BELOIT, Wis. (AP) - Cecilia Ramirez is bilingual, has three part-time jobs, volunteers at her church and in many other areas of the community, and is going to school to become a Certified Nursing Assistant.
However, the above activities were foreign to her 20 years ago when she moved to Beloit from Mexico with her husband who had acquired a job here. The couple settled in, began their life in Beloit and started raising a family, but that life also was riddled with many communication problems.
“I even needed a translator to go with me when I went to buy diapers. I didn’t know how to read the sizes,” she said.
Today, the married mom of two teenagers smiles when she thinks of some of the past stories she has to tell before she mastered English. But those experiences also have given her a wealth of understanding for what other Latino families go through in the community.
As such, Ramirez is a staff member - the only paid staff member -working for the Latino Service Providers Coalition. Her office is in the former Brother Dutton School and she works with Latino clients who have a variety of concerns.
Like living in a parallel universe or separate reality, many of her clients have moved here and are settled in, but a lack of understanding of the language, traditions and/or customs and laws keep many unconnected to the community around them.
Paperwork concerns seem paramount, especially where items such as birth certificates are concerned.
“I have been helping families to amend birth certificates,” she told the Beloit Daily News (https://bit.ly/1cWzhax).
In Mexico, for example, a child often does not have a middle name or initial.
She explains that in Mexico, her name is Cecilia Ramirez-Montes.
Ramirez from her father and Montes from her mother.
That tradition, however, is not always understood in this country and often causes mix-ups when a birth certificate is filled out at the hospital. Some think the first part of the hyphenated name is the middle name, for example. Sometimes an initial is filled in or an abbreviation for no middle name is placed on the certificate, she explains. And, sometimes spelling errors occur and an “s’’ is mistaken for a “z’’ at the end of a name or just the opposite.
For parents who aren’t savvy in English, concerns about the birth certificate sometimes don’t get raised until the child becomes a teen and wants an ID card or a driver’s license.
If mistakes have been made, the family then has to go to court to get the name changed, pay court costs and then the notice must be published in a local newspaper and publishing costs paid, Ramirez said. Social Security cards also sometimes need amending.
“It gets very costly, especially if there are two or three children or more.”
Another reason to have correct documentation is because some families want dual citizenship here and in Mexico.
About 100 families are helped each month through the coalition services.
One woman she helped told Ramirez she was already packing her bags because she thought a letter she had received from the Rock County Courthouse meant she was being deported.
The letter actually was a notice for the woman to report for jury duty.
Such are just some of the many misunderstands that occur when cultural and language barriers exist.
Ramirez also refers them to agencies and resources where Spanish is spoken in areas, such as: doctors and health care, food and shelter, counselors, banks, document reading, Notaries, support groups, domestic violence shelters, housing, Hispanic churches, English classes, immigration issues, schools, children’s programs, insurance, consulates and dual nationality.
Ramirez knew early on that she was not happy living in a community sitting on the sidelines, not knowing the language, not being able to drive or even shop for her family without an interpreter.
“It was horrible - I was miserable,” she said.
Then she became aware of the Even Start literacy program in Beloit where adults can take English classes and their children cared for and also taught English.
And that is when her world began to change.
Difficult at first, “I went home and cried every day,” she said. Then, she became inspired by her children and the progress they were making.
“One day when we got home, my two-year-old said, ’mommy, I know my colors in English.’ After he recited them, her thoughts were: “I’m going to keep going just for him.”
A bus would pick up families and transport them to the Kolak Education Center The Roosevelt Building each week for classes.
“I was so grateful to the school district for those buses,” she said.
The bus driver was friendly and spoke to Ramirez as they made their way.
“I would nod when he spoke to me, but I didn’t understand a word he was saying,” she said.
Years later, when their paths crossed again, she told him the story and they both had a good laugh, she said.
Learning the language opened a world to her that would not have been possible otherwise. A few years later, getting her driver’s license was another huge step for the busy mother of two children.
“I felt so free,” she said after passing the test.
For 12 years, she also has worked part-time at the Stateline Literacy Council as an office assistant having learned secretarial skills in Mexico. She also works part-time at Premier Care as an activity staff employee and is attending classes at Blackhawk Technical College to become a Certified Nursing Assistant.
Ramirez says she understands what other Latino families are going through and is anxious to help them.
“I know what it means not to be able to understand a bill or get an appointment. There’s a lot of need in this community for help.”
___
Information from: Beloit Daily News, https://www.beloitdailynews.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.