Panel Reflection: “Immigration and Puerto Rico Today”

On March 26 I had the opportunity to visit Interdisciplinary Project and Creative Initiatives celebrated in the General Studies Faculty. I attended to three of the panels that they were offering. My English class participated in a panel called “Interrogating the Journey: Literature and Personal Experience” but sadly I cannot attend because I had a class at that time, but I could attend other panels.

One of them was “Immigration and Puerto Rico Today”, supervised by the professor Petra Avillán. This panel was definitely my favorite for many reasons. The first thing I would say is that I greatly admire those two students that were there talking about their lives even though they knew little English. These two young Dominicans had the courage to tell their story of when they arrived to Puerto Rico and all the adversity they faced, using a language that they did not dominate. Taking into account that in their country were not taught English, when they arrived to Puerto Rico they were not afraid to learn a new language and be able to speak to an audience, for this reason they earned all my respect.

About the panel discussion, I was very interested when they spoke of xenophobia, which I have heard a lot. I have a Dominican aunt that often told me about the discrimination she felt and that sometimes she still feels living on this island. It seems ridiculous to reject other people simply because they come from another country or belong to another culture. Definitely I agree with them and would like to quote one of the phrases of one the students that said, " Only water separates us." It is true, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are two Caribbean islands with many things in common, and the only division we have is the sea. Why reject others who come to our country seeking a better future? We should not judge others simply because they were born in a different place than us.

As we have discussed in the different readings of our class, as in Peter Roberts about identity, a person can feel part of a place despite not being born in that place, therefore, we can see that many Dominicans may also feel as Puerto Ricans. This is the case of one of the girls who had participated in a beauty pageant representing Puerto Rico and not won because she was not Puerto Rican. I totally disagree with the fact that she was discriminated because of this. She is the one that can say if she feels Puerto Rican or not.  She is a young woman and Puerto Rican culture has influenced in her growth. Maybe if it were an old person, who has spent most of her life in another country it could be justified, but it is time to change our minds and respect those who want to come to our island and feel part of it.