By Daniela Cifuentes //
An assistant professor of Spanish at Hood College recently published a research paper.
Professor Adelmar Ramirez is an assistant professor of Spanish in the Global Languages and Cultures department at Hood College.
Over the summer, Ramirez partnered with a photojournalist named David Benado and a Hood student named Aline Skines to self-publish a research project on Latin American migrants seeking humanitarian asylum. Ramirez first learned about the subject through his friend and research partner Benado, who was documenting the journey migrants were taking to get to the U.S.
The topic, however, was one that struck a personal nerve as Ramirez learned that the migrants’ journey led them to the city of Juarez which is located on the U.S.-Mexico border. The city is also Ramirez’s hometown.
Through the research process, Ramirez and his team found new migration patterns and that the migrants were making a very long and dangerous journey in search of asylum.
“After looking at these photos, after speaking with these migrants, it was tough to feel that I could not do anything at least immediately,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez spent over a year and a half searching through government documents from present day all the way to the 1960s in search of patterns and stories that better explained what the shift in contemporary migration was.
The biggest shift Ramirez found was in the overall change in attitude toward migration. Ramirez found that throughout the 1960s and 1970s the U.S. government and population had a more positive reaction to welcoming migrants, specifically those from Cuba who were escaping communism. However, now these records show less acceptance.
The research was self-published over the summer on the online platform named Scalar. He is currently in the process of publishing his research in a more in-depth book form.
Ramirez has previously published two documentary poetry books based on his hometown.
Ramirez’s goal with his research is to bring to light what is happening in communities close to his home.
“Mass media and major news outlets have been spreading information that those who migrate are dangerous to the country or are criminals,” Ramirez said, “when you see the photos you see the families and the little kids.”
Ramirez hopes to spread awareness with his research and try to shift the narrative that is being shown to capture the human being behind the stereotype.
Ramirez’s research can be found online on the Scalar platform, “Documenting Micro-History: Migrants Seeking Humanitarian Asylum”
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