The cruelty of expatriation

By José Blanco
Just think of it.

To be yanked from your surroundings.

To be yanked - and banished - from your surroundings.

Yanked. Yanked? Does that sound like...'yank'? as in...yes....'yank - ee'?

A yank is synonymous with...jerk? as in..."to be jerked" from your surroundings...

Hhhmmm; let's let that be, at least for a while. Deep waters...

Going back to 'removal'...man (generic term, not to exclude women) seeks constantly for homeostasis. Big word. Wiki : the body's ability to physiologically regulate its inner environment to ensure its stability in response to fluctuations in the outside environment. Balance. Restoring to balance, to stability, as in after a scare, or a near miss, or a 'jerk-cuts-in-front-of-me-in-I20' experience. The body and all its systems are engineered to seek that balance, and restoration, as in 're - store'.

The body, and the psyche, and maybe even the soul, seek for a presence and a relationship to what surrounds it that is known, safe, reflective of self, nurturing, supportive of all of one's levels of needs and aspirations, which it attains throughout its development phases, and its habituation to what surrounds it. Them. And over time, they become identified. Deeply.

So, "my" village, "my" city, "my" friends, "my"apartment, "my" neighbors, etc., etc. And as they "homeostize" (a word?) thru life, every moment and every year of existence, the deeper the belonging to the system of dynamic interrelationships that becomes "me", and "mine".

And then man invents expatriation. Think of it. It is not a cut, but a tear. Pieces adhere to what goes, and pieces adhere to what stays behind. There is no separation...just a huge stretch, for the parts 're - member'. They can not really forget - the past is hugely part of the present and obfuscates it severely. Only till there is replacement of each of the 'fibers', experiences, knowledge, relationships, can the memories dis - member. The process is savage.

Give me an example. What are you talking about?

Well, just imagine moving from one culture to another. Let's make it easy: how about from Alpharetta to Downtown Atlanta. No speedways, no GA400, but a bunch of lights. No shopping malls to wander around in. Just neighborhoods and Government buildings. And homelessness. And homeless, asking for "have you got something to help me, brother?". Even the language is different. The political mix: hard to identify tendencies due to the diversity of the neighborhood. Diet - different. Police - different. Grass to mow - forget it. Big house in the "sub - urb": welcome to the condo in the 'urb'. 3 car-cozy-inside-the-house-garage goes to"park one inside and find where to park the other one maybe around the corner where it will either be stolen or towed for a parking violation", if you are lucky! Shall I say more?

Can you imagine the couples' and family therapy bills coming up for this Alpharetta family, given the deep insecurity and fears? Just side with them for a minute. It is the same country, even the same city, the same citizenship, the same laws, the same Government, the same...yet, the move becomes just horrendous...!

So, if that is so, how can children who have lived all their life in this country be the subject of expatriation to a place they have not known, where they have no one, or can relate to no-one nor depend on not-one, and if their psyche is strong enough to survive the transition,  and their body - can you just imagine the pain on both sides given the tear? The tears. Not the wet ones - the ripping apart of the physical, emotional, cultural, safety, habits, social, religious fibers...all the connections where homeostasis was established or was being established.

The energies that are released and perdure must be substantially equivalent to those of the most modern proton accelerator colliding particles at such a force that new elements are created!

Expatriate. That's what that child - that soul is now.

But 'Justice' is done. Expatriation: Yanking and...jerking.

Wonder what 'justice' is all about. Well, after all, they are illegals.

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 7, 2010 at 7:40 PM

    Thanks Joe for sending me this article. I can't imagine how the latinos will feel right now with this law. Thinking that they will be expatriated, going nowhere. We have to continue protesting against this law.

    ReplyDelete

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