By Nancy Martland
Like you, unless you are of Native American background, I come from immigrant stock. Even if you have lived your whole life in the North Country, you are descended from immigrants. Your family is here because America gave them a chance.
My immigrant group encountered rejection, hostility and fear similar to that we see swirling around today. Whether it takes the form of politicians on the national and state levels hurling vicious invective at immigrants, or an ugly incident in a little mountain town, fear and hatred of immigrants is sadly present in our lives. The Republican National Convention showcased this in a shocking departure from basic human decency. The joyful embrace of outrageous cruelty by the Republican delegates left me breathless and despondent.
This group arrived on American shores in desperate flight from harsh, inhumane and life-threatening conditions. Many died in their home country from these conditions, a million of them. They came to America seeking a better life. Most arrived destitute with no place to go and no resources to rely on. They were poor and uneducated for the most part.
Just like today, they were greeted with fear, hatred and rejection. Newspapers and politicians told stories of the diseases they carried, their criminal behavior, the drain on the rest of the population, the threat they posed to American society. Cartoons depicted them as subhuman. Organized groups formed to suppress and marginalize them, to enflame the fear and hatred.
Employment avenues were closed to them. Businesses posted signs saying they need not apply for work. They were shunned. Unskilled, sometimes illiterate, their prospects were poor.
Nevertheless, they persisted. They took jobs as maids and cooks, construction workers, laborers of all types. They settled in neighborhoods together. They practiced their own religion, started their own schools, opened their own stores and businesses. They raised their families in their own traditions and worked hard to get ahead and to educate their children for a better life.
As succeeding generations settled fully into American life, they became policemen, firefighters, teachers and nurses. Their sons and daughters went on to attend colleges and universities, to enter the professions and make good on their parents’ dreams. Eventually, by dint of their own resilience, they could be found in all walks of life. They defended America against her enemies, some gave their lives. One of them, a war hero, even became the President of the United States.
His name was John F. Kennedy.
Don’t you think it is time we embrace our immigrant past and accept our present newcomers for the good, decent, striving people that they are? Just like hidebound Bostonians had nothing to fear from the Irish, we have nothing to fear from the present immigrants, who only want a better life and who contribute so much to our society. Just like the Irish, lies have been told about them, lies that encourage fear and hostility, and create hysteria among the gullible.
Don’t believe them. They are being used to manipulate you for the political gain of others.
Nancy Martland of Sugar Hill is one of the founding members of the Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust and serves on the Board of the Sugar Hill Historical Museum.
Editor’s note: InDepthNH.org takes no position on political matters except in favor of the First Amendment and people’s right-to-know, but welcomes diverse opinions at nancywestnews@gmail.com