A Migrant’s Search for a Better Life

2904 Words6 Pages

In this essay, I shall portray an episode in the life of a migrant who came to a land, much different from his own, in search of a better life. Parallels will be drawn between this man’s experience and those of several migrant figures within the texts and readings assigned throughout this course. The reader will “meet” the subject of my study and find that the search for attaining a better life does not always require following the expected or typical path. Dreams for a future may revolve around one goal at the outset yet focus on a different issue in the final outcome. In addition, the underlying global nature of the impetus for uprooting oneself from homeland and family and migrating to a foreign land thousands of miles away or just across the border is seen to be universally similar. Morelos was somewhat shy when first meeting me but quickly loosened up when he found that his interviewer was not intimidating. He is quite intelligent and when having trouble pronouncing certain words in English, he often spelled them out accurately enough for anyone to grasp the word or idea he was trying to convey. He has a surprising grasp of the geopolitical forces at work in the international economy. We were the only patrons at a restaurant late one evening and he spoke freely over some pie and coffee. Morelos arrived in Arizona four years ago from an agricultural region in southern Mexico. Guided by a “Coyote”, he crossed the border one September night with his aunt and her two adult sons. He says he had long imagined, and finally came, seeking, “the American dream”. However, he intended to stay only two or three years before returning permanently to start a small business in his hometown in Mexico. When he left, hi... ... middle of paper ... ...upon the migrants as well as an important source of income to the economy of the receiving country. Earlier, in this current report, Morelos reaffirmed these facts in the case of Mexico. Drawing on global anthropologic migrant research described in the course readings, I hope that, at the very least, I have illustrated the similarities between issues in those works and the goals and patterns of the migrant in my current study. REFERENCES Chang, G. (2000). Disposable Domestics. Cambridge, Massachusetts: South End Press. Cooper, M. The Heartland’s Raw Deal. The Nation, (Feb. 3, 1997). Levitt, P. (2001). Transnational Villagers. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. McMurray, D.A. (2001). In & Out of Morocco. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Small, C.A. (1997). Voyages. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Open Document