In recent years immigrants have been arriving to Spain in swarms looking for better lives.  They have mainly come from places like Africa, Romania, Bulgaria, and some South American countries like Colombia.  Immigration, of course, is something that Spain hasn't really had to deal with much before and the topic of immigration nowadays is quite "hot" in the country.  In fact, Spaniards are now finding themselves faced with the question of what to do with immigrants arriving to Spain.  But those immigrants who are just arriving are not the only worry of Spaniards; according to this recent article in El País, the future of the sons and daughters of new immigrants is also uncertain. 

According to the article, many sons and daughters of immigrants in Spain are experiencing a sort of "identity crisis."  They aren't "Spaniards" because they were born of foreign parents and don't "look like Spaniards;" however, they also don't really associate themselves with the culture from which their parents came because they have been living in Spain practically all their lives and have in essence been removed from their "home land" before they really had time to live there.  The article also goes into issues of teasing and discrimination that many sons and daughters of immigrants can face at school and when looking for jobs.  Still, despite these hardships, the article mentions that most immigrants do not regret their decision to move to Spain.

I thought I would write in response to the article in El País because I have seen the immigration issue in Spain first-hand.  During my last trip to Spain, I volunteered with the Spanish Red Cross in Valladolid and worked especially with the Immigration Department of the Red Cross.  The Immigration Department at the Red Cross has a lot of services for those new to the country; however, I concentrated my work in the "integración social" (social integration) area of assistance.  My main task was to teach Spanish to those immigrants who didn't already know it and to work in elementary schools with high immigrant populations and explain cultural acceptance to the youngsters at those schools. 

I feel like the work that I did at the Red Cross made a big difference - especially when I went into elementary schools to talk about cultural diversity; however, I was often greeted with hostility by other Spaniards for my work with immigrants.  The truth is that some Spaniards view immigrants as "threats" to their country's security and, during my previous trip to Spain, I met Spaniards who did not like the fact that I was helping the Red Cross provide services to immigrant families.  In fact, the discrimination that is talked about in the article cited above is very real in Spain... I saw it first-hand in my Red Cross work. 

I am grateful that my work with the immigrants of the Red Cross allowed me to see the immigrant's side of the issue.  After working with the Red Cross for a while, I soon found that many of the people who had decided to move to Spain had worked very hard to do so and were only interested in a better life for themselves and their families.  In fact, most of the immigrant men that I gave Spanish classes to had left their wives and children in their birth countries until their economic situation in Spain was such that they could bring their wives, sons, and daughters to the country.  This "splitting" of the family (coupled with no knowledge of the Spanish language and culture) was hard on the immigrants I worked with. 

Of course, there are always two sides to the coin.  Some immigrants do place a burden on the Spanish system by cramming themselves into over-crowded, crappy apartments and some do bring guns and weapons into the country.  I, however, did not witness much of this where I was living in Valladolid.  Also, they say that if it weren't for the immigrants who are entering Spain, the country would experience negative population growth.  So... who's right? 

Honestly, I don't know what the real "answer" to the immigration issue in Spain is and I'd love to get some of the opinions of my readers in this post.  Do immigrants help Spain?  Do they pose a threat?  How much discrimination do you feel exists against immigration in Spain?  What is you reaction to the El País article that I cited above?  Please remember that I'm not talking about expatriates in this post (those who move to Spain because they simply "like" life there better); instead, I'm talking about those who move to Spain because their economic situation in their home country is so poor that they see no other way to survive but immigration.  I'd love to hear what others who have witnessed immigration in Spain think about the issue... please leave your comments here.

Hasta luego,
--Chris
http://www.abroadinspain.com