Hispanic Group Calls to Be Heard: Members Meet Each Monday

By David Blackburn, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

Apr. 11–Tens of thousands of protesters marched in cities across the country Monday, expressing concerns about tougher immigration laws and trying to show that many immigrants are valuable members of their communities.

The effort in Owensboro was quiet by those standards but just as important to a group of concerned Hispanic residents who are looking for a voice to talk to community leaders, law enforcement and the public in general — and to just say “hola.”

Pronounced OH-la, the Spanish word for “hello” also is an acronym for Hispanos de Owensboro Luchando por Amistad (Hispanics of Owensboro Struggling for Friendship).

The group is part of the La Plaza Immigrant Community Center’s Hispanic Community Council.

It formed about two weeks ago “to be a representation of the Hispanic community to the authorities,” said leader Wilma Sandridge, a native of Chile, after the group’s third meeting Monday.

It came in the wake of proposed federal immigration reform and the March 23 Jewelry Chest robbery/homicide allegedly organized and/or committed by five Hispanic men.

The events made residents who are typically fearful of deportation or a poor public perception more nervous, said Sister Larraine Lauter, La Plaza director.

The five current members can use the attention to say ” ‘it’s time to talk,’ ” she said.

“That’s what I’ve told (them), ‘Let’s find a voice,’ ” said Sister Larraine, who has only a “supporting role” with the group.

“I see a need for a regular ongoing conversation between the Hispanic people and people in leadership,” elected and otherwise, she said. “When you have a conversation, you have understanding, you have familiarity.”

Without it, prejudices and misperceptions go unchecked, Sister Larraine said.

“A great majority of these people are law-abiding, family oriented people … who want their children to have a better world, and they want to help build that world,” she said.

“Many people are working so hard,” Sandridge said. “Sometime, one does something wrong and everybody says ‘it’s the Hispanic people,’ and it’s just not true. We have estigma … and prejudicia.”

In addition to listing the Hispanics’ contributions to the community, HOLA plans to list the programs offered at La Plaza. They include drug prevention, information about immigration laws and English classes.

“We are trying to say, ‘Everybody, learn English,’ ” Sandridge said.

That will help break barriers to needed services at the hospital, doctors’ offices and schools, she and new HOLA member Juan Mendez said.

“The more we learn, the more we can communicate with the American people,” Mendez said.

The group also is planning an April 22 dance that is open to the public and to sell barbecue chickens in May.

They also are tentatively making plans to meet with law enforcement and community leaders once a census of all Hispanic residents in the county ends in about three weeks.

That count, which is an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 Hispanics, will ask about their household size, their jobs and the number of children they have, Sandridge said.

But it won’t ask them their name since some are in the country illegally, she said. “People are afraid to answer too many questions,” Sandridge said.

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To Meet

Hispanos de Owensboro Luchando por Amistad (Hispanics of Owensboro Struggling for Friendship) meets at 6 p.m. every Monday at La Plaza Immigrant Community Center. The meetings are open to the public. The center is located at 1221 Moseley St. For more information, call 688-0099.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

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