BY JOSÉ CUSICANQUI – QUÉ PASA MEDIA NETWORK
This article appeared in the August 18 edition of Qué Pasa, which has a readership of over 100,000. Click here to read the original article in Spanish.
Although public opinion concerning immigration reform remains divided across the country, the NC Council of Churches is working to create a more welcoming environment and to inform the public about the situation facing millions of people without papers.
Beginning in October, the Council will start screening the new film Brother Towns, a documentary by filmmaker Charles Thompson. The film describes the journey taken by Mayan populations from Jacaltenango, Guatemala to the city of Jupiter, Florida where these immigrants have brought their culture and settled over the years.
The screenings will be in Charlotte, Chapel Hill, Boone, Durham, Greenville and Greensboro, and will be bilingual. Thompson will be present to speak about his work and his experiences with those in attendance.
Chris Liu-Beers, representative of the NC Council of Churches, said that one of the principal objectives of the project is to help North Carolinians understand the effort that immigrants put forth and the daily difficulties that they face in a country with a different culture.
Liu-Beers also indicated that through it stories Brother Towns describes the process that people from Jacaltenango undergo in order to reconstruct part of their identity while keeping their families together.
Click here for more information about the statewide Brother Towns film series.
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