To the immigrant fathers. Thank You.
We know it wasn’t easy. We, your children, mom, family, we know this wasn’t an easy task to take on, but you did it, you brought us to the land of the free and brave, so thank you dad, gracias papa. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been. Being alone the first few years in a country where the language was foreign and culture was unknown. You were stepping into territory that no longer was home, you had to make it home one way or another. Where some days felt longer than a week, some days food was scarce, work became a burden and loneliness became a regular feeling. But, you worked it through because you had one motivation, and that was us, your family. You wanted to give your son the opportunity to obtain an education, something you maybe were not able to have on the other side of the border. To give your daughter the opportunity walk to the store without fear of rape, to give her an opportunity to obtain higher education without fear of stigma, and give her the confidence that she can be WHO she wants to be. And last but not least, to allow mom the opportunity to see us, your children, be and do what we want to do, to see us grow with no barrier, but rather with courage and confidence. You may have missed our birth, first steps, first words maybe even our first years of life, but don’t worry, you gave us the world, you gave us opportunity.
To Americans these feelings are non-existent. These feelings of nostalgia and happiness put together all because we were brought into a land they were born into are unknown of. Some may even call us ridiculous, dramatic or even “intruders.” Our dads are not intruders, they don’t want to steal your land, they want to give us the opportunity we don’t have on the other side of the border – Mexico. They want us to have the opportunities you were born with. Father’s Day is a very special day for everyone, but for us immigrants it is a day that reminds us of how we got the opportunity to take part in the American dream and reach our own dreams. So today we say, Gracias papa por darnos la opportunidad de volar, te vamos hacer orgulloso.
