The Perspectives That Divide Us - Rockhurst University

The boy who was left behindEnrique’s Journey tells one smallbut powerful story. It’s about a boynamed Enrique whose mother leaveshim and his sister in search of betterwages in the United States. Becauseof the money she sends, Enrique hasnew clothes every year and is able tocontinue his education. But nothingcan make up for his mother’s absence,so he decides to go find her. Withjust a phone number, he embarks ona difficult and emotional journey.Reading the book during my tripwas phenomenal. I was blown awayby the descriptions in the story thatparalleled exactly what I was witnessingin El Salvador. The dire economicsituations in Central American countriesleave citizens with few optionsto make a living. I realized that conditionsmade it basically impossiblefor them to have anything close to thelifestyle I was living. In El Salvador,I found out with my minimal Spanishthat almost everyone I met had afamily member living in the UnitedStates. They all expressed wishing tomake the trip themselves someday.It was bizarre to hear about the highwages in United States, when I knowthe uneducated Salvadorans are goinginto my country to make minimumwage — less than I make as a student.In El Salvador, our group visitedthe Jesuit university in San Salvador,where we met several Americans. Oneof them was Tom Gill, a Saint LouisUniversity graduate who runs thestudy abroad house for Americanstudents. He told us about his recenttrip that followed the migration ofSalvadorans into the United States,an experience similar to the onedescribed in Enrique’s Journey. Tomwent on buses through El Salvadorto Guatemala and then into Mexico.While he traveled legally with passports,he watched many Salvadoransstruggle to make the trip without suchluxury. As he told us his amazingstory, I thought of the book I wasreading. What a coincidence betweenSonia Nazario and Tom Gill and theexperiences they shared.After talking with the othercoordinators, we decided Enrique’sJourney should be the book that we’dask freshmen to read, and Tom Gillshould be invited to campus to leadthe book discussion. Tom agreed andcame to campus in August. Whilespeaking with the freshmen, he usedhis experience and Jesuit educationto paint a picture of the dire situationin El Salvador. His passion for theissue was clear as he explained whypeople leave and described thehorrific human rights violationsthat occur on their trips throughMexico toward el Norte.10 Ro c k h u r s t4w i n t e r 2007