Foreigners

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Today I am reminded about a truth and sad reality that if I have to relocate I would be almost useless here.  According to Mexico I have a second grade education and do not qualify for any jobs that require formal education.  I have an Associates Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, and Masters Degree all from American Universities and they are literally worthless in that country and this one.  I can’t tell you I am excited about this reality and on the contrary I find myself being more and more lonely and depressed.  I have always been “the strong one” my family, often accused of being cold and heartless and today I feel everything. 

I feel exhausted and shattered.  What would I do if I had to move here?  Worst yet, what would E do if he had to move here?  If I thought I had it bad he has it worst, according to the Mexican constitution foreigners have an almost impossible chance of working legally here.  Foreigners are the last people on the list of possible employees, if a company needs to hire as long as a Mexican citizen meets the requirements they have preference over foreigners.  With the dismal job market in the U.S. and in Mexico both of us are looking at a lifetime of hardships.  E doesn’t speak the language and has medical problems that he couldn’t get treatment for in Mexico because of the lack of health care.  Our roles would be reversed, he would become the foreigner and I would still be worthless. I won’t even start with the heartache our departure would mean to our families.  No one in E’s family has even traveled to Mexico on vacation and they would be forced to live without their son, brother and uncle.   To the U.S. this is a mere “inconvenience” but to us it means broken dreams and shattered lives.  It mean rebuilding but at the cost of many lives.  Who would we become?  What would we become?