Going Home

As the U.S. economy has gone sour, slowly but surely, many immigrants are beginning to have second thoughts about the "American dream." Latin Americans, in particular, are starting to return to their home countries, where things are improving. It's being reported that several Latin American governments are actively encouraging and even helping their citizens to go back. Ecuador under President Correa has been particularly effective in fostering the relocation of his countrymen and women.

I think that this is a development that should be celebrated. People should stay in their country and live life to the fullest. Only in the most desperate of circumstances should they consider leaving. The trade-offs between an assumed prosperity and staying in one's country with family and friends is too great. Being a permanent exile in a country that discriminates blatantly against people of darker skin who do not speak English well and all the time is a burden that's too much too bear. Even if a person achieves a certain degree of material comfort, the alienation from the things that really matter - being with family and people who appreciate you - and the sense of never belonging are terrible things to live with.

There's no place like the home country.

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