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Category: Migration
What's wrong with Brexit
July 1, 2016 / casamarj	/ Leave a comment
Last week, Britain voted to leave the European Union, passing the "Brexit" referendum with a 52% majority. Brexit will likely have tumultuous consequences across Britain and Europe.
I am not an expert in European affairs; Casa Marj is focused on the Americas. I do not pretend to predict all the economic and political consequences of a British exit from the EU. However, Brexit worries me not only for its likely material political and economic consequences, but also for what it represents on a cultural level. This blog is about migration, and so, in large part, was the sentiment that drove the British people to pass the exit referendum.
Many British people are worried about their economy and their future. And just like in the United States, where people use immigrants as a scapegoat for that fear and anxiety, the same thing has happened in Britain. The British claim immigrants are "invading" and that their national culture will be diluted. They worry that immigrants will take all the jobs, that their economy will suffer.
The problem is, the immigrants do not cause the economic problems that the British–not to mention Americans–are experiencing. If immigrants are willing to work for lower wages, it is because those are the jobs that are available. Yet if business owners and corporations are not willing to pay higher wages, that is not the immigrants' fault. It is because these profit-driven enterprises want to maximize financial gains as much as possible, and will take advantage of any opportunity to pay workers less. Immigrants are not asking for lower wages: owners are simply not offering higher wages.
Aside from the economic fear, much of the pro-Brexit campaign capitalized on a fear of cultural dilution. This cultural nativism is ultimately no more than a mask for racism. Migrants coming from Eastern Europe and the Middle East are seen as lesser than Anglo-Saxons. But cultural exchange causes vibrance and innovation when it is not tainted by prejudice and closemindedness.
What disturbs me even more is that Brexit was driven by the same anti-immigrant sentiment that is powering Donald Trump and conservatives across the United States. Nativism, xenophobia, and racism, they are dangerous and they are arising across continents at this time. The rise of Trump and the passage of Brexit are not isolated incidents, but different expressions of the same theme. These phenomena rely upon fear to power prejudice. Instead of revealing the true causes of economic problems or responding positively to cultural change, they cling to an idealized past where white men were "great" ("Make America Great Again"). Nor are these ideas restricted to Britain and the U.S. Anti-immigrant factions are gaining power throughout Europe.
We need to have faith in the future, rather than fear changes and outsiders. Closing ourselves off to immigrants can only lead to misunderstanding and conflict. Opening our borders and our hearts can lead to mutual understanding and respect. In times like these, it is ever more important that we remain open and willing to work with all of our neighbors, rather than closing ourselves off in an isolated and unrealistic past.
Rethinking the Migrant Crisis: A Passover Reflection
April 27, 2016 / casamarj	/ Leave a comment
This week is the Jewish holiday of Passover, when Jews remember when we were slaves in Egypt and when we crossed the sea to freedom. We are also reminded that after escaping Egypt, we wandered in the desert for forty years, refugees from Egypt and unable to return to our own homeland. The Torah commands Jews, "Welcome the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." As a Jew, I find Passover an especially important time to recognize the issues of today's migrants and refugees.
The European migrant crisis has been all over the news for months. Over a million migrants entered Europe in 2015, provoking a crisis in European nations that didn't know how or didn't want to resettle so many people at once.
Starting almost two years ago, the mass migration of Central American refugees, including a huge proportion of minors, through Mexico to attempt to cross into the U.S. at the U.S.-Mexico border was termed a migrant crisis in the United States. The United States has perennially viewed Mexican and Central American immigration as a crisis, an invasion, or a threat.
Yet little has been done to theoretically connect these two migrant crises, which are quite similar on a rhetorical level. The receiving nations find themselves in crisis when they receive an influx of unapproved migrants seeking refuge. But rather than turning to racist and orientalist fear-mongering or pitting Syrians against Central Americans for a small number of refugee spots in some kind of refugee competition, this moment could be used to provoke reflection on the idea of the migrant crisis, and what the response should be. What is the real crisis?
The real crisis is not that, with such high numbers of migrants reaching Europe, European countries do not know what to do with them. Nor is the real crisis high numbers of people crossing into the United States, undocumented. The real crisis is violence, poverty, and unlivable conditions in Syria and Central America forcing people to leave their homes in the first place. And the resulting uproar and nativism in the receiving nations is not a crisis of lack of resources as much as lack of human feeling toward refugees and migrants.
Some commentators have suggested that the U.S. would better keep out Syrian migrants seen as potential terrorists or orientalized Islamic others. That Central American refugees are all criminals or job stealers. These ugly responses to a genuine crisis of people being forced to leave their native lands evidence, perhaps more than anything else, fear. Time and again, conservatives invoke the threat of losing American (or European) culture to outside invaders who come as refugees but are incapable of assimilation. To these fears of the original culture being lost, I say: influx of different cultures makes our own community that much the richer, that much more creative, that much more vibrant. Culture is always hybrid, always changing. There is no one American Culture, static and unchanging. Change is what makes our society vibrant.
Rather than giving in to fear of change, which is inevitable and valuable, we should embrace love over fear, and embrace migrants rather than sending them away. Of course, given that America is a settler colonialist nation to begin with–we are almost all migrants–the country certainly has no right to reject new immigrants. But even aside from that, accepting refugees should never be in question. It is a moral imperative, when someone is fleeing for his or her life, to give shelter. Instead of using the migrant crisis as a platform to create a further sense of nationalism and impending doom, world leaders should use these crises to take a stand for brotherhood and remember the responsibility we all have as human beings toward our fellow humans. Migrants are people. Those of us who are privileged, who have more, who live in peace and relative safety, have a responsibility to share with people who have less. When someone comes to your door, unable to return home because they might die, it is your moral responsibility to accept them. Provide refuge. Do not turn away the stranger. Europeans would do well to remember this when Syrians come, and Americans would do well to remember this when Mexicans and Central Americans come.
Migration crises should not be crises for the receiving nations. Rather than turning to fear and hatred of others, we should take these migration crises as opportunities for us to love our neighbors, for us to live up to high moral values, for us to make ourselves proud, for following the just and right path. My religion, Judaism, tells me, "Welcome the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Israel." But I think anyone of morals, whatever his or her religion, could stand by this statement. We should embrace love over fear, and embrace migrants rather than sending them away. Migrants are people. Not numbers. And they deserve to be treated as such.
Why We Can't Fall for the Mythical Twin Threats of Terrorism and Immigration
March 30, 2016 / casamarj	/ Leave a comment
After last week's attacks in Belgium, for which ISIS has claimed responsibility, conservatives turned to hate speech toward Muslims in their reactions. Ted Cruz named "radical Islamic terrorism" as "our enemy," while Donald Trump vowed to ban Muslims from entering the United States. Such responses are unproductive and pointless. Demonizing Muslims only accomplishes the promotion of racism, hatred, and Islamophobia in the United States. Meanwhile, such statements further inflame anti-American sentiment abroad.
While it is important to denounce these reactions right off the bat, it is also useful to examine how they work. In understanding what motivates anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric, perhaps we can find ways to dismantle it. What interests me about Donald Trump's reaction in particular is the conflation of terrorism, Islam, and immigration as one threat to the United States. After the Belgium attacks, Donald Trump used the frenzy to demand both a ban on all Muslims entering the United States and a closing of the U.S.-Mexico border. In this way, he combined the perceived threat of people entering the U.S. illegally from Mexico with the perceived threat of Islamic terrorism. This perception of terrorists and immigrants as the same threat comes in spite of the fact that the Belgium attackers were found to be Belgian citizens. Indeed, most of the terror attacks in Europe have been carried out by Europeans, not foreigners. In fact, even the 9/11 attacks were carried out not my illegal immigrants, but by legal U.S. residents.
Nonetheless, terrorism and immigration have long been linked in U.S. public discourse. How has this happened? And how should we respond?
"Illegal" immigrants from Mexico and Latin America have long been characterized by conservatives as a threat to the nation. But after 9/11, the concept of illegality was also connected to the perceived Arab/Muslim terrorist threat, as scholar Lisa Marie Cacho explains in her book Social Death. Images of the undocumented immigrant threat and the Muslim terrorist threat have mutually reinforced one another as two versions of "illegality" that endanger national security. Notably, both of these threats are racially coded. Although actual skin color may not be referenced in anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric, images of these Latin@ or Muslim "others" are still coded non-white. It is a sad testimony to the enduring white supremacy in the United States that foreign immigrants are not only portrayed as a threat to our nation, but are also still characterized as non-white racial others. By rhetorically connecting illegal immigration to terrorism, illegal immigration is now understood not only as a racial or cultural threat to national identity, but also as an actual security threat. Even though there has never been any evidence of Middle Eastern terrorists entering the United States from the southern border, politicians use the fear of terrorism to hype up anti-immigrant feelings, and vice versa. Sadly, these two reactionary fears mutually reinforce each others.
This conflation of fears doesn't just happen at the rhetorical level, the level of political speeches and news shows, unfortunately. In 2004 and 2005, two federal laws regulating government IDs actually combined these fears in the legislation itself, using purportedly anti-terrorist legislation to further disenfranchise undocumented immigrants. The 9/11 Act of 2004 explicitly connects immigration policy with terrorism, stating, "The routine operations of our immigration laws and the aspects of those laws not specifically aimed at protecting against terrorism inevitably shaped Al Qaeda's planning and opportunities"–despite the lack of any actual proof of a such a connection between immigration law and terrorism. Yet the law states that "travel documents are as important to terrorists as weapons since terrorists must travel clandestinely." This statement justifies the strengthening of security requirements for identification documents, laid out by this law and the subsequent REAL ID Act of 2005. The REAL ID Act requires that applicants for state IDs provide "evidence of lawful status" in the U.S., proving citizenship, permanent residency, or appropriate visa or deferred action status. The law also imposes stricter immigration standards for asylum seekers. So, what these laws do is use the fear of terrorists using government documents for travel to prevent undocumented immigrants from gaining government-issued IDs, which would enable them to legally drive and otherwise carry out their day-to-day lives.
In this way, these laws use counter-terrorism to justify stricter ID requirements for all unauthorized immigrants. The implication is that any unauthorized immigrant may be a terrorist. Ironically, as in the recent Belgium attacks, carried out by Belgians, not undocumented immigrants, the 9/11 attacks were not carried out by unauthorized immigrants but legal U.S. residents. So, imposing further restrictions on undocumented immigrants, by sealing the U.S.-Mexico border, for instance, is not an effective counter-terrorism measure. The rhetorical and legislative slippage between illegal immigration and terrorism is more an expression of Americans' fear of racial others invading the nation, than a reasonable fear derived from the actual origins of the terrorist threat. Nevertheless, this slippage allows anti-terrorism efforts to justify further restrictions for all unauthorized immigrants.
Instead of allowing conservatives to fan the flames of racism by fear-mongering that encourages xenophobia and prejudice, we need to stand up for what is truly right. We should welcome migrants who come as political or economic refugees from other countries, whether from Syria or Central America. We should make an effort to reach out to Muslims in the United States and abroad, rather than attacking them. Reacting to terrorist acts with racism and prejudice, denouncing all Muslims and misrepresenting immigrants as the cause, only encourages extremists to represent the United States as racist and wrong. Hate begets more hate, on both sides. While we should absolutely denounce terrorist acts and senseless murder, we should also try to understand the economic, political, and social conditions that are driving extremism in the Middle East. We should not denounce all Muslims as the cause of such extremism, nor should we use terrorism as an excuse to further oppress immigrants. Only with understanding and respect can we really overcome the threat of extremism. Let us not become hate-filled extremists ourselves. Rather, let us embrace our common humanity and stand up to the world's real evils, which are poverty, hatred, and prejudice.
"And by a miracle, I arrived": Interview with Juan Carlos del Cid, Part Two
Juan Carlos del Cid arrived to the United States from Guatemala in 1976, undocumented. Now he is a U.S. citizen and has lived here for longer than he lived in Guatemala. Last Monday, I published the first part of his story, how he came to the city of Los Angeles. This is the second part of his story, about his life in the United States. Juan Carlos's story is not one of pure success, but it is a story of struggle and change for a better life. Everyone has the ability to change for the better, and everyone deserves the opportunity to do so. When the media and politicians spread stereotypes and prejudices about migrants, I choose to share this story with the hope that it shows the reality of the life of one real person who has been an immigrant.
Marjorie: You told me that you went to classes to learn English, right?
Juan Carlos: Yes. You want the other part, from here? Okay. I came here, and on the third day, where I arrived, my sister and I lived in a two-story house that was divided into apartments. And all the people who lived there were from my country, from Guatemala. From other parts of Guatemala I met them, and we were good friends. There was a man who lived there downstairs, we called him tío [uncle]. Everyone called him that. Because he lived with some nephews. The mother was married to the brother. And they called him tío, we all called him tío. His name was Abraham. I remember tío Abraham. And he's a really good person, he said, "If you want I'll talk to the manager. My sister was from Guatemala," he said. And I tell him, "For what?" He worked in Jack in the Box. And, he took me and interviewed me. I had only been there for two days. And they gave me a job. And I remember that he told me not to park my car in the parking lot, because it was for the customers. And me, I told him, "I don't even have a car!" I tell him. "Yes, but very soon you're going to have one," he told me. "You're going to have a car. Here in the United States, a car isn't a luxury, like in our country. It's a necessity." And I got the job, there it was, and I started to work graveyard. From 12 at night to eight in the morning I worked, for a year.
But when I started working, my sister, who lived there, urged me to go to school. And when I wanted to go to school for the first time, I was coming from work, and I had to go home. I was working in Santa Monica, I had to pass all of Beverly Hills, Olympic, before getting to Vermont I had to get off and walk a block to get to the house. And I get to the house when a minivan from Immigration goes by, it was there. And I was scared. At that time, when I arrived, Immigration went to the stops and would pick people up and take them away.
M: At bus stops [paradas de buses]?
J: At bus stops. In that time it was… Now, today yes, we're living well now. Because there are a lot of immigrants and the migra doesn't bother us now. Only if you do something bad, no? Before no, before, you came and if they looked at your appearance, they asked you for your papers, and if you didn't have papers, they'd take you away. They went on the buses saying, "Papers?" "I don't have them." And the van would arrive. That is, they were hidden and they came like that, undercover, and they stopped you and they took you away. And I was scared that they were going to take me, that's why I didn't go to school. Because I had the school called Evans, which is over on Sunset, near downtown. Because that school at that time, they said it was a good school to learn English. And during the daytime. And I didn't go.
But I started to learn English at work. And I was never embarrassed. I worked for a year on graveyard. Then, after a year they changed the manager, and the new manager told me that I would work during the day. And I started to work in the daytime. I was a cook and I was one of the best hamburger makers there. And so, I wanted to be a manager. Well, I had to learn English. My English was completely terrible. Because people talked to me in English at work, I wasn't a cook anymore. Now I was on register. And I would say to myself, "Huh? Huh?" I was stuck, "Huh?"
M: So they put you on register without…
J: Yeah. Because they needed people. I knew the product but, well? And back then there weren't registers like the ones they have now, digital, they were mechanical. I don't know if you've seen them, but you can imagine what they were like. They were registers like that. So, I started to go to Los Angeles High School.
M: Oh, my mom went there too! L.A. High. That's where my mom went to high school.
J: I went, but I went at night. To Los Angeles. But, I already knew a little bit of English. And when I arrived, they tested my English, and they told me, you're ready for level third. But when I went to the third, everyone was ahead of me. I didn't go again. I left, I didn't want to go any more. So I said, me, no. And I came back and signed up again about a year later, but I signed up for the first level. In the first level I was like everyone else, and I started to stand out, to get ahead, to get ahead. I went through first, second, third grade, and from there I changed. I'm talking about some two years, three years. Because sometimes I went, sometimes I didn't go, things, the girlfriend, you know, and then I stopped going. But one time I told myself, "You are going to finish this." And I was already working as a manager in a Jack in the Box in Studio City, Laurel Canyon. So, I said, "I'm going to go to school." And I found a school that's there, in the center of Los Angeles on Union, near Wilshire, and I started going. And I met a really good teacher. She was from Asia, Asian, and her name was Suzy Wang. And I liked how she taught so much. She was so special at teaching English that I started to get English really quickly with her. She helped me to get the fourth, fifth level, until I graduated. Then, I had laboratory, and when I graduated from laboratory they sent me to the college. I had to go to college, Los Angeles City College, but during that time I met the woman who was my wife. She got pregnant, and I had to work. And yes, I could have done a lot.
But that English that I learned, I became assistant manager at Jack in the Box. And they gave me a store in South Central. And then, they robbed me four times in two weeks. Five times.
M: In the store?
J: In the store. And with every person that arrived, my legs were shaking.
So, my sister knew a man from El Salvador, at that time, and I told him, "You know what, I want to work on cars. Even if it's washing cars. Because I don't want to work over there. Even if they pay me minimum." And anyone who earned minimum wage spent more than that. "I don't care. I want to wash cars, park cars. Tell me if there's an opportunity," I tell him. And exactly. Two weeks later, he told me, "There's an opportunity. Come. But come with me to learn, the mechanics." I was working at night, and in the morning he took me to the dealer. A Ford dealer. And after two weeks, they gave me the job. I was so tired one day that I got in a van they were repairing, it didn't have an engine, and I fell asleep. And the nephew showed up, who worked there, and he had a friend. The nephew was in L.A. High School. And he was a porter, you what a porter is? The person who drives cars and washes cars at the dealer. It was his best friend, he was working. But they'd given the job to me, of lube man. The one who does oil changes. And he said, "Uncle, uncle, why did you give the job to him if my friend is right here?" He told him, "Don't worry. He's very stupid, he's really bad. Two weeks. Not even one month, and he's out of here, and then he's gonna get the job." It hurts my feelings. I hear everything. And I said, "No. Uh-uh." And I started to work. Because they put me in between a black guy and a white guy. The black guy didn't want to help me. And the white guy, I became friends with him. And he said to me, "You don't know anything? Don't worry. I'll help you." I remember. Son of Italians. And he started, "You do this like this." I started to learn, I started to do it, little by little by little. And when the black guy started getting jealous, that's when he started helping me. He helped me after that, and I made friends with him. I had a lot of trust in him and everything.
At that time, I was earning by commission, per hour. But I stayed until twelve at night working. I got ahead on the work for the next day, so I was making a lot of money. I started making $13.50 an hour, which was a lot at that time. But a new owner arrived. The same owner, his wife took over the business, and said, "Uh-uh, he's making a lot. We're going to pay him according to what they're all making." And then, my average, I was making like $17.70 an hour. And when they gave the raise, I was making more than a mechanic. A real mechanic. I go, wow. Everyone was jealous, but no, it was the law. But, I'm a person who, I never give.
So then, the rich people started coming. And nobody wanted to do the rich people because they paid too little. That's why I give thanks to God that I went to school. I didn't know what it was, that they did for the rich people, but I read the instructions. And I go step by step. Boom. Done deal. I put them together, I did the service. And then, next one, with the eyes closed. And like that, little by little. And then, the guy who was the nephew of the man who got me the job, he didn't want to do the work of replacing mufflers. So I took the mufflers job. And the Cadillac convertibles. Since it was hard and it paid little, he gave it to me. But later on, Ford, it changed. Because it was all warranty. They changed the prices. And instead of what it was, it raised up. But they left it to me, and I was expert at doing that. And so, the rich people with the Cadillac convertibles came, and me, oooh, I was making money. And I started like that, I started to get experience. The managers realized that the transmission people didn't want to do it, they don't wanna use their machine to exchange fluids, cause they want to pull it apart so they can upsell. But I said, no. So the manager said, "You want that job? It's yours. Read the instructions, and you'll do it easy." And I started to do it, and after that I started doing everything. They gave me assistants and everything. Well, because I started to read. And all the English. That's why I went to school. And I could interpret, I could read.
Okay, so when they sent me, they sent me to… because the Ford dealer decided that everyone who worked on their cars had to be certified. Boom, they sent me to school. And it gives me a surprise, that there were Americans who didn't know how to write. When I arrived, I was the only Hispanic. But, my accent, sometimes it was hard, but I could read, and I could write. So they saw that. To stay in class, you have to take a quiz of ten questions. And to be able to stay you have to answer nine of them. Less, they send you back to the dealer. I started, boom, boom, perfect. I started to work, I started my school, and I graduated. And I'm certified for about 18 different courses. Electrical, computer, but I can't work anymore. Because I hurt my arm. I was going to be a master technician. All of that because I went to school. And I learned in English.
M: What happened to your arm?
J: I had an accident. I had a brand new truck, I got it from Ford, and in 2005, the last day of 2005, December 31st, I was on the freeway going to the dealer and it was raining, and the car lost control and it's spinning and spinning and I'm trying to, I don't wanna hit another car, right? So, I thought that, to approach the wall, it would be okay. No, I hit the wall like 100 miles per hour. Booom. Straight ahead. Nothing happened to me, only my arm. But after that I couldn't work. Now I'm fine, I'm good, but in that time my hand wouldn't respond. I couldn't lift nothing, and you know, working on cars. I had to lift the cars. I couldn't work anymore.
And also because, well, I was earning a lot of money, and just like good things arrived, bad things arrive. One time they gave me cocaine to try, and I became addicted. I had a house, like three blocks away from here. I lost my house, I lost my children. I lost everything. That's why I became a Christian, and God gave me another opportunity. Because I lost everything. I also won, but I lost a lot. Because when you have money, and they give you something to try, and all that because of what I told you, I'm like that, before and now. Because I did a favor for someone, he wanted to pay me with that, "Do you like it?" "I've never tried it." "No?" And you know. I tried it, and he told me, "I have it, whenever you want." And I liked the feeling, and after–before I didn't drink. I started to drink at the age of 27. And 20 years passed before I stopped. Now it's been nine years since God saved me. Because I believe in God. God is great. That's why, now, I serve God. And I don't forget it. And in Uber, I talk about God a lot. I don't have to talk, but I talk.
And, when they saw the change in my life, because my family was… Do you know the word desahuciado [a lost cause]? They had already left me for dead. They had gotten rid of me. Because I arrived at a stage in my life, low, low, low. They were waiting for prison, hospital, or death. So, when I converted to Christianity, that is, the Gospel that is the good news of salvation, and giving us a new life. So, I believed in the word of God. And he changed me into a new person. Something that I am, really. When my family saw my change, I started to talk to them about God. And, my mother came, she started to come with me to the church I was going to. She was Catholic, she went to the Catholic church, and yes, now she comes with me to the evangelical church. She believed, and she converted. My sister believed, and she converted. My daughters believed, and they converted. So now we are all Christians. We believe in God more. That is, we believe in one God, creator of all things, and we don't believe in images.
What else can I tell you?
M: Well, I think you said that sometimes – you have papers now, right? You're a citizen?
J: Yes.
M: And you said that sometimes, you go to Tijuana to help –
J: Oh, yes, as part of the church. In the church, we like to serve. We have what they call, I don't say religion, because for us it isn't religion, it's service and adoration of God. So, we serve God by serving our neighbors. So, a sister, we call the people of the congregation brothers and sisters, well, I went to a convention of the churches. And, what they taught, they taught me that, like Uncle Sam said – what did he say? What we can do for me?
M: Oh, JFK said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for…" what was it?
J: Ah, John F. Kennedy said it? Okay, that's what he said. So, it's the same. Don't ask yourself what God can do for you, but ask yourself, what can you do for God? Well, they used that, and I ask myself. They said, when we got back, to ask our pastors, what can we do? How can we help, in what area? And in the airport, in Los Angeles, here, I asked my pastor, "What can I do for you?" He tells me, we have to pray. Before a month was up, he called me, he asked me, "Would you like to be in charge of the van?" The transportation. And I told him yes. I like to drive. And I started to give rides to the brothers. House by house, to pick them up and take them to church. And then, since I was in charge of the church, one sister told me she wanted to go to Tijuana. She needed the van, because there was a church where there's a lot of need, there are a lot of brothers and sisters who have been caught by the migra, and they're living there now. Many of them want to go to their homes, and many want to return [to the U.S.]. First, we go to bring them food, we go to bring them clothes. But the main thing, we go to bring them the bread of life, which is the word of God. And yes, I went many times. Right now we aren't going, but yes, I went many times to help there. Maybe five times. Now we've stopped because another church took over. But if they call me, yes, I want to go help out there.
If they left me there without GPS, I would get lost. Into the deep, the center of Tijuana where the poor of Tijuana are. And there we found people who, brothers, children of pastors, who are there, who are illegal here, and they get taken away. And there they are. They don't have anything, so they stay there. And yes, I really like to help people. Because of God, that from grace you received, from grace we are going to give. Like God helped you, you have to help others.
M: Exactly.
J: And you know, when I worked in Jack in the Box, as a manager, I helped a lot of people. Sometimes they came to look for work. I would say to them, "Sure, you're from Mexico?" "Yes, I'm from Mexico. I just got here." I remember when I had just gotten here and they helped me. "I'm going to say that you are my brother." And he was a Mexican, I was from Guatemala. And I said to them, "Come on, let's go." I gave them a job. I helped a lot of people, a lot, because someone helped me, he opened the doors of the United States to me, and look, here I am. I have papers, here I am, thank God I can travel. I can go to anywhere in the world, and I can come back here. A lot of people can't go. Look, how good is God with me that many people long to be near their mother. They're on the other side, they can't go, they don't have papers. Look, I have papers, and I have my mother here. Yes, because God is good. Because God has blessed me. Because I have everything here. My mom isn't here right now, she's with my daughters, they went shopping. What else can I tell you?
M: It's a really good story you have.
J: What would you like to know, how else can I help you?
M: Well, this. To know your story, and now I'm going to write it and put it as an interview on my web site, on my blog. Because for me, what's important now, there are people who don't know anyone who has lived these stories, they don't know the truth. For example, Donald Trump and other people who walk around saying terrible things about migrants.
J: I'm going to tell you something. I forgot it, I had it in mind. I am thankful that the doors were opened to me after that man helped me to work, helped me get a job. I am grateful to an American. His name is Ronald Reagan. I'm sad that his wife died, Nancy Reagan. I remembered. Because of him, because he had the heart, the heart that Donald Trump doesn't have. He opened it up to a lot of people. A lot of people who were working. A lot of people have made their American dream. They've responded to the opportunity that he opened the doors to for us. We're still here. Do you think we're going to vote for Donald Trump?
M: I don't think so.
J: I don't think he's going to win. For me, he's the devil [laughs]. He's bad, bad news. He is going to help everyone who is a very conservative American. That doesn't know the background, because we came here to work. \
M: That's what I want to share, because there are a lot of people who don't understand. They just here, I don't know, "They want to bring drugs and steal our jobs."
J: Many people think… we came here to work, we came here to do our work without offending, doing what the American can't do. I'm not going to see an American who's cleaning bathrooms, an American in the kitchens like in Jack in the Box. They don't do this work. The American wants to do work where he makes good money. We settle for whatever money, the minimum. If you understand me. I worked, before starting with Uber, I was working in a warehouse. I only saw one American working with us, because he was a friend of the boss. He was helping him, because he was an actor. A film actor, but he wasn't making money, and he went to make some money there with us. But out of thousands, one American. The Hispanic, he's there, unloading the containers. Hard work. Work where, it's 100 degrees outside, and how hot is it inside? 120, 130. And they're sweating, and I had to do that work. I was sweating like I was in an oven. Who's going to want to do that work? You tell me. Nobody. Only us, who have the need, do it. And we came here with the idea that we would make it economically. To maintain our families over there.
He [Trump] thinks because of the news, but that's like 20 percent. What happened to the other eighty percent? Those of us who work. Who have good intentions. And the only thing I say to people who come here, when they start their paths here, is that they go to school to learn English. That's the key here, to get ahead. One. The other, is that if you want to speak English, you have to live in English, not in Spanish. From the border it's called United States of America. It doesn't say United States of Mexico. And we have to respect the laws of this country, and live like Americans. Then, it will go well for us. Because if we're here, if we bring our heritage, we can do it here in our house. But when we're outside, to live like an American. Because that's how it is. It's not our land. This is American land. You remember when there were some protests, from, who was it, about immigration? How do you think that an American is going to receive us if we go out with the flag of our country? Of Mexico? No, why don't we go out with the flag of the United States? Then they will receive us well! Right? Because I live here, I think like that. So, my way of thinking, I have to think like an American, because I live in America and now I'm American, we have to live like Americans. And if you want to keep living here and make it, you have to stick to the law of the United States, because that's the law here. So if you're going to live here with the law of Mexico, you'd be better off returning to Mexico. Seriously. Why come here? If you're going to come here to get ahead, you have to leave your stuff from there, and take the things from here, and you're going to succeed. Because if you're going to protest, no, this or that, no, you're mind won't let you. That, that's what I think.
M: Right. Is there anything else you'd like to say, to share?
J: Well, that's everything. That's my advice. We have to do the work that a lot of people don't want to do. Right? And that's why a lot of people take advantage of us. The American is fair. But some people take advantage of immigrants. Because they don't have papers. So they're going to treat us like slaves. And that's not okay. So, for us, only when we learn English and know the laws from here, from the United States, only then, they won't be able to do anything to us.
And we need to have another amnesty, because there are a lot of people. Like I had the opportunity. I received amnesty in 1985. On August 28, 1988, I was legal. Yes, from that time until now, I'm legal. We need this, we need an amnesty. And thanks to God, I had that. Right? I haven't been in jail, I've never been in jail. One time they took me because they thought I was drunk, but no, I had only had one beer. But I was there for like three hours. They told me, "Tell the truth, how many beers have you had?" "I'm telling the truth, one!" Boom, boom, they took me to the station. And then, they put me, in that time they were starting with the-
M: The breathalyzer.
J: Yes. [Blows out] "Beepbeepbeep." Zero zero zero zero. The police said to me, "It's lying! Blow!" Paa! He hit me. I blew more. "It's lying!" "No," I say, "I'm telling you the truth! Don't hit me." So the guy who was in charge say, and he says to me, "What happened." And he told me, "Blow. But do it right." I blew. "No, he's not drunk. Why did you bring him?" He took me back to my car. In this time, I'm talking about 1980, 81, when I had my first car.
Now, it's hard to cross. It's hard.
M: Yeah. It's really hard.
J: But people cross.
M: Yes. They're always going to cross.
J: But how much does it cost now? A lot of money. That is, how much did it cost me to cross?
M: You said three hundred, right?
J: Fifty. How much does it cost now? It's thousands of dollars! It's expensive.
After me, I was the second, and then the rest of the family came. My mom was caught by the Border Patrol. She was in jail in Chula Vista. With my brother. But this was later, when they came. They came in 85. In 84 or 85, my mom came with my brother, my brother was 11 years old. And my brother only recently became a resident. He didn't want to, didn't want to, didn't want to. Until one time I said to him, "You know what, I'm going to go find you." And I found him a lawyer. And it cost money. And like that, now we're all good. But I tell you, where did all that come from? 1976, earthquake, poverty. Many people because of poverty, many for politics.
That's why, watch the movie, The North. Look, it's going to help you a lot, a lot. They're two Guatemalans, indigenous. From there comes the story of why they leave Guatemala, they cross through Mexico, and there's the story in Mexico, what they live through in Mexico. What they had to do to be able to make it here. Him and his sister. They crossed. But that story is so… sad. And wow, it's terrible. It's a story that sympathizes with the same things we all experienced. Many people went through more, many less. But it's the same story. They had to go through worse than what I went through. And one of the actors from that movie, they're all Mexican. The actors. One of them, I'm not sure how long ago, maybe 18 years, got killed by a drunk driver in East Los Angeles. Yeah. But yes, it's a very good movie. With the government, everything because someone wants to fight for his or her rights. People don't have rights there. You think they have democracy? You think they have a democratic country? Lies. It's because there is neither democracy nor communism. It's the law of the government. They're dead. They take away your land for the rich. And like that. Many people here in the United States for the same reason. They leave fleeing from there, and they take us away from here. We think we're safe here, and look at the police now. There's no way to cross.
Well, this is part of the story, this house. Small, we live here, humbly. But now we have something. There, we didn't have anything. You know what our house was like? Where we lived? It was like half of this room, but it was made of wood. But it wasn't wood like here that's straight. It was, you know, here's the tree, and you take off the sides, and that's called lepa. And the house is made out of that. They cover it with newspaper, wherever it has holes, and it's not straight, no. They're pieces, the round part of the tree, and you make a house from that. A frame, and you put on a roof, you put what's called lámina [aluminum], out of metal, for the water, and you cover it. But there, it's never too hot or too cold. That's why they call my country the country of eternal spring. It's never cold, it's never hot. It's always spring, all year.
M: What part of Guatemala are you from?
J: From the city. Guatemala City, in a colonia [neighborhood] from Zone 19. It's a place, here how they have cities, there they're zones. Zone 19. And they're made up of colonias. I lived in a colonia called El Milagro [The Miracle].
M: El Milagro. And the miracle is that you left.
J: And by a miracle, I arrived.
This is the final part of Juan Carlos's story. Read the first part, about his journey from Guatemala to Los Angeles, here.
Thank you so much to Juan Carlos for sharing this story with me.
"Where My Adventures Start:" Interview with Juan Carlos del Cid, Part One
March 14, 2016 / casamarj	/ 1 Comment
I met Juan Carlos del Cid a few weekends ago. I was taking an Uber back to my house at the end of a Saturday night, and Juan was driving. We started to chat, and I asked him where he was from. "I'm from Guatemala," he told me, "but now I think of myself as from the United States. By now I've lived here for longer than I lived there." I explained to him that last summer, I worked in a soup kitchen for migrants in Sonora, Mexico, and I asked him how he'd come to the United States. As it turned out, he had a very good story.
When conservative politicians are demonizing immigration with a disturbing mix of hate and lies, it seems important to me to share the true stories of immigrants to the United States. Immigrants are not monsters, nor just statistics, but people, and each one has his or her own story to tell. So, I asked Juan if he would agree to share his story with me in an interview. We met in his sister's house in Lynwood, and he told me how he came to the United States, and what his life has been like since he got here. This is part one of the interview.
Marjorie Hunt: What I'd like to know is your story. You're from Guatemala, right? Why did you leave, and how did you get here? To where you are now.
Juan Carlos del Cid: I came because my sister, she left first. Because she saw the necessity, that we needed to get ahead. Because the position we were in, we were very poor. My mother worked as a maid, in a house. Of rich people in Guatemala. She would go all week and they have her four hours of rest. On Sundays. And that was to see us. My grandmother, the mother of my mother, raised us. We were born without a father, and years later, like 15 years, my dad wanted to get back together with my mom. She got pregnant with my brother. This, I'm talking about 1976. In 1976, there was a big earthquake in Guatemala. Thank God, nothing happened to us, and after the earthquake, my brother was born. And we saw ourselves in poverty. And my sister, being the oldest, they told her about the American Dream of there in the United States. We knew a person who came and went, who brought used clothes from here and sold it there like new. That is, it was a business. She came, but that person was illegal. And she made money, bringing people here from there. And so, my sister came. And her story is that, she came with this woman, and when they crossed the border, the border patrol detained the other woman, but my sister kept going. And my sister was here, she came were, without anyone.
M: Wow.
J: Nobody, nobody. And she was a woman, she was 18 years old.
M: And she came to Los Angeles.
J: Yes, she came to Los Angeles. And here, she met someone who gave her a place to live without knowing her. She started working in a house, and then she started to send us money. We started living better. Then, well at that time, bad things started happening in my country. Always due to the government. One of the reasons I came was because, in 1976, I was in high school, at night. And Guatemala was fighting Belize. Belize was Guatemala, in 1976. So, Guatemala was going to invade Belize. Because, look. I was in school, when they said that Guatemala was going to fight against Great Britain. I remember that it was on the news that Guatemala was going to, so Great Britain put two aircraft carriers in front of the Guatemalan stuff near Cuba. Guatemala is very close to Cuba, you know? And they put it like that, and everyone was scared. That Guatemala was going to fight, and that all of Central America had united, that we were going to fight against Great Britain. Like how Argentina fought, for the Falklands. Same thing. So, the army started, but not like here that it's volunteer, there, they force you. Everyone who was 15 years old and up, had to go to serve in the army.
M: From 15 years old?
J: They were even taking 14-year-olds. And I remember that, they arrived to where I lived, it was a neighborhood. It was poor. And they brought a truck, with a lot of soldiers. Everyone who was in the street, they started to grab them. And they wanted to take me and I started running. I was a very good runner, you know. I ran really fast. I was small but who was going to reach me? I remember that two people were coming up behind me. This was the sound of the doors, boom, boom, boom. But I knew my hood, and I escaped them. They got several friends. They put them in the barracks, where the soldiers are. And they were preparing them to go and fight against everyone. It was all like that. Really ugly. There was a lot of tension. You know what happened? On the fourth of February, three in the morning, 3:33, there's a 7.8 earthquake in Guatemala. It killed 26,000 people, 27,000. And I was there, I'm a survivor of the big earthquake. From there, comes our story. Why we came.
After the earthquake, we saw the poverty we were in, "We have nowhere to live." So, the people started to invade big pieces of land. And we didn't manage to get any. And my sister, seeing all that, didn't want me to go through the problems, and she asked me if i wanted to come. And yes, I came.
So, yes, I accepted, but I waited about seven months to come, because she said the news said that the KKK was killing people on the border. And, because of that she told me to wait, a moment before I came. And yes, the day came that she sent the money, but I didn't know how to leave. So, in my country, the newspaper comes out, and it has some advertising for jobs, and all that, and there were trips to the United States without… there was no problem, nothing. For, I don't remember, it was 300 dollars… 300 quetzales, which was, at that time 300 dollars were 300 quetzales. So, I bought the ticket, and first, I went to the Mexican embassy. Mexico gave me a visa so I could go to Mexico. To cross the border from Guatemala to Mexico without problems. But, the visa was only until Guadalajara. If I went past Guadalajara and the police found me, I was illegal. Because they didn't want me to come to the United States, which is a treaty between Mexico and the United States, something like that. So, I arrived to Guadalajara, okay, with nothing.
And my adventure started when we were in Guadalajara in the hotel, waiting for the coyote that we had contracted from Guatemala. So, they were here on the border. To get to Guadalajara, they did it on land, because at that time the airlines were on strike, and there weren't any flights. So, I was there in Guadalajara like three, four days, living.
M: Who did you go to Guadalajara with? Alone?
J: Alone. Only one hundred dollars came with me. A hundred dollars. Imagine. To eat, and everything. And so, we were a lot of people that came. I didn't know, until we all came in the same bus, we went to the same address. I didn't know until we got to the hotel. But in the hotel they had a floor prepared, just for us, because the police came to check. But they knew that in that floor, they couldn't check because we had already paid in advance. So, when the coyotes arrived on the third day, they said, like random, this guy goes here, this guy goes there. And it fell to me to go by rain. And to the rest to go by bus.
So that was my story, that's where my adventures start. That we got on the train, and I made friends with someone who lived close by in Guatemala. I don't remember his name. And, in Guatemala they had sold him like an ID, and he took off the picture, and put his picture, and the stamp, he did with a pen. You know how they put the stamp, and he did it. So, he became my friend. And then when the first police officers got on to check the train, and they asked me where I was from, I said I was from Mexico. That I was from Guadalajara. Before arriving, before leaving Guatemala, they told us that we had to talk like Mexicans, because our accent is… way different than Mexico, than the Mexican.
So, we talk, the accent is different. There are things we say, things that for them are bad manners. They're bad things, no? And then, I started to talk like a Mexican, and… and they asked me where I was from, that I was from Mexico. From where, from Guadalajara. But I made out that I was 16, even though I was 18. They believed me. That I didn't have papers because I was underage. And, they kept going. But my friend, that I made friends with on the train, he was 22, 23 years old, and he had the ID card. And they told him, "This card isn't good. This isn't yours. Where are you going?" But they had asked me where I was going. And I say, "I'm going to Tijuana." "And why are you going to Tijuana?" "To see my sister." They believed me. They didn't believe him. Well, he says, since they didn't believe him, and the desperation that they were going to take him, he told them, "I'm going to see his sister. I'm going with him."
Boom, they tell me, "Come here."
And they took me to the bathroom on the train. And they kept us there. Some bathrooms, ew. I remember, it was all ugly, it stank, and they had us in there. And they were telling us that they were going to put our faces in there if we didn't say where we were going. Me, well, no. So, they told us, "Central Americans, yeah?" So, what they do is, they take off your t-shirt, and they check the tags. The tags say "Made in Guatemala," or made in wherever they're made. And the majority, since there they make everything, said "Made in Guatemala," on all the underwear. But they told us when we left, before we left, that you have to cut that off. So they couldn't do it. "No, Central Americans. Now, where are you from?" So, right there we said we were Central American. "So, from Guatemala. Well, if you don't give us some cash, we don't let you go. You stay here." So, they take the dollars from him, and the pesos that he had. What little he hadn't spent, on hotels, on food. In Guadalajara. And they took all my money, they only left me three dollars. Three dollars.
But I remembered that I had like twenty dollars in my pants. How I had my pants, the hem, I sewed it and right in there I had the money. I still had reserves. And they didn't take us off. They left us. We stayed on the train. We arrived to a place called Benjamín Hill. I don't know where it is. But it's before Coahuila, Mexico. It's another place where they say that it's a train station where no Central Americans pass through. Nobody. So, well, to avoid the immigration of Mexico, we got off. And he tells me, or I tell him, "With what money?" "Don't worry," the other guy tells me. "They didn't take all my money." He did have a lot of money. Same thing, in the hem.
And we went to eat tacos. To avoid it, you know. And the Mexican migra started going around. And we got off, and we went to the taco stand. And then, when he says—I don't eat chile. He says, "With everything, young man?" "No, without chile." "Central American!" Oooooh, the chile! "Mmmm," he says, "be careful," he says. "Because the migra is around here." "Yeah, I know. You won't say anything?" "No, don't be embarrassed. You're going to the north, right?" "Yes," I say, "yes, I'm going to the north." "Good luck," he tells me. He even gave me a free taco.
That's something that I always carry in my mind, in my heart. When I receive help from someone. They told me there in Guatemala that Mexico was pretty, but without its people. You understand? That in Mexico it was really pretty, but the people were bad. But, there I understood that this was a lie. Because the people of Mexico live well. The people of Mexico are hospitable and gave me food to eat. Because, after all that, after this story that I'm telling you, more about Mexico, the people of Mexico, comes later.
We went back, and when we saw that a train was leaving the station, I said, "Our train is leaving." And we started running to the train. And we caught it and we got on, boom, while it was going and everything. And we went to the front, and I said, "This isn't the car." And we started, and we kept going, kept going, and we arrived to the end. And the car that we came in wasn't there. And I say, "This train, where is it going?" Or, I said it like a Mexican. "Y este, ¿pa onde jala, eh?" "This is going to Nogales." "Nooo, we're not going to Nogales!" And the train is going, choo choo choo, it's going fast, it was full, and we found the exit, and we're throwing ourselces. Going, and we fell all scraped up, my knees scraped, my hands scraped, and my friend was saying, "It's your fault," he told me. "Because you told me this train." "Why are you following me?" We started to fight, and we started walking. All of it, going back, on the train tracks, all sad, and in my mind I was saying, "I'm already headed back to Guatemala. What do I do? Oh well." And well, we started walking, I started to see a little light, a little bigger, bigger. It was the train station. And looking, the train was still there. And running! And I kept running and I kept running and it's over. We're there. The migra had already left. They'd taken away a ton of people. And they didn't tell us and we didn't see anything! So, we did it well. And I believe that God did that so that I could be here. Because, if that hadn't happened to me, they would have gotten me.
And then, when I get there, my seat was taken. And I had to go standing up. Standing, and hungry. And we walked on the train. So then, I had to steal. I made a stop, some ladies with baskets, and they were carrying fruit. You know. To survive with hunger. I didn't have money. And, it went on like that, and we arrived in Coahuila at midnight. And in Coahuila, they were waiting for us in a hotel. And when we all got there, we kept walking, one here, one there, and we were following the coyote. But the coyote made friends with me. His name was Tony. And I had to follow, I went with him, and everyone went following me. I was the sign, and everyone else followed me. And when we arrived at the hotel, all of us together on the corner, they told us, "You can't go in the hotel." "Why?" Because there was a patrol of the Mexican police there. If not, they were going to send us back. They were going to take us away.
And I don't know what he did, I don't remember very well what happened, and they took us in another truck, another bus. We took a bus, and this bus took us to a little town. I don't remember the town. We stayed there. And so, we stayed in a house. A hut of a señora where it was just dirt. It was the poorest that there was, and the señora had beans, she had coffee, and she gave us food to eat. Coffee, and in the morning she made us eggs with beans. And we woke up there. On the floor, on the ground we slept. And she gave us blankets, and everything, and the woman told us, "What you want to give us." That's why I tell you, the people of Mexico are really nice. And I told her, "I don't have money." "Don't worry, someone else will pay me." And others gave her the rest of the money. That's why Mexico is beautiful. I know it.
And then, we kept going. At two days, I don't know, three days, we arrived in Mexicali. Now we're close. And again, people gave us food to eat. We were in a house and they gave us food. I wasn't carrying money. What I was saving, it was very little. And to these people yes, I gave them they money. Because I was ashamed. Because they gave us food, even meat. You know, meat in that time, wow. And we kept on going like that, until we arrived in Tijuana. But with a whole strategy of the coyotes, of, "Get off here, follow us here," because they knew that here, you couldn't go, here we wouldn't pass, and here they would take us on different paths. We were walking, and we got the bus. We left the bus that was carrying us, and we got off here, and we waited for the bus somewhere else, because here was the Mexican border patrol. And they were sending us back. Until I arrived. In Mexico, I remember that we climbed a lot, we walked a lot in Tijuana, until I arrived at the border, Mexico-United States. Not the border that's there now. The border was a chain-link fence, you know, that was kicked over. And there were some little streams that went under, of black waters, and I was saying, "This is the United States?" As ugly as it looked, "That's the United States?" But, the people who were there, who got there first, were the people who came on the bus. But there was a girl from El Salvador who came and she and Tony liked each other. And he told me, "You go in the first group. I'm going to stay with her." So he stayed with her. And I left.
Look, on the first try, I made it. We left behind everything that was light colored, and we got dressed in black, dark, and we started like that, some 15 or 20. So, on the border we were going on the hill, and the guide said to me, "Careful, you want to watch out." Because there was a cable, that if we touched it was a sensor, and we passed like that, easy. And when we saw the helicopter we got in some bushes and we hid. And we walked some, maybe some two hours, perhaps. When a car arrived, and it was an American. An American. That was the first time that I saw and American here, in the United States. He arrived with a station wagon. And he put some people in the back. And we were like 15 people that went in the car. Almost all of us fit in the car. I went in the passenger side, but where you put your feet, there I curled up. The put someone else on top, and two on top of him. We were four people! And everyone in the back was like, one on top of the other, like, boom boom boom. And everyone. And him, "Everyone good?" "Yes." He took out a joint of marijuana, smoked marijuana. And he left. And they didn't stop us.
He took us to a motel in San Diego. I don't know, Chula Vista, around there. I don't know where it was. And they took us to a motel. And then, the next night, the next group was going to cross, the one I was supposed to go with. But when they left, this group when it left, they say that they killed someone there. And they couldn't cross, because the police was watching. We waited four days, without food, without water, only the water from the tap that we were drinking, until the group crossed. And that same night, a truck arrived. And it had, I remember that it had the sign of Budweiser. Budweiser. And when we got in, some other people from here arrived, we were some 70 or 80 people. And all standing up. Like, like steaks, like cows in there. Standing up. I didn't know. My heart beat every second. And we started the trip. And everyone says, "When they hit the door like this, be quiet. We're passing San Clemente."
And suddenly, "Boom," and everyone quiet. And they didn't check the truck. Boom, we arrived to East Los Angeles. And I arrived to the United States. Like that. A very good story.
This was my story, how I arrived here. Mine, for me it's easy. Because in that time it was easier. Now it's more difficult. They keep making it harder. You see how they put up out of metal, they put up like a wall.
But I always, they say that for the hispanic there is no impossible. He has ideas, he's very clever. It's a legacy that we bring from the Spanish, you know. Because the Spanish didn't bring good people. With Christopher Columbus they sent only vagabonds, criminals, that's why we're like this. [Laughs]
This is part one of Juan's story. Look back in the next few days for part two, on his life here in the United States.
Many, many thanks to Juan for sharing this story with me.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Home Bollywood More Bollywood Stars Join Aamir Khan In Boycotting Award Ceremonies
More Bollywood Stars Join Aamir Khan In Boycotting Award Ceremonies
Bollywood star Aamir Khan was hardly seen in any award ceremonies, which are organized to honour the actors, directors, singers and other crew members. Now, many more Bollywood stars are joining to this bandwagon formed by Aamir Khan.
National Award winner actor Ajay Devgn has joined Aamir Khan saying that he has also lost interest in such ceremonies, which are cropping up almost every year. He thinks that the aim of the organizers is to only market themselves through these awards and celebrities. The 41-year old actor says that he has stopped attending award functions as these are given to only those actors, who attend the events. He adds that if all actors start attending these events then the awards will have to be divided into three categories. He further says that they need to market and sell their awards.
This year, Ajay was nominated for four awards – Star Screen Awards, Big Star Entertainment Award, Zee Cine Awards and Apsara Awards in the best actor category for Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai. But the actor did not attend any one of them and did not receive any too.
His Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai co-star Emraan Hashmi has also same opinion. According to him, the award ceremonies try to keep everyone happy. He adds that these award ceremonies keep three categories of awards for every actor. He finds this very ridiculous and does not want to be a part of this circus.
Bollywood's leading lady Kareena Kapoor also feels that most of such awards are given to the undeserving candidates. She adds that the actors, who do not attend them, are never declared as the winners.
Suniel Shetty thinks that some of these awards are rigged but not all of them. He maintained a diplomatic stand saying that he does not attend award ceremonies because of his other prior commitments.
–Sampurn Wire
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Home - Foreign - Trump says no US troops hurt in Iran strikes, vows more sanctions
Trump says no US troops hurt in Iran strikes, vows more sanctions
News Editor Follow on Twitter Send an email January 8, 2020
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iranian missile strikes on bases in Iraq did not harm any US troops stationed there and damage was minimal, an outcome he said showed Tehran wanted to de-escalate a standoff.
Iran "appears to be standing down", Trump said at the White House amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran over the US killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Iraq last week.
Trump announced the US would immediately impose new "powerful" sanctions until "Iran changes its behaviour".
The comments were Trump's first televised remarks since Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops. Trump also said there were no Iraqi casualties.
"The fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we have to use it. We do not want to use it. American strength, both military and economic, is the best deterrent," Trump said in a speech that struck a noticeably different tone than his tweets following the attack on Soleimani in which he threatened to "fully strike back" if Iran attacked any US citizen or site.
Iran said Wednesday's attacks against an Iraqi base in Erbil and the Ain al-Asad base in western Iraq were revenge for the killing of Soleimani. It warned the US against retaliating for the strikes.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei said Iran's attacks were a "slap on the face" of the US and said US troops should leave the region.
Tehran's foreign minister said Iran took "proportionate measures" in self-defence and did not seek an escalation.
Source: Aljazeera


Ok, so I'd like to try something I know how to do but haven't done for a while that is relaxing and lets me think while I'm doing it.
Perfect solution…knitting. They always show people knitting on movie sets between takes, on the sidelines of certain sports, in Insta worthy beautiful artists communities, and it's supposed to help with dexterity as well as relaxation. I can't actually think of a bad aspect of knitting so I'm in!
I learned how to knit the first time when I was maybe 13-14 years old when my great grandmother taught me. I had dropped it after a while, but realistically the average 15 year old doesn't want to be sitting in Mc Donalds with their friends and their knitting bag. Years later I decided to pick it up again and my Aunt Maryanne gave me a refresher course when she taught me how to finish the end of a scarf. Basically all I know how to do is a scarf so I'm going to be trying that again.
I'll post some pictures once I get started. Wish me luck.
Tags: knitting, Learning, relax. Bookmark the permalink.


Lena Waithe and Halle Berry's comedy series "Boomerang" is one of two shows that have been picked up for a second season at BET, Variety has learned.
Executive produced by Waithe and Berry, "Boomerang" is based on the 1992 American rom-com in which Berry starred alongside Robin Givens and Eddie Murphy.
"Making 'Boomerang' has been one of the highlights of my career and the positive feedback we've gotten from fans and critics has been so validating. I'm beyond excited to dive even deeper into these characters' lives in season two," said Waithe.
Paramount Pictures has set an Aug. 7, 2020, release date for its untitled sequel to the 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy "Coming to America." The studio hired "Hustle & Flow" helmer Craig Brewer to direct the project with Murphy expected to return as the star.


text:
Q: Is Shortest Hamiltonian path NP-hard? Hamiltonian Path is a path that connects all nodes without repeat and it is an NP-complete problem.

*

*Is the Shortest Hamiltonian Path (SHP) NP-hard?

*What is the difference between travelling salesman problem with SHP?

A: I assume the SHP problem is the Hamiltonian problem on the edge weighted graph. It is NP-hard because it is at least as hard as the Hamiltonian problem. Assume you have an algorithm to solve the SHP problem, then you apply the algorithm on a weighted graph with all edge weights are 1, it will solve the Hamiltonian problem with the same time complexity.
TSP requires to return to the original vertex and you can visit each vertex more one once. SHP asks for the path which visits every vertex exactly once.

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Home Chinese Culture Chinese Zodiac
How to Make Good Luck in Your Zodiac Year Easily
Written by Fercility JiangUpdated Jan. 10, 2023
Zodiac year, or Ben Ming Nian, is any year of your Chinese zodiac animal sign, determined by your birth year. As there are 12 animal signs, a year of your birth sign comes once per 12-year-cycle: when you are (about) 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, and so on.
When is Your Zodiac Year?
Your zodiac year starts from Chinese New Year and ends on the last day of the Chinese lunar year (Chinese New Year's Eve). For example, 2020 is a year of the Rat, and Rats' zodiac year starts from Chinese New Year 2020 (January 25th), and ends on February 11th, 2021.
See the table below for each of the 12 zodiac animals' zodiac year, and find out which years are your zodiac sign years. (If you were born in January or February, you may need to check your birth sign using our Zodiac Sign Calculator.)
Chinese Zodiac Animal
Zodiac Year (Birth Sign Year)
Rat 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020
Ox 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
Tiger 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
Rabbit 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023
Dragon 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024
Snake 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025
Horse 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026
Goat 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027
Monkey 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028
Rooster 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029
Dog 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030
Pig 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031
Why is a Zodiac Year an Unlucky Year? — Offend the God of Age
2022 is a year of the Tiger.
According to Chinese astrology, people in their zodiac year are believed to offend Tai Sui, the God of Age, and incur his curse. It is believed to bring nothing but bad luck. Therefore Chinese astrology followers pay special attention to their conduct every twelfth year of their lives, i.e. in their birth sign years.
What is the 'God of Age' Star (Tai Sui)?
Tai Sui doesn't actually exist as a real star! (It roughly corresponds to Jupiter, which takes 11.86 years to orbit earth, and is probably where the idea for the star came from). It's an imaginary star that changes position exactly 30 degrees of direction each year, i.e. orbiting Earth every 12 years exactly.
The star Tai Sui is said to bring misfortune to people in zodiac years matching their year of birth.
Later, during the course of history, Tai Sui evolved into the God of Age, and has been worshipped by Chinese people from one generation to another. People offer sacrifices to the God of Age to get rid of misfortune and pray for blessings in a zodiac year.
Getting Good Luck in a Zodiac Year — Wearing Red
According to Chinese tradition, there are some things that people can do to fend off bad luck in a zodiac year.
By Wearing Red — Drive Away Bad Luck
Wearing red to drive away bad luck.
Red is one of the luckiest colors in Chinese culture, standing for prosperity, loyalty, success, and happiness. Red can drive away bad luck and evil spirits.
Therefore wearing red during your zodiac year (or zodiac year) will bring you good luck and give you a good year. You can wear a red belt, red socks, red shoes, or red clothes, and red underwear is highly recommended during your zodiac year.
However, there is a rule that you need to pay attention to, or the red won't ward off bad luck. You cannot buy, for example, the red underwear yourself. It should be bought by a spouse, family member, or friend.
By Wearing Jade Accessories
Besides wearing red, you can also wear jade accessories during your zodiac year to ward off bad luck, like pendants, earrings, rings, and bracelets.
By Facing the Right Direction — Face Away from Tai Sui
People are often told by fortune-tellers that Tai Sui will bring bad luck. Actually in theory you can make use of Tai Sui to bring good luck, by facing in the opposite direction. The position of Tai Sui for each year in its cycle is listed below.
Year (e.g.)
Position of God of Age
Monkey 2016 Southwest (240 °)
Rooster 2017 West (270 °)
Dog 2018 Northwest (300 °)
Pig 2019 Northwest (330 °)
Rat 2020 North (0 °)
Ox 2021 Northeast (30 °)
Tiger 2022 Northeast (60 °)
Rabbit 2023 East (90 °)
Dragon 2024 Southeast (120 °)
Snake 2025 Southeast (150 °)
Horse 2026 South (180 °)
Goat 2027 Southwest (210 °)
You can adjust your beds, seats, desks to face away from Tai Sui.
People adjust the direction of beds, seats, desks, and even where they live and work to face away from Tai Sui, i.e. "to get Tai Sui behind them", in an effort to incur good luck.
For example, in 2021 (a year of the Ox) Tai Sui is in the northeast. So in 2021 Qxes adjust your furniture and dwellings to face southwest to get good luck. When doing something important, such as a business negotiation, Pigs should face southeast, and you will stand a good chance of succeeding.
January 22nd, 2023 - February 9th, 2024
2023 is a year of the Rabbit: horoscope and lucky things
Rat Horoscope 2023: Career, Love, and Money Predictions
Pigs' Horoscope 2023
Chinese Zodiac Calculator - What is My Chinese Zodiac
Ox Chinese Zodiac Sign: Symbolism in Chinese Culture
5 Elements Analysis for Rooster People
Rat Chinese Zodiac Sign: Symbolism in Chinese Culture
How to Deal with Culture Shock in China More Easily
14-Day Classic China Photo Tour
3-Day Zhongwei Desert Tour with Winery Experience
15-Day China's Ancient Cities and Celebrated Mountains
China Museum Tours
11-Day China Tour and Kungfu Experience
8-Day Beijing–Pingyao–Xi'an Private Tour By High-Speed Train
15-Day Nature of China
China Winter Holiday Tours 2023/2024


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Music Creates Mood for Commercials
Have you ever tried to watch a video commercial or advertisement without music? If so, there are few things you may have thought: that it was different due to the silence yet you seemed to like it, or you didn't care for it at all making it easy to go on with your daily activities never giving it a second thought as to what the commercial was even selling. Ninety five percent of the time the latter happens because music is almost a sure-fire way to create emotions and moods in video advertising.
When it comes to advertisements, music has the power to create better moods in video commercials, as well as to bring a more personal touch to these ads. As a result, it provides a better impact to their target audience, therefore effectively promoting products and services.
While visuals might be appealing to marketers' target consumers, the use of music in video media advertising tends to create a more lasting impression in consumers' minds, providing a great chance for companies to build positive brand or company images.
Simple video advertisements sometimes could set the proper ambiance when they are without music. Of course, there are some scenes which might be perfectly shot and produced, but music enhances this mood and ambiance in any video media, providing a great complement to these scenes and stamping a long-term impact in the audience's minds.
Consider this situation: There is a video of a woman who seems to be standing in the middle of crowd. With the video alone, it doesn't seem to mean anything. There is also a big chance that people would simply forget it, thinking that it is just some boring video. On the other hand, applying music in this advertisement would set a deeper mood – something that would connect better to the target audience. Slow music in this situation would set the mood of sadness, as if the woman is sadly waiting for somebody. On the other hand, upbeat music would set a more positive and outgoing mood, as if the woman would soon do something funny.
Suggesting the Right Emotions
The use of music in video commercials also hints what the audience or the target market should feel when they see these ads. Without music, people are sometimes confused as to how they should react to these ads. Music in video ads makes sure that your desired feelings are conveyed to your audience by suggesting certain emotions. It does not overly push the feeling towards your audience, but it acts as a way to make your audience think about what they should feel as suggested by the music. Music in video media ads, therefore, helps marketers and advertisers to somewhat help tell the target audience which kind of feelings should be felt in these video advertisements.
Evoking More Intense Emotions
Simple emotions found in scenes in video ads can be heightened further with the use of music. A scene of a sad woman would even be sadder with the right music, and can evoke more intense emotions to its viewers. Music can greatly affect the effectiveness of these video media ads because they can make the audience relate to a particular emotion or feeling. Affecting people's emotions through music will make your advertised product, service or company to be related to a particular strong emotion, such as happy, uplifting, energetic or loving.
Catchy Tunes Tend to Leave Longer Lasting Impressions
Admit it – once in your life, you might have had some music stuck in your head because it was played in some video advertisement. Months or years later, you still remember that particular product, service or company whenever you hear the music. People tend to link music, brands and companies together, which just shows how effective music can be in video advertisements as compared to using only text or visuals. Video media advertising and commercials with music invest in long-term brand or company images in the consumer's minds.
Video advertisements that tend to be the most effective, almost always balance between the use of audio and video. Music can enhance the audio, and it should offset the video to effectively relay the marketers' desired messages to their particular audiences.
Some advertisements are better without music, but these are very rare and always depend from case to case. Most of the time, the best advertisements which leave lasting impressions are those with perfect mixtures of audio and video. The next time you watch a video advertisement, consider muting the audio. You will see a different message and effect as compared to watching it with the audio and music.
Follow this link to read actual statistics confirming these findings about video advertisement and video commercials.
Ann Rountre
David Tower & Associates
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ann_Rountre
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The Employer Website is HERE!
What is the Employer Website? The Employer Website is a place where an employer can create an account and respond to and manage Idaho Income Withholding Orders (IWO) and National Medical Support Notices (NMSN) online. This portal will reduce paper consumption and the lag time typical in processing these documents via mail. The Employer Website will ultimately cut down on the amount of time it takes to get funds to Idaho's children while saving you postage costs and processing time.
Do I have to have an employee with a Child Support case to use the website? Yes. You must have at least one employee with a Child Support case.
As always, we are very interested in getting your feedback and suggestions for any additional features that would enhance this website. Please send us an email at CSWebHelp and let us know what you think.
As an employer, you are in a position to play a vital role in helping us support Idaho's kids via the Child Support program. We would like to partner with you to help kids receive the financial and medical support they need. Letting us know when you hire an employee, withholding a portion of a parent's wages to pay support, and enrolling kids in their parent's medical insurance are important ways for you to support children and make a difference in their lives.
Check out the following links for more information on how you, the employer, can partner with Idaho Child Support Services to invest in the future of Idaho's kids by helping support their needs.
If you have any questions, or would like some help, feel free to contact Idaho Child Support Services at (800) 356-9868.


Sometimes, language gets in the way of faith. The unique speech used within the Christian Church—often called "Christianese"—can be confusing for those new to the faith. Phrases like "backsliding," "soul winning," and "hedge of protection" continually muddy the cognitive waters for those wishing to better understand their beliefs.
Fuquay deftly passes this language barrier by using easily-remembered symbols that many readers will be familiar with, or will easily understand: the multicolored flags used to send signals to NASCAR drivers during races. He explains that, because early racing was loud and sent masses of dust into the air, brightly colored flags were the best way to communicate with drivers.
The everyday world of Fuquay's readers may not be clouded with dust or rent by the sound of 850-horsepower engines, but it is packed with misinformation, confusing communication, and difficult ideas. In response to this, Fuquay uses racing flags to clear things up.
Let's take a brief look at how he uses these symbols.
Fuquay links the green flag, which begins a race, to the beginning of a Christian's journey of faith.
The yellow flag, which indicates caution, he connects the idea of heeding God's warnings.
The blue flag, which means "yield," is used to remind Christians that they must respect the choices and needs of those around them.
The red flag indicates a delay in the race, and Fuquay uses it to speak of the unwanted interruptions that inevitably occur in life, and how readers might benefit from those delays.
The dreaded black flag means a disqualification and removal from the race, and Fuquay uses this image to talk about how mistakes can take readers out of their personal race toward a relationship with God, and how to rectify these errors.
The white flag, which means the final lap is upon a racer, is used as a jumping-off point to talk about how Christians should live as they near their own "finish line," in their relationships with God.
In the end, Pastor Fuquay challenges readers to think carefully through these aspects of their faith, and his work stands to help them to more easily identify—and correctly respond to—the "flags" that arise in their lives. The well-used symbolism of "Take the Flag" is set to help many churchgoers score a victory in their relationships with God.


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Danielle Santola
west-orange TAP into West Orange Your Neighborhood News Online
TAP into West Orange Your Neighborhood News Online
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Seton Hall Prep Faculty Members Honored for Life-Saving Actions
By JESSE WINTER
James Bradley, Mark Smith, Tom Ronnie and Council President Jerry Guarino James Bradley, Mark Smith, Tom Ronnie and Council President Jerry Guarino Credits: Jesse Winter
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Township Council recently honored Tom Ronnie, James Bradley and Mark Smith for their heroic actions on Feb. 28, when the three men helped rescue an unconscious woman who was trapped inside her Jeep within the school pickup zone at Seton Hall Prep (SHP).
Ronnie and Bradley, two retired Essex County Sheriff's Department detectives who now work as school security officers, and Smith, Dean of Men at SHP, were assisted by students and other personnel as they pulled the woman from her vehicle. According to Ronnie, the woman clung to life in the critical moments leading up to the arrival of the EMS.
"It was just a regular day," said Ronnie. "I was approached by a freshman who said, 'Sir, sir, sir, there's a woman in a car. She's unconscious and all her doors are locked.'"
Ronnie took his radio and informed Bradley and Smith of the emergency, along with the school secretary, Stephanie Gallo, who contacted 911. Prior to the arrival of medics and the West Orange Police Department, however, the actions of Ronnie, Bradley and Smith would prove decisive.
When Ronnie arrived, he said students were "tugging on doors and banging on windows."
"I immediately checked the condition of the driver," he said. "She was belted in, slumped over, unconscious, with vomit and blood on her jacket."
Ronnie tried to gain entry to the vehicle by shattering the back window with his portable radio, but said his radio shattered instead.
"I ran across the street, grabbed a big boulder and threw it through her rear window directly behind the driver's seat," he said. "I broke it out, and I opened the door and reached in to unlock the front door."
According to Ronnie, the car was filled with toxic fumes. He discovered that the unconscious woman had been transporting cookie dough in dry ice that she picked up from East Orange and drove to SHP. At some point, Ronnie said, the dry ice began to leak through one of the boxes and fill the car with fumes, causing the woman to have a seizure.
Ronnie also recalled that the car was in park with the engine still running.
"There were crazy fumes in there," said Ronnie. "I had no idea what it was initially. All I know is it burnt my eyes, my nose, my lungs, immediately."
Jumping out of the car, Ronnie informed the others assisting with the rescue that it was urgent to pull the woman out. Despite the burning sensation in his eyes and face, Ronnie re-entered the car to continue the rescue.
"I reached in again and undid her seat belt and unlocked her door," said Ronnie. "They pulled her out and I shut the vehicle off."
Outside on the grass, Smith checked the woman's corroded artery for a pulse and felt nothing. Ronnie checked her wrist for a pulse and also felt nothing. Her eyes were wide open, he said.
"She took a real shallow breath, and maybe 20 seconds later she took another real shallow breath," he said. "We started talking to her, moving her around a little bit, helping her get some of the bad air out. She started breathing regularly. She closed her eyes, and we were saying 'stay with us, stay with us, squeeze my fingers.' She actually squeezed my finger."
This all occurred in the minutes it took the EMS to arrive, according to Ronnie. Upon arrival, EMS administered oxygen and brought the woman to Mountainside Hospital in Montclair. After a few days there and some time resting at home, she made a full recovery.
The swift and decisive actions of Ronnie, Bradley, Smith, the students and other members of the SHP community who aided in the woman's rescue, along with the first responders, prevented the freak accident from claiming her life.
Ronnie said he believes that getting the woman outside into the fresh air was crucial to her survival.
"I think it was just muscle memory," said Ronnie. "There was no question what had to be done."
Shortly after the woman's recovery, Ronnie was summoned to the school's main office and told he had a visitor. The woman had come to thank those who acted to save her life.
"We both teared up and gave each other a hug," said Ronnie. "She gave us each a very nice card thanking us for what we did. She thanked me for allowing her to have additional time with her family."
During the visit, the woman called Ronnie and Smith her angels. Ronnie, Smith and Bradley were presented with Certificates of Appreciation from the Township of West Orange during the most recent council meeting.
Fri, September 20, 11:30 am Roseland Roseland Greek Fest
2019 Downtown Thursdays Kick Off in West Orange
By DEBORAH BALTHAZAR
WEST ORANGE, NJ – Last held in 2016, the Downtown West Orange Alliance's (DWOA) ...
Off-Duty Newark Cop Charged in Shooting Death of Estranged Wife
By REBECCA PANICO
JEFFERSON, NJ — Newark Police Lt. John Formisano—the off-duty police officer ...
Public Invited to Semi-Annual West Orange Chamber Membership Meeting
Atlantic Health, Kindred Healthcare Celebrate Completion of Rehabilitation Hospital
MADISON, NJ — Atlantic Health System (AHS) and Kindred Healthcare recently marked the completion of Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute, a brand-new state-of-the-art inpatient rehabilitation hospital located in Madison that will combine the expertise of two leaders in high-quality patient care.
The $24 million, two-story, 38-bed rehabilitation hospital is the first standalone hospital to be ...
MADISON, NJ — Atlantic Health System (AHS) and Kindred Healthcare recently marked the completion of ...
TAPinto Breaks All-Time Monthly Record: 1,270,494 Readers, 3,453,599 Pageviews in June 2019
By TAPINTO.NET
NEW JERSEY — TAPinto.net, a network of more than 80 franchised online local news sites in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Florida, had a record-breaking month of traffic in June, logging 1,270,494 unique readers and 3,453,599 pageviews. The record marks continued growth in TAPinto's readership and engagement metrics across its 82 franchised sites. During the last year, ...
NEW JERSEY — TAPinto.net, a network of more than 80 franchised online local news sites in New ...
West Orange Board of Education Appoints Dr. J. Scott Cascone as Superintendent
WEST ORANGE, NJ – After reviewing more than 60 resumes over the course of six months, the West Orange Board of Education (WOBOE) unanimously voted to appoint Dr. J. Scott Cascone as the new Superintendent of West Orange Public Schools on Wednesday.
Cascone, who will be the first bilingual (English/Spanish) superintendent in West Orange's history, is set to officially start his four-year ...
WEST ORANGE, NJ – After reviewing more than 60 resumes over the course of six months, the West ...
Essex County News: Montclair Man Charged with Murdering 51-Year-Old Father
By TAPINTO MONTCLAIR STAFF
NEWARK, NJ – The Essex County Prosecutor's Office arrested and charged a son with the fatal stabbing of his father, Jose Correa, 51, of Woodland Park, this week, according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens II and Montclair Police Chief Todd Conforti.
The son, Josiah Correa, 24, of Montclair was arrested at the apartment he shares with his mother in the 300 block of Orange ...
NEWARK, NJ – The Essex County Prosecutor's Office arrested and charged a son with the fatal ...
West Orange Sees Several Recent Cases of Identity Theft, Forgery
By TAPINTO WEST ORANGE STAFF
WEST ORANGE, NJ -- The Township of West Orange is urging residents to be aware of the dangers of scams involving identity theft after several recent incidents were reported in the area.
There were four cases reported to police between June 28 and July 3 of fraudulent checks, forgery and credit card fraud in the township, according to West Orange police.
In one case, a Gregory Avenue woman ...
WEST ORANGE, NJ -- The Township of West Orange is urging residents to be aware of the dangers of ...
West Orange Native Participates in Multinational Exercise in Baltic Sea Region
KIEL, GM – Petty Officer 1st Class Akram Omar, a native of West Orange, recently participated in the Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) exercise with 18 other nations, according to Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Theodore Quintana from the Navy Office of Community Outreach.
Prior to his departure for BALTOPS, Omar said that "being a leading petty officer during this deployment and at sea has ...
KIEL, GM – Petty Officer 1st Class Akram Omar, a native of West Orange, recently participated in ...
Essex County News: Roseland Teen Makes History as First 17-Year-Old Pro Boxer in NJ
By GUY KIPP
NEWARK, NJ — Vito Mielnicki Jr., a Roseland resident and rising senior at West Essex High School, will become the first New Jersey boxer to turn pro at the age of 17 when he fights in a four-round super welterweight bout against Tamarcus Smith (2-2, 2 KOs) on Saturday, July 13 at the Prudential Center in Newark.
The match is part of the undercard to the main event, a 10-round featherweight ...
NEWARK, NJ — Vito Mielnicki Jr., a Roseland resident and rising senior at West Essex High School, ...
Visit Essex County's "Butterfly Tent Safari" Interactive Display in July
By TAPINTO WEST ESSEX STAFF
ROSELAND, NJ — The public is invited to experience the "Butterfly Tent Safari," an interactive display where visitors can observe hundreds of butterflies while walking through a tent, throughout July at the Essex County Environmental Center in Roseland.
Events will be held from Saturday, July 13 to Saturday, July 27, on Monday through Friday from noon to 3 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m.
ROSELAND, NJ — The public is invited to experience the "Butterfly Tent Safari," an interactive ...
Kyrie Irving Signs New Nets Contract at West Orange's Roosevelt Middle School
WEST ORANGE, NJ — When Kyrie Irving signed his lucrative new contract with the Brooklyn Nets, he came home to do so.
The former Boston Celtics guard, who became a free agent and decided to join the Nets, signed a four-year contract worth an estimated $141 million. Irving was surrounded by old friends when he came back to Roosevelt Middle School in West Orange to make officially sign the dotted ...
WEST ORANGE, NJ — When Kyrie Irving signed his lucrative new contract with the Brooklyn Nets, he ...
Choosing to Have Bariatric Surgery Proves to be Positive for New Jersey Woman
GLEN RIDGE, NJ — As a young adult, Olivia Davis was in great physical shape and had always lived a very health conscious lifestyle; but after giving birth to her daughter in the 1990s, she found it hard to maintain that lifestyle.
Due to a series of "bad events" in her 40s that contributed to her weight gain, Davis explained that she "had to have a hysterectomy, foot surgery on both feet and ...
GLEN RIDGE, NJ — As a young adult, Olivia Davis was in great physical shape and had always lived a ...