The Community of Friends in Action and the Leonia Public Library are sponsoring a showing of a film, “Abrazos,” by Guatemalan filmmaker, Luis Argueta, on Thursday, May 17, at 7 p.m. at the library, 227 Fort Lee Road, Leonia, NJ. In addition to CoFiA and the Library, the screening will also be sponsored by The Bergen County Immigration Strategy Group, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, Leonia Action Alliance, Union Guatemaltecos de Morristown, and Grupo Cajola of Morristown.
“Abrazos,” (“Hugs”) tells the heartwarming story of a group of U.S. citizen children who are sons and daughters of undocumented immigrants. They travel from Minnesota to Guatemala to meet their grandparents, and in some instance their siblings, for the first time. There are at least 4.5 million such citizen children in the U.S., including some who are sons and daughters of CoFiA members in our area.
The film asks all viewers to consider why there is such a phenomenon in our country. Does our immigration policy, which creates such artificial distinctions in families, make sense? How can we create a more sensible and positive policy? Members of the audience will be invited to share their views and experiences.
Members of the sponsoring groups are invited to provide displays related to their immigration work. Grupo Cajola will bring woven goods created by Grupo Cajola in Cajola, Guatemala, which will be available for sale. Each group will be invited to briefly describe their work following the screening and the Q & A.
The screening is free and open to the public.