They left carrying what little they had and leaving behind all the land, pending work, and duties they had fulfilled as slaves.

According to the biblical story Pharaoh did not want to let them go. He resisted the idea because he knew that these people were necessary to run the empire efficiently. The Egyptians were ruling and ordering but all the menial work that supported the empire was done by the numerous slaves who tended to the rich and powerful.

Moses asked Pharaoh to let the people go and even after a number of plagues devastated Egypt he had second thoughts about their departure. Even after he allowed them to leave, he ordered his army to follow them and bring them back. But a wall of water from the parting sea did not allow that to happen. Instead many of Pharaoh’s army died as the walls of water came down and drowned them. Meanwhile the liberated people sought a new land where they could settle and grow.

I was remembering part of this story today after reading an article by Ana Gonzalez Barrera as senior researcher at Pew Research Center and expert on U.S. immigration, particularly immigration to the U.S. where she states that more Mexicans are leaving than coming to the U.S.

Also more Americans are leaving the United States. In one of the expats webpages they state that: “Americans moving to foreign nations? Perhaps it’s because the America of today isn’t quite living up to the old ideals”.

Also several Americans are renouncing their citizenship. In the 2011, 1,788 Americans officially renounced their citizenship. This is more than the years of 2007-2009 combined. In the year 2013, 2,999 Americans made the move permanently, out of the United States. And in the year 2014, this number increased a whopping 14% to 3,415. This is clearly a growing trend. In the first quarter of 2015 alone, there were record high numbers as 1,336 individuals chose to renounce their citizenship. Other research shows that highly skilled immigrant workers are returning home for brighter career prospects and a better quality of life.

A country is made up of their individuals, their dreams and accomplishments, but there has to be a required respect and liberty for each individual to do their best in a society that works for all. If people feel that the ideas of freedom, opportunity and fairness are not here for everyone, they will look for a better future elsewhere.

Meanwhile United States has people who had migrated from many countries, looking for a place to settle, study, work and live in peace, but instead they are living a kind of slavery that has mental chains and physical chains strengthened by laws that create fear and uncertainty. Immigrant workers have suffered for a long time. When will they be liberated? Will the general population that benefits from their work hear the voices claiming justice or will they let them go only to find out that their perfect world will not work for them anymore. What are the factory owners and managers thinking? What are the CEOs and executives doing? What are we all doing to change the current situation?

I Inicio I Locales I Internacionales I Nacionales I Columnas I Entretenimiento I Deportes I Clasificados I Publicidad I Escríbanos I Conózcanos I English Section I Advertise I Contact us I Archivo I Enlaces I

El Puente, LLC. ©