APANO-PAC

By Ronault Catalani

The Oregon we know is an energetic mix of families from almost every continent. We are from as many newly free Eastern European and former-Soviet states as we have United States. We are from Africa, a continent even more racially and ethnically diverse then America. We’re from Arabia and India and Asia, from societies older than history.

Our personal and our political histories are different. Each of our many communities’ pull to Oregon is as different as the human pressures and economic policies that pushed us from our ancestral homelands. Our circumstances are indeed, very different.

We argue about politics and economics. As immigrants and refugees, we often argue vigorously – but as families and communities we are in always in accord over one thing:

All our children’s education.

Nationality and ethnicity and religion aside, we all want our bright boys and our bright girls excelling in school. We dream of them competitive in Oregon’s marketplace. We are ambitious peoples.

We respect educators. Immigrant and refugee parents firmly believe our children’s teachers have the heart and the knowledge to deliver our dreams. We trust our teachers because they work their classrooms everyday, because they know their students’ needs. We are not confident of politicians who advocate educational change that is contrary to our educators’ best judgment.

Newcomers to America understand that federal funding is essential to educating our kids, and that this is very different from the neglect schools endure in the countries we left to come here. We are do not want changes in Oregon school practices that will threaten an end to federal monies flowing into our classrooms.

As parents and as communities we are deeply disturbed by Ballot Measure 58 and other similar current efforts trying to turn public anxieties about Oregon’s economy and America’s security, against anyone’s vulnerable children. This is not the Oregon we know. Our immigrant and refugee students have succeeded when we’ve let their teachers, guided by local assessments, and supported by federal dollars, do their jobs.

Please vote No on Measure 58.  To get more involved in APANO’s Electoral Work, please email organizer@apano.org or call 503-490-5639.