"Crossing the Wire" Response

Until reading the back of this book, I didn't realize that it was about Mexican border crossing.  Since we just had a big talk about the homeless and panhandlers in Spokane, I think that this story is fitting.  To come right out and say it, I have no remorse for panhandlers and illegal immigrants.  I am not to the point where i am standing outside or Trader Joe's every Saturday trying to get signatures for a petition, but it is something that I have always hated.  Hate is a strong word and i know that when I use it.  I feel like I have been jaded with bad experiences with illegals and this book is a great perspective from a different angle.  

I know that illegals and homeless are not to be lumped into one category.  There are homeless out there who don't beg for money day and night and there are illegals who aren't working under the table for the rest of their lives.  Victor is interesting because he is so young when he tries to come to America.  He hasn't had the chance to grow up into poverty, but he knows that the grass certainly looks greener on the other side.  While reading this, i felt very bad for Victor, just knowing what his future would look like when he arrived to America.  He would only be able to find under the table work and would constantly be sending money back home or using it to support them, leaving little for himself.  To me, the total ending is the most depressing part.  Victor is picking from the lesser of two evils.  To think that Victor would make this treacherous and illegal journey just to go to a place that could offer just a little better shows how desperate he is and how much he cares for his family.  I was surprised when he was caught and deported back, only to try again.  I would think that for him, it was a scary situation, but that wasn't the thing he was most scared about.  He was scared about not being able to survive and not helping his family survive.  

Like "Sold" this story shows another perspective on a coming of age story.  I guess most adolescent books are coming of age stories in a way.  "Sold' was good because it showed a horrifying coming of age tale that seemed a world away even though it was true.  It is very easy to disconnect from that book and the idea of slavery after reading it.  "Wire" is very different because it is something that is much closer to home.  Maybe not to Spokane, but in general it is a known issue in the US.  Spokane is a bit of an oddball in this case, but there are plenty of seasonal workers that migrate around where the work is in between Spokane and Seattle.  We all have our initial views on illegals, and Victor shows that there is nothing else for some of them to do instead of cross into the US.  This book shows something that isn't to prevalent in the US; people who have to emigrate to provide for themselves or their families.  Even for the impoverished in the US, they don't have to jump ship to another country.  Through Victor, we see why it is so important that he crosses the border.

This book is definitely a look at illegal immigration without the political viewpoints, which is a nice change.  I like that the book isn't about the politics involved, but Vic's struggle to provide.  While he got across and now works at an asparagus factory, I cant help but think that the sadness involved with this tale has yet to come.  Like "Sold", he is paying a debt to his family that will most likely never be completely paid off, much like the prostitution debt that Lakshmi was faced with.  While they are two different debts, that idea really connect the two stories to me.  I think that when reading in a classroom, that connection could be good to emphasize the background idea of money that drives these two books.