Monday, June 21, 2010
Getting Profiled, Staying Safe and the World Cup in Mexico
By Allan Wall
I resided for a decade and a
half in Mexico, and met and married my wife there. Recently I was offered a job in the U.S. and moved back.
However, since my wife is from Mexico we have already made several visits to Mexico and plan to continue. So I currently
write from Mexico, where we are visiting.
We traveled in our car, crossing
the U.S.-Mexican border. After crossing, I applied for (and paid for) a tourist permit for myself and an auto permit
for the car. After all, I should obey Mexican immigration law!
After finishing the border
business, we proceeded on into the interior. My wife was driving and I was in the front passenger’s seat.
Well, we arrived at a Mexican
migration checkpoint, and guess what? The agent at the checkpoint didn’t even ask for my (Mexican-born) wife’s
documentation, he just asked for mine. In other words, I was profiled!
It was quick though. The agent
saw I had the document and we proceeded on our merry way. It was undeniable, however, I had been profiled.
Despite all the hoopla over profiling,
we all do it. It's a valid police tool if used appropriately. And in this case, the Mexican migration officer
was exactly right — the car's driver (my wife) was Mexican, and the front-seat passenger (myself) was a foreigner.
We arrived to the metropolitan
area in which I once resided. We've been spending a lot of time with my wife's parents (in Spanish they are my "suegros," the collective term for mother-in-law and father-in-law). Our children have been spending a lot
of time with their grandparents, which is good.
There are things in Mexico that
I don't have access to in the U.S., so it's good to have such opportunities here. We have also been able to see relatives,
friends from church and neighbors. We also had the opportunity to visit a first-rate agricultural operation in
the country.
Mexicans continue to be killed
in the ongoing drug war, which is a tragedy. Security is an important topic, so we are taking precautions to stay safe.
So far we have been safe.
The biggest item in the news
here though is not the drug war (which after all, goes on all the time) but the World Cup. The World Cup is sort of
like the Olympics of Soccer, held every four years. It is a big deal in Mexico. (I myself knew almost nothing of it before
I moved here.)
In the World Cup, national
teams compete with each other for the championship. Four years ago, in 2006, the Italian team won. The Mexican team has never won the World Cup, but each four years Mexicans' hope revives anew.
This 2010 World Cup is being played in South Africa, and 20,000 Mexican fans traveled there to see it.
I'm not really a soccer fan or
expert, but I enjoy the World Cup for its international flavor. I especially like to watch the opening of
each game, when the two opposing teams line up and the national anthems are played.*
So far the Mexican team has tied
with host South Africa, and beaten France. Mexico's next opponent is Uruguay, on Tuesday, June 22, at 10:00 am ET.
It should be interesting….
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* MexiData.info note: During opening ceremonies prior to the
inaugural World Cup game on June 11, between South Africa and Mexico, with children accompanying each player onto the field
of play and as they stood for the two National Anthems, dignitaries — including the presidents of South Africa and Mexico
— subsequently walked the line to greet and shake hands with each player. Yet
most ignored the children, excepting Mexican President Felipe Calderón, who to his credit was the only person (from what we
could see on TV) to also greet and shake hands with each child.
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Allan Wall, an educator, resided in Mexico for many years. His website is
located at www.allanwall.net.
