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Which Way Home is a documentary bringing light to youth in Mexico attempting to escape to The United States based on personal motives such as poverty, lack of resources and family dynamics. These children execute social reproduction through the difficulties that cause them to turn to migration.
Kevin and Juan Carlos are both young adolescents that want to migrate to U.S.A due to their current personal lives. Although they come from diverse families with different personal reasons to leave, there are resemblances between some of their purposes. Migration was not easy and had many risks including drowning, getting detained, kidnapped, getting arrested by border patrol or raped. Thus, it is clear that the children willing to take such risks
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Older youth contributing to the family’s economic status by working to help with necessities younger siblings may need is a form of social reproduction. Juan Carlos wants to be the man of the house and be able to provide for his siblings as well as his mother. Kevin also plays a part of social reproduction by going to The States to find work so he can support his mother through their economic hardships and help her leave his …show more content…
They may have to take care of themselves and their siblings, taking upon the parental roles. This can cause them to resent their parents or be left looking for that nurturing they missed as a child for their whole life. The teen Fito did not receive the affection and attention he desired and this lead to him risking his life by migrating through trains in hopes of finding a better family.
Although there are many negative effects being a transnational family can cause on members, it is usually a requirement or one of the only options left for them. Olga and Freddy are two nine year olds that are travelling to be reunited with their families. These children were still receiving support and communicating with their families while in Mexico and now want to be with their families and get educations there. This allowed for better opportunities for the whole family while they still kept a close bond.
Kevin, who is also attempting to migrate away from his family, is doing so for a better future. Moving away gives him opportunities to work and send money to his family back home so they can be supported financially. As well as allowing for them to move away from his abusive stepfather. There is also the chance of Kevin getting adopted and this will give him the nurturing and support he has wanted within his
The family dynamics of the household changed throughout the years of Dominic’s childhood. When Dominic was born, we lived in a rural neighborhood apartment that was not completely safe (My Virtual Child). Once Dominic’s sister Alexandra was born, we began saving more money and purchased a house in a safe rural neighborhood. At the end of Dominic’s childhood the household consisted of both parents and two children, Dominic and Alexandra. Throughout his childhood, his uncle stayed a summer and on another occasion a different uncle stayed for a few weeks. Both parents were employed throughout the entire childhood which resulted in placing Dominic in child-care as soon as possible (My Virtual Child).
For immigrants, reuniting with parents who left them is a huge problem in the U.S. Children who reunite with their parents after many years have a lot of problems with the parents. The parents and children tend to argue, the children have buried anger, and both have an idealized concept of each other. According to Los Angeles’s Newcomer School, a school for newly arrived immigrants which is referenced in Enrique’s Journey, a bit more than half of want to talk to the counselor about their problems. The main problem Murillo, the school’s counselor, says is mostly family problems. Murillo says that many parent-child meetings are all very similar and identical to each other. Some of the similarities are that idealized notions of each other disappear, children felt bitter before going to the U.S., and that many children have buried rage. Mothers say that the separations between them and child was worth it because of the money earned and the advantages in America. However, many children said that they would rather have less money and food if it meant their mothers would stay with them.
Do you have any friend or relatives that are considered to be broken or disorganized family? Do you know that many disorganized family are likely to ties with their extended family? If you know any broken or disorganized families, you may realized that a broken family usually faced many difficulties, such as financial problem, missing family members, and they tend to be unhappy comparing to others. Moreover, missing a father figure in the house for a child could cause numbers of problems. In the novel “Looking for Work” the main character and also the author who named Gary Soto, a nine year old Mexican American boy, he was from a disorganized and broken family. That Gary desire to live out a life style just like the standard white American
When they first arrived to the United States their only hopes were that they would have a better life and that there were better special education programs for Maribel to attend at Evers. Alma imagined that the buildings would look a lot nicer than they really were. The family was surprised that they could take things from the street that someone threw out of their house, but were in working condition. When they arrived they didn’t think that you would actually have to learn English to be able to communicate, but after going to stores and interacting with people they learned that they need to learn English if they want to live in America. They hoped that you could be able to afford anything in America by working, but based off of the money Arturo was making they learned that you can’t buy everyth...
Yunior’s fathers only concern was obtaining the “American Dream” job security, financial stability, and owning his own home. Yunior’s childhood memory of his father are vague; they have no bond or connection, to Yunior he’s just a stranger. “ He’d come to our home house in Santo Domingo in a busted up taxi and the gifts he had brought us were small things-toys guns and tops-that we were too old for, that we broke right away.” (Diaz, 129). For a young man growing up without a father figure has a profound effect on them that lasts way into manhood. “Boys need a father figure to learn how to be a man, without having this influence in their lives, boys are at risk of growing into men who have problems with behaviors, emotional stability, and relationships with both significant others and their own children.”
At first he lived with his mom or with his dad both which were struggling to provide Mason Jr. and his sister Samantha the best they can for their children and themselves. As years progressed, Mason Jr. lived with his mother’s boyfriend Jim; a well-off educated college professor that taught his mother’s class at college. After his mother broke-up with Jim due to his drinking and abusiveness she moved into her friend’s house for a small period of time to recuperate and recover. Her friend was an average family, not living lavishly compared to Jim but not at all living like Mason Jr.’s mother struggling to just be able to provide their needs. From watching a child transfer into different economical classes changes the way I view social inequality in society. As you can see how it can affect a child, and youth’s behaviour
Child rearing and family structure within the Hispanic culture is noticeably different than what is present in the mainstream Western culture of today. One apparent difference is in gender roles. There exists a vastly different expectation in Hispanic culture for males and females. The male is considered to be the independent breadwinner, and the head of the household. Accordingly, the female role is one of submission and provider of childcare. In contrast, it is more than acceptable in Western culture for a female to maintain a non-traditional role. Hispanic culture additionally differs from Western culture in the traditional makeup of the family. Within Hispanic culture the extended family plays a huge role
In Mary’s household, her two sons and daughter are dependent on her. Mary is head of the household and is currently going through a divorce. Mary is close to losing her house, car, and internet services. She hires babysitters for the days/nights that she has to work. Her children know that times are tough, and continuously encourage their mother. However, her son Quinn is dealing with the divorce and poor living in
Martinez’s story is not so much one that pieces together the events of the crash, nor the lives of the three youths, but it is an immigrant’s tale, discovered through the crossings of the various Chavez family members and profiles of Cheranos in Mexico.
The United States offers an opportunity for migrants to support or reconnect with family: a goal that often is not reachable at home. Dorothy experiences something similar with the Wizard of Oz, as he is said to be the best possible opportunity for her to get back to Kansas. As will be discussed further, though, neither of these assumptions are true. In fact, in the eyes of Dorothy, Enrique, and many other Central American migrants, these two figures lie behind a false curtain. The two destinations seem to unfortunately result in a sense of disappointment for the travelers.
Specifically, one of those was the insecurity felt by the children as they traveled through Mexico. At one point in the film, the boys talked about how they were robbed and abused by Mexican authorities. One of them spoke briefly about how it took several Mexican officials to take his watch off his arm, because he refused to hand it over. This issue leads back to one that was described earlier in this paper, the influence organized crime has on the Mexican government. The major issue that was cited in this documentary however, is the growing number of unaccompanied children traveling to the United States. This issue has two sides to it, the social side and the political side. The first side of this issue starts at the home country of each of these children. Their government is not able or not willing to help them, and as a result they live in poverty and without access the basic human needs; water, food, shelter. This leads the children to want better for themselves and ultimately to take the decision to travel to the U.S. On the political side, the unaccompanied children are causing Mexico and the United States to spend more money on Immigration. This because they have to create more detention centers for minors, they have to house and feed them until they are deported to their country of origin. Throughout the film these issues are put into the perspective of the children. The reason the directors did this, was to show the challenges the children face as they made their journey. The reason they used that perspective is because it is a unique one. It is not every day that you hear about a 12 year old who traveled across Mexico and into the United States
mans role in his family, how he provides, and his identity. It is also said that that the Youngers
I have heard fascinating stories about vans and cars full of Mexicans being pulled over, taken to the border police and deported back to their residence as they attempt to cross the border. Some of them are lucky enough to make it through their journey while some lose their lives. Every year many people try to enter illegally in the United States to get success in their life, to get a better job and sometimes to get united with their families. There is no doubt that the journey of crossing the border is very dangerous and sometimes life threatening. It is understandable when adults are trying to risk their life in search of a better life but when minors take the same attempt and risk their life what are we supposed to do as parents or family? In the film Which Way Home director Rebecca Cammisa shows the journey that many unaccompanied minors attempt with the hope of migrating across the Mexican-U.S. border for a better life is actually a potentially fatal passage. “Each year, the Border Patrol apprehends 100,000 children try to enter the US” (Which Way Home). By showing different consequences of crossing border Cammisa tries to create awareness among parents and even in the children. Parents should not give permission to their children to cross the border and children who have no parents also should not try to cross it. Through her documentary, she tries to educate teenagers and their parents about the risks and dangers of crossing the border illegally. In the documentary Cammisa shows that there are people who know about the possible consequences, but still ignore it, and at the end they regret of taking such an attempt. Through her documentary Cammisa also warns them not to make such decisions because at the end they are not...
“Mexican American caregivers do not lose their sense of dedication to the family,” due to adult children receiving a higher education and holding higher paying jobs. The second generation of the family tends to attend college and strive for a better life for their family. The second generation of immigrants tends to lose the language in order to be successful in the country of opportunities. Therefore the second generation often “hold the values of the family even more strongly to maintain a sense of
Sennett's comparisons between the lives of the father and the son illustrate the huge generational changes within the workplace. Jobs in Rico's time are no longer long term, making job security a thing of the past. While he earns a great deal more money than his father did, he faces an unpredictable future, as he doesn't know where his employment will take him, or for how long it will last.