American Immigration Council endorses La Americana
November 16, 2009
The American Immigration Council, one of the country’s largest immigration policy organizations, endorses La Americana as a resource for educators and advocates.
“La Americana puts a human face on today’s debate over immigration. It is a wonderful tool for educators, advocates, and policy experts who wish to create a humane discussion about this heated issue” – Claire Tesh, Director, American Immigration Council’s Community Education Center
Report from ASFC screening of La Americana, Denver, CO
October 22, 2009
On 10/6/09, Coloradans for Immigrant Rights, a project of the American Friends Service Committee, hosted a screening of La Americana. Organizing Director Jordan Garcia reports back on the event:
“The discussion after our screening of the film, La Americana really brought people to a place of wanting to envision a way of life that treats people with dignity and respect. It was so clear, after hearing Carmen’s story, that something must be done! People’s lives are more important than the laws that don’t work anymore!
Our discussion allowed us to explore the importance of urgently working for reform, the “push factors” that lead immigrants here, to the U.S., and made us look at our country’s desperate need to do something — and soon! People can’t wait any longer for our policy makers to radically change their lives, the film conveyed the message of urgency to our members. Many people in the audience were moved by the ending… It really brought home the point that this issue affects millions of people, not just one.
This film was beneficial to both our organization and our community, and provided us with a way to start a conversation from a place of humanity and compassion. We work with a lot of teachers through our Educators for Immigrant Rights project and hope to have more students view the film.”
- Jordan T. Garcia
Organizing Director
American Friends Service Committee
Screening 10/22 at InterAmerican Development Bank, Washington, DC
October 17, 2009
A screening at Day Worker Center of Mountain View
September 9, 2009
The message of La Americana helps to deepen and broaden understanding of the immigrant experience, across and within communities. This message was central for viewers at the screening held at the Day Worker Center of Mountain View, CA.
One of the most important messages the staff and volunteers at the Day Worker Center try to convey to workers there is that the fight they are engaging in is not one they are engaging in by themselves. “Hope and a renewable sense of challenge and triumph is something the immigrant rights movement has to maintain. Sharing our personal stories and insights, though they may individually contain tragedies and disappointments, helps to create that sense of community we need in these strange, tense times,” said screening organizer, Day Worker Center volunteer and student, Natalie Ramirez.
“The Day Worker Center of Mountain View is first and foremost a non-profit working to uphold standards of dignity and respect we know the jornaleros in our community deserve. I think La Americana illustrates perfectly the strong, heroic character those of us in this movement see everyday, but which still needs to be conveyed to the American public at large.”
The screening audience held a discussion afterward which touched on such themes as general and generational motivations behind immigration, the limbo and uncertainty of “ownership” while undocumented, the “American Dream” as theory, and the immigrant as a professional of many trades by necessity.
Even among the immigrant workers, themselves, the film was a wonderful tool for building understanding of the range and the universality of the immigrant experience. “I felt it was beneficial to show other stories of immigrants in the United States as a whole since a lot of the jornaleros we work with may only be conscious of the immigrant environment in California,” said Ms. Ramirez. “We shared our opinions, histories, and our vision for the future with one another- very productive.”
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Screening at Queens Community House
August 28, 2009
Queens Community House, post-screening website viewing
La Americana was utilized this summer during the two screenings held for the Queens Community House in Jackson Heights, Queens.
There was a lot of discussion by mothers in the room who, like the story’s protagonist, have made the painful decision to travel away from their families to find work in the U.S. As one viewer put it, “This film shows that their stories are also important, legitimate and do not deserve to be hidden. Our discussion following the movie brought up both personal stories similar to Carmen’s and also questions and comments about US immigration laws. Overall it was a great educational and organizing tool.”
Another viewer participant talked about her own experience as an immigrant from Peru who left her two sons behind 4 years ago to come to the US. They were 16 and 20 at the time. About 9 months ago, one of her sons was in a car accident and has been have physical and psychological problems ever since. She spoke of how difficult it is to be apart when your children are suffering and of her deep desire to bring them both to the US to join her.
Classroom Screening, Queens Community House
Anna Dioguardi, Director of Community Organizing and Development at QCH said, “For me, as a community organizer, La Americana provided the opportunity to promote conversation and dialogue about immigration reform and the need to build a base of support and participation in order to fight for its passage. It’s a great tool to help people relate their own personal struggles to the more global struggle for rights, equality and opportunity for all immigrants in this country.”
Contributors: Anna Dioguardi, Director of Community Organizing and Development, Queens Community House, and screening participants.
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Learn more about Queens Community House
