Fremont picnic for unity draws 75

Gabby Ayala is a U.S. citizen.

But, she said, you would never know it from the way some of her fellow Fremont, Neb., residents behave toward her and other Mexican-Americans.

One time, she said, an “elderly gentleman” cursed at Ayala’s sister, telling her to go back to Mexico. But Mexico isn’t their home, Ayala said. Fremont is.

Ayala said she has experienced more discriminatory behavior since people began circulating a petition seeking a city ordinance to ban hiring, renting to and harboring illegal immigrants.

The petition has been controversial. Although a judge upheld the right of residents to vote on the matter, Fremont officials have voiced concern about the legality of such a petition and whether it could prove costly to the city. The Fremont City Council appealed the judge’s ruling.

“I’ve always been seen as different,” Ayala said. “Lately, it’s been more obvious.”

In response, Ayala and Kristin Ostrom founded Nebraska Is Home Fremont, an organization that seeks to celebrate differences in and foster positive relations between Nebraskans — specifically, between immigrants and natives. (The group hasn’t taken a stand on the petition.)

“We all come from somewhere else,” Ostrom said Sunday at a picnic that Nebraska Is Home Fremont sponsored. Ostrom noted that her great-grandparents emigrated from Sweden.

The Fremont Unity Picnic attracted about 75 people, many of them immigrants. As they shared traditional food and played games, the goal was to foster understanding of other cultures.

Luis Canhui, who is from Guatemala and is now a member of Nebraska Is Home Fremont, said he thinks education is the answer to the problem. Canhui said many don’t understand, for example, the difficulty of becoming a citizen. When he passed his test in February, he said, he answered questions that many of his native friends don’t know.

One of the most difficult, he said, was: What are the qualifications for president?

The answer: A president must be at least 35 years old and a native-born citizen, and must have lived in the United States for 14 years.

And Canhui hasn’t finished the learning process; although he studied English in school, he hopes to improve.

Canhui handed out small cups of a Guatemalan rice milk drink at the picnic, and he also brought a creamy black bean dish.

A group of Fremont women who aren’t immigrants sampled food from Mexico, Germany, Sweden, Honduras and other countries. They said this sort of event was desperately needed in the community.

Margaret Jenson works at a local elementary school with students whose second language is English. One time, she said, a man approached her, kissed her on the cheek and said, “Thank you for loving my children.”

“How can you not care for these people when they care for you?” she asked.

The women said those who discriminate are uninformed.

“They need to look at the people and not the color of their skin,” Norma Mackey said.

Ayala agreed.

“I belong here,” she said.

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