The Salem Witch
Having moved to the USA several years ago with her husband, a fluent Spanish speaker,
this ‘ex-
From the Rocky Shores of New England, the Salem Witch Reports:
Articles by The Salem Witch
Immigrants, Migrants, Etc.
I who am writing this, and you who are reading it, are both migrants. At some point
we decided to leave England and go to live somewhere else. We put in some thought,
weighing up the advantages and otherwise of making a choice to leave our usual place
and seek something else in another country. A variety of reasons were probably behind
it, many of us take job opportunities abroad, mostly for some kind of financial improvement
or perhaps advancement by serving abroad in an international company. Usually, it
is the dosh. But also there are many who just want to escape from rain, or a perception
that England is going to the dogs, and you can fill in your own blank about that! Retired
people usually mention the weather, and perhaps a lower cost of living with more
fun alongside. For many reasons we made a big decision, and moved ourselves to a
foreign country.
Being of fair skin, and with some financial assets however humble,
we were not turned away, were we? The truth is that we are acceptable people, by
luck of birth place and our background from being members of an advanced society. You
just had to flash your European Union red passports and you were In. Going to the
USA is a bit more complicated, but the Right Sort can usually become a legal resident
without too much hassle. It takes a lot of money and processing, but after swearing
that you are not a pervert or have ever caused an insurrection, you usually get the
green light by virtue of being educated and British.
We could really all have stayed
back in England, no one would have been tortured or starved or had bombs dropping
on their house. Which is not the case for most of the world's migrants. They too
one day had the idea that a better life might be possible away from their home in
Africa, Afghanistan, Iraq, Burma, or one of the other hell holes of the planet. They
however had utter desperation figuring in their decision. I think that the world
has reached a heartbreaking point, in that so many people see no other option but
to risk their lives and suffer great misery in trying to find a hope of a better
existence in a foreign country, which never welcomes or wants them to be there. It
goes without saying that lots of people get in on the trade in this sad business,
and make a lot of money out of preying on the weakness of the others' situation. Spain
has a huge burden of these migrants, arriving on rafts or whatever will move them
across the water, and it is a nightmare for the authorities, I am sure.
The USA
has big immigration issues right now, they are becoming very harsh about the hordes
of central Americans, and Mexicans, who still try to cross the border and find some
work in spite of the almost impossible difficulties from the terrain, and the frightening
treatment if caught. Arizona has now got very controversial things in place: you
are now going to be stopped by the police just for looking like a Mexican, and if
you cannot prove on the spot that you are a legal resident you are going to get put
through hell. I would point out that all that south western area of the United States
was once part of Mexico, (just consider the names of the states, all in Spanish,
or just New Mexico!) The US of A grabbed them from Mexico back in the mists of time,
but hey! we know who is boss now.
I am terribly sad at the plight of all these people,
who usually have nothing to offer but their labour and bodies, to be exploited and
worked to the utmost. It is a detrimental thing also for the country to which they
move. We all like our own country to remain our own, and we don't really want them. A
few are fine, but it never stops. Being ordered to accept and absorb and never utter
a word against, we end up resenting all the foreigners among us. I feel that they
do lower wages of the menial job market. And they fill up the schools and take over
our old towns.
This is all an intractable problem, with human misery and displacement
being the major factors. If only their own countries gave them a better life. I
wonder if we can ever achieve a world in which we can all live decently in our own
native land. My final comment on this subject returns me to my first comments -
