These Guatemalans are all young and no one is here to teach their children their heritage and culture. They will become Americans with no sense of where they came from. Very sad. DP
By MOLLY MURRAY, The News Journal
Delawareonline : GEORGETOWN -- In September, 4-year-old Alan Perez spoke only Spanish.
Eight months later, the little boy is Americanized from his Bob the Builder sweatshirt that reads "Can we fix it? Yes we can," to his baggy jeans to his English.
Gone is the reserved little boy, son of Guatemalan parents, that Beverly Evans met the day he walked into Project Village, a preschool program run by the Indian River School District. The program is designed to give young children, especially those who speak no English, the skills they need to succeed in kindergarten.
As a new generation of Guatemalans starts school, learns English, gets jobs and moves into mainstream life in Delaware, there is concern that something is lost: namely the culture of their ancestors -- oftentimes with roots back to the indigenous Mayan people of Guatemala.
Go to a Spanish language mass at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Georgetown and there is something unique about the sea of faces.
They are all young, observes Wilmington filmmaker Michael Oates.
"There are no old people," He said. "Who are the carriers of traditions? The older people."
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment