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Nearly two dozen residents, including mayoral candidate Anthony Foxx, participated in a pilot event Thursday night designed to simulate the illegal immigrant experience.
The role playing event, conducted at the Quaker Meeting House in North Charlotte, seeks to give non-Latinos a better understanding of why rural Mexicans migrate to the United States and the challenges they face here.
Denise Alvarez, an English as second language teacher, played a human smuggler capitalizing on the desperation of poor campesinos.
Bob Morgan, 39, a Charlotte graphic designer, played the role of a bean picker who felt forced to cross the border illegally to support his family.
“It's one thing to hear something on a news report,” he said. “It's another to try and experience what these people are going through to get here.”
Lori Fernald Khamala, director of the N.C. immigrant rights program at the American Friends Service Committee, hosted the event. She said the goal is to bring the program to other churches, schools and other organizations.
Charlotte City Councilman Foxx said city leaders, even those who may not agree with message, could learn from the program.
“The way the simulation is set up, you see that people really have to want to get here,” he said. “People on all sides of this issue should be willing to see it from this perspective.”
Franco Ordoñez: 704-358-6180
