Inspiring Leadership in Immigrant Communities - ILRC

Inspiring Leadership in Immigrant CommunitiesJanuary 2003items. The Ochoas went to the store to complain, but Honesto was no longeremployed by the store. The store manager was not concerned about whatHonesto had said or the injury that Mario had sustained.During the role-play the following points are important: the Ochoas did notunderstand the contract and had relied on Honesto’s verbal promise that allwas okay. The Ochoas did not get a receipt for their payments, trustingHonesto who was from their home state in Mexico. The Ochoas did keep arecord at home of what they had paid.5. Discussion: The trainer should ask what the Ochoas could have done thatmight have helped them recover their furniture or protect themselves. Makesure to write the ideas on butcher paper or a chalkboard so everyone can see.Some possible answers:• Read and know what you are signing. If it is in English, get someoneto translate it for you. Even better, take someone with you whounderstands English.• Do not trust spoken agreements. It is what you sign that is important.• Whenever you pay, get a receipt.• Whenever you talk to someone, write down the name of the personand what you discussed. Do not hesitate to ask people their names.• When something happens, go get some help. Investigate the crooks.Note: If the participants don’t offer all of the above, contribute the remainingideas.D. U.S. Culture and Values (50 minutes)1. Divide the participants into four or five groups. Ask them to brainstorm andrespond to the following questions, which the trainer should write on achalkboard or on butcher paper:• What kinds of behavior do North Americans value?• What social customs or institutions do North Americans value?• What are the differences between the United States and your countryof origin?• What are the U.S. customs you would tell a recent immigrant to beaware of?The trainer should introduce the questions by stressing that we are doing thisnot to indicate that any one way of doing things or being is better thananother, but rather to prepare ourselves to advocate for immigrants and to helprecent immigrants better survive and succeed in what may be a strangeenvironment. Leaders should understand the values of the dominant group in12-17