Day 4: Solito and Learning From Reading

 

Yesterday, I finished reading a very absorbing, moving memoir called Solito by Javier Zamora. Solito is a Spanish word, and one definition is alone, unaccompanied. It’s the story of nine-year-old Javier’s journey from El Salvador to join his parents in the United States. I read it with an online Spanish-to-English dictionary, which helped me understand many of the Spanish phrases and sentences that occur throughout the book.

The book was another learning experience for me, as well as being very moving. I know about the situation at the border. I know about the antagonism many feel about illegal immigration from Mexico and other South Central American countries. What I didn’t know was the actual experience immigrants go through to reach our country. It’s a harrowing and dangerous experience, fraught with walking through the desert and dealing with hunger, thirst, and extreme fatigue.

Throughout my lifetime, I’ve learned so much from books. I’ve learned more from independent reading than I ever did from any of my courses in school.

Just a few examples:

From To Kill a Mockingbird, I learned about racism and Jim Crow laws.

From Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, I learned that Jewish people were persecuted and forced into concentration camps where many of them were murdered.

From Exodus, I learned more about the years of persecution of Jewish people, the killings in the concentration camps, the bravery of those in a ghetto in Warsaw, and the formation of Israel.

From Hawaii, I learned that the Hawaiian people and culture were virtually wiped out by the Christian missionaries. I also learned that, during World War II, Japanese Americans were interred in concentration camps. I’d literally had no idea.

From The Haj, Shogun, Tai Pan, Noble House, Whirlwind, and Gai-Jin, I learned about Middle Eastern and Asian cultures and history.

From 1619, I learned just how deeply racism and social injustice is embedded in our country’s history.

I value everything I’ve learned and continue to learn from books. I appreciate the understanding I’m receiving from another’s point of view, culture, and history. This is one of the reasons I so vehemently oppose book banning.

Getting back to Solito and for anyone who might like to read it, this is the review I left for Good Reads:

I could not put Solito by Javier Zamora down. I learn so much from the books I read. I know about the immigration issue at the southern border, and that there are many people trying to escape violent conditions in their countries. They want to come to the US because we’re viewed as a sanctuary, a safe place to be.

There have been times in our history when we have been welcoming of immigrants and times we have not. This is a time in which we are not very welcoming. Still, many immigrants can come into this country and live as undocumented migrants. They take menial jobs that no one else wants, and they work hard. They are, for the most part, law-abiding and just want to live their lives in peace.

When Javier Zamora was a baby, his father left El Salvador because of the war. When Javier was five, his mother also migrated to the United States and joined her husband there. I wondered why they would leave their son behind but one of the things I learned was that the coyotes (the paid guides who led the immigrants to the United States) didn’t want to take a child under the age of 9. I soon learned why.

When Javier turned 9, his long-awaited opportunity to travel north to join his parents finally arrived. He’d been living happily with his grandparents and aunt but missed his parents. He looked forward to making the journey.

I didn’t realize how harrowing and dangerous the journey is for the migrants. Zamora gives a vivid account of the dangers and privation he faced in getting to the United States and reuniting with his parents. I had to admire the courage and tenacity of that little boy, traveling with strangers and bonding with those who watched over him and cared for him along the way. I admired the adults, Patricia and Chino, who stepped up and became Javier’s surrogate parents.

Immigration is a touchy, controversial subject. Regardless of how a person feels about it, this is an excellent book to read to have a better understanding of what immigrants go through to get to the United States and why they are motivated to go through such an ordeal.

If you do choose to read the book, I recommend having a Spanish-to-English dictionary handy (they are available online). I found it to be a big help in understanding some of the conversations.

I am participating in the American Cancer Society’s challenge to write for thirty minutes each day in May. I do a lot of writing and I can meet this challenge. What I plan to do is make a blog entry each day with what I’ve written.

I wanted to participate in memory of loved ones who fought cancer bravely but succumbed:

My brother-in-law Jeff

My sister-in-law Ann

My dear friend Kay

My Uncle Bob

My Uncle John

I also wanted to help raise money to support research and a cure for all those who are currently fighting this vicious disease.

My Facebook to the fundraiser is here.