我和哈尼同在我们常去的教堂里任执事(board of deacons)。 我们经常互相取
笑说终于如愿以偿地成为了"pillars of the community" (社会的中流砥柱)。
上个礼拜，牧师突然召开紧急执事会议，商讨要事。原来是我们教堂里有四位教徒将会被
美国联邦政府以不合法公民驱逐出境。爸爸妈妈连同两个女儿特向教堂求助帮忙想
办法。爸爸妈妈英文不大会讲，从他们的女儿口中知道他们大概十年前从巴西偷渡
来美国，父母一直以不合法身份打工糊口，现大女儿已大专毕业，小女儿还在念高
中。他们恳求教堂能不能想个办法聘请妈妈担任个什么职位。
我们的牧师是个义人，有心想帮她。但因为教堂带薪的职位已满，想把她推荐给另
外一家教堂。考虑到那家教堂百分之八十以上的教徒是从巴西来的，说不定她能在
那里找到事做。所有牧师特地把这些执事的找来，询问他们是不是同意这样帮他。
众所周知，在美国申请办移民相当麻烦。手续繁琐，程序复杂，等待时间漫长，非
一般人可以搞得定，非得要聘请专门办移民签证的律师才行。关于移民方面的常识，
跟普通美国人讲，他们是完全不懂的，也完全不理解。我和哈尼都不是本地人，十
分能理解个中的艰辛，所以选支持她。
当牧师问到一个其中叫Tony的执事时，他一口拒绝，一下是他讲话的大概内容：
If something has to do with a foreign language I oppose.
This is my principle and belief. We are living in America.
Everbody should speak English. If I hear people speak a foreign language in front of me, I feel offended coz I don't know whether they are talking about me behind my back or not. Both my parents came from Italy. My dad used to say you'v got to speak English and this is America. He went to classes to learn English. I sympatize with
them but it's my belief.
我和哈尼听了都气愤。都不敢相信这是一个基督徒所讲的话，决定写封信给牧师，这是我写的信
Dear Pastor Bob,
How are you? Mike and I went to the Board of Deacons meeting on Sunday and we both symphatize with the plight of that poor Portuguese family--The whole family is about to be deported unless they could find other ways to stay. He also told me how insensitive some of the so-called "pillars of the community" dealt with the situation and reflected on the issue, which I found to be quite upsetting to say the least. Although I myself do not find hiring the mother as an employee
in our church a viable solution to the problem, refusing to refer her to other churches is simply turning a deaf ear to people in dire state of need.Shame on them. Maybe Tony should read the church covenant at the back of the Hymn Notes which says
Aid each other in sickness and DISTRESS.
and take it to heart instead of merely paying lip service to it. They need help not lecture.
I've been living in this country for a long time and I appreciate American culture, its values especially its diversity. However I am still more comfortable dealing with my "own people"or listening to the sermon in Chinese if given the chance. It's not shunning away from the American culture but a matter of personal preference. "Embrace our culture or leave" or 'Speak our language or leave" is an unreasonable stance for any country( or church in this case) to take. That's the reason why a lot of banks these days hire people who are bilingual simply because they feel they can reach the customer/audience better to those whose first
language is not English.
Pator Bob, I know you are a very nice person who likes to help people.
Mike had talked to one of the guys at work who happens to be a
Portuguese. He knows a lawyer who might be of help to the family. He
will be contacting you shortly. Thank you for listening.
Labels: Rants In English, 想了就说
