By Miguel Souza

One month ago Rihanna decided to break the silence. In an interview with ABC News, the young singer gave some details about what she went through on Feb. 7. “Every time a see it, the whole thing come back to my head,” said Rihanna while talking about the picture that shows her face battered.

While going to her house she was hit by her ex-boyfriend, the also famous singer Chris Brown. The case involving two young, rich and famous celebrities launched domestic violence to the main stage. Nevertheless, domestic violence is an everyday issue for many families. And many times has a fatal ending.

A report released last month by the Virginia Department of Health shows that approximately one out of four homicides is related to violence in a family or intimate partner relationship.

From 1999 to 2007 there were 3,988 homicides in Virginia. 1,232 of them were committed by someone related to the victim: spouse (married or separated), former spouse, current or former boyfriend, girlfriend or same-sex partner, or dating partner.

“In other words, if we were able to eliminate all homicides that were due to family or intimate partner conflict, we would eliminate a fourth of all homicide cases in Virginia,” said Nicole Lee, family and intimate partner homicide surveillance coordinator of the Virginia Department of Health.

A Major Concern

The figures clearly show that domestic violence is no more a domestic issue. It is a public issue and a threat to all Virginias.

“It is a social problem that affects people in different levels and at different stages of their lifes,” said Elvira de la Cruz.

She works at The James House, an organization that provides support, advocacy, and education for people affected by sexual violence, domestic violence, and stalking.

The problem, she said, is that many people have not realized that domestic violence is a real danger for everybody.

“Some people thing that domestic violence only happens in the marriage, but there are many young people who are also victims while they are dating someone,” De la Cruz said.

In fact, in Virginia the main victims of family and intimate partner homicide are people between 15 and 24. They represent 30.3 percent of all the cases reported from 1999 to 2007. Though, the average age of homicide victims was 35.92 years.

But the problem is not only related to the age of the victim. It is also related to the genre. The figures of the report from the Virginia Department of Health indicate that females “were more likely to die at the hands of an intimate partner”. In some years they represent 58 percent of the victims.

A Constant Problem

When talking about domestic violence there is always a question. Has it increased or decreased?

If the Family and Intimate Partner Homicide Report were the only data to measure domestic violence, it is possible to say that the figures have gone slightly down and up. But at the end, the situation remains the same.

Beyond that, Leah Bush, chief medical examiner, explains that this report represents a milestone in the understanding of fatal domestic violence in Virginia.

“It is the first report to present nine-years-worth of Virginia data examining victim characteristics and event risk factors,” said Bush in a press release.

With these figures, people who work in different areas of the issue say that the information will help to create and implement prevention strategies.

“The statistics help us to gain a better understanding regarding the prevalence and impact of domestic violence. If we did not have these statistics we would not know that there was a problem and we would not be motivated to develop prevention or intervention activities,” said Lee.

A Big Issue in the City

The family and intimate partner homicide rate the capital of the Commonwealth was 5.2 deaths per 100,000 persons in 2007.

The rate is the highest in the metro area, compared to Chesterfield (0.8) and Henrico (1) counties.

On one hand, Lee said that that the ability to identify the cases of domestic violence has gotten better. That is why the figures seem to be higher.

“But there are also some social factors that may have an impact,” she said. “The lack of services for victims and abusers may mean that more abuse victims are remaining in their relationship longer; thus increasing their risk of fatal injury.”

De la Cruz said that helping the victims of abuse is a key element to avoid fatal cases.

“Sometimes the victim does not know how to get away of the situation. Providing shelter or any kind of help is important to convince the victim to take a decision that can save a life,” said.

The economic situation may be another factor to have a high family and intimate partner homicide rate in the city of Richmond.

“The additional stress of the changing economic circumstances may have an impact as well,” said Lee.

At the end, there are combinations of factors that may be involved with domestic violence. The most important is that with accurately data, it would be easier to find a way to look for a solution.

EXPLANATION BOX
Source: Family and Intimate Partner Homicide Report 2007, release by the Virginia Department of Health.
Method: I use the information of the report. It was in a PDF document. I exported the data to an Excel archive and make some calculations. I was able to calculate the percentage increase/decrease from one year to another; to find out who where more likely to be victims of family and intimate partner homicide (according to the age); and calculate the incidence of this kind of homicides in relationship with all the homicides.

Note: In en email response, Nicole Lee, family and intimate partner homicide surveillance coordinator of the Virginia Department of Health, explained that there are many definitions of domestic violence. Though, all of the family and intimate partner homicides are considered domestic violence. “The only exception-she said- would be a few of the Child Homicide by Caregiver deaths. Some of these children were not killed by family members; however, the dynamics behind the deaths are similar and therefore included in the Family and Intimate Partner homicide number.”

By Miguel Souza

Saúl Góngora came to the United States in 1999. Last September, he became one of the first Bolivians living in Virginia who was registered to vote in the next Bolivian presidential election.

“Justice is being done. As immigrants, we send money to our country to support our families. We have the right to decide who will be our leaders,” said Góngora, a former journalist who lives in Falls Church,  outside Washington, D.C.

Approximately 4 million Bolivians will vote in the December presidential election. For the first time, citizens living outside of the country will be able to be part of the voting. According to the Bolivian Electoral Law, only Bolivians immigrants in Argentina, Brazil, Spain and the United States will be registered.

In the United States, the registration will be held in the states of New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia.

Virginia stands out because it has more Bolivian immigrants  than any other state.

According to the 2000 Census, there were 15,599 Bolivians in  Virginia. Since then, that number has grown by more than 50 percent, to about 24,000, according to the 2006-08 American Community Survey, the Census Bureau’s latest estimate.

The state with the second-highest number of Bolivians was California, with about 10,000. Nationwide, about 70,000 people from Bolivia live in the United States, the American Community Survey said.

In Virginia, Bolivians made up about a third of all immigrants from South America – more than any other South American country.

Most of the Bolivians live in Northern Virginia. Fairfax (13,878) and Arlington (3,495) counties have the largest  number of Bolivian-born immigrants.

But the figures are not so clear for Bolivian authorities. Some of them say there are about 200,000 Bolivians living in Virginia. For instance, the National Electoral Court (Corte Nacional Electoral) expects to register about 36,461 people in the area for the presidential election.

“We have 21 registration locations in Northern Virginia. We do not have figures, but we assume that most of our fellows live in this area,” said Rodolfo Henrich, who works in Washington, D.C., as a representative of the National Electoral Court.

The figures are also confusing for Osvaldo Cuevas, the general Bolivian consul in Washington.

“I would not dare to say how many Bolivians are in Virginia. We have figures given by the U.S. Census, the media and different nonprofit organizations. All of them have different figures,” said Cuevas, who has been in charge of the consulate for seven years.

Nevertheless, Cuevas said that the estimate of 24,000 from the  American Community Survey is not related to the reality.

“Some Bolivians who are in the United States as illegal aliens do not want to say they are from Bolivia. They are afraid of being deported to the country. They prefer to say that they are from Mexico. In case they are caught, they will be sent to Mexico and will have more chances to return to the United States crossing the border,” said Cuevas.

In spite of the figures, it is obvious that Northern Virginia is the favorite place for Bolivians who come to the United State. For instance, cities like Annandale and Alexandria have neighborhoods with a strong presence of Bolivians. There are restaurants and stores that provide supplies to the community.

In Arlington County, there is a Bolivian Soccer League. It was created in 1994 and now has 20 teams. Most of the players are from Bolivia or are from Bolivian descent.

“Even though this area is much more expensive than others, there are more chances to get a job. That is why Bolivians come to Northern Virginia,” Cuevas said.

Betty Valverde came to the United States 17 years ago. She lives in Annandale along with her family.

“Many people who use to live in New York, New Jersey and other cities decided to come to Northern Virginia not only because of the job offer, but also because they feel better living in the area. Here they can find food and many friends for Bolivia. In such a way, they feel as if they were at home,” said Valverde.

Hollywood Cemetery, located at 412 S.  Cherry St., is not just a resting place for some of Virginia’s most notable figures; it has also become one of Richmond’s most popular tourist spots. (versión en español)

By Miguel Souza and Randy Davis

Jenifer Darcy, 30, guides her friend Dr. Lauren Sawchyn carefully through the cemetery quietly describing the history of the place. She explains that she enjoys bringing her friends to the cemetery.

“Typically, we go to the pyramid that’s over there and then I usually bring people around to the presidents’ circle,” she said.

Dr. Lauren Sawchyn looked ecstatic as she stood gazing out over Richmond’s skyline.

“I like looking out over the James River and seeing all the beautiful sculptures over the grounds,” she said.

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Hollywood cemetery has different meanings for the people. Listen to the podcast to know how history, recreation and ghosts are part of this tourist spot.

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A Long History

Hollywood cemetery’s first burial took place in 1849. However, it was not until 1858 when President James Monroe’s remains were reinterred at the cemetery, that it became a popular tourist spot.

There are many reasons that tourists come to visit the cemetery.

Emily King, 73, stated that she brought Grant Mosley and his son Kurt to the cemetery because they were interested in civil war history and were looking for ancestors.

Grant Mosley, 56, said that he and his son basically came as tourists.

“We came to sight-see and visit some special graves and to see the confederate cemetery,” he said.
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Take a visual tour to Hollywood cemetery and its history. Presidents, artists and many famous people are among its occupants.

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Famous People in a Famous Place

The Hollywood Cemetery is the final resting place of 18,000 confederate enlisted men as well as two presidents: James Monroe and John Tyler, in addition to Jefferson Davis who was president of the confederacy.

The remains of six Virginia governors have also found their final resting place in the cemetery.

Other notables include: General James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart who is a famous Confederate Calvary commander, Major Lewis Ginter who made his fortune in the tobacco industry and was the builder of The Jefferson Hotel, and Mary Branch Munford who established Virginia’s public school system.

The cemetery consist of 135 acres and would be nearly impossible to cover on foot. David Hodnett, 27, who said he was interested in the cemetery for its historical value and that he wanted to learn about Virginia. He and four friends were touring the cemetery on their bicycles.

“Our intentions were to ride through here and take it in for a few hours… its such a big area it’s hard to cover everything on foot. It’s much more convenient and leisurely I guess on the bicycle,” he said.

In the end, Hollywood cemetery appears to an exciting place for the living as well as resting place for the dead.

José Lara came from Mexico to the United States to work, save money and make his dream of owning a house comes true. He is one of those known as temporary workers, people who come to the country to work for a few months and then go back to their homeland. (versión en español)

By Miguel Ángel Souza

José Lara arrived to the United States on April 3, 2009. Leaving Mexico and his family was not an easy task.

“I decided to come because it is really hard to find a job in Veracruz. If you get one, you do not earn enough money to support your family,” said Lara.

He was hired by James River Grounds Management to stay in the United States for eight months. Lara is one of the thousand of Mexicans that every year arrives to the country to stay for a few months, work hard, save money and go back to Mexico. It is called the temporary labor migration, a different style of migration that according to some researchers can be a way to control illegal migration.

The other face of migration

For some people, migration is a growing problem in the United States. But according to the World Economic and Social Survey done by the U.N. in 2004, there is a migration that can help both, the origin and the host country. It is the temporary labor migration.

“In host countries, temporary labor migration can help meet specific labor force needs while not adding to the stock of long-term immigrants. In origin countries, it can reduce unemployment and contribute remittances,” was one of the conclusions of the survey.

In Mexico, for instance, remittances are responsible for 20% of the capital invested in micro enterprises, according to the Mexican Central Bank. So, the money sent to their country by Mexican immigrants is not only helping to support their families, but also to generate new jobs. Mexicans also are the 4,9 percent of the labor market in the United States.

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Listen to Sarah Sherhols, who works at Liberty’s Promise, a non profit organization that helps young immigrants to be active American citizens. Most of the immigrants with whom she works are from Mexico.

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Looking for a dream

Lara, who is one of the approximately 4,000 Mexicans living in Richmond, is an example of a temporary immigrant. Working as a gardener at James River Grounds Management he earns $1,600 a month, which is much more than the $800 he received in Veracruz working as a mechanical. In Richmond he also gets extra money fixing cars during the weekends. Hispanics from different neighborhoods hire his services. He easily gets $2,000 monthly.

Lara expects to save about $8,000 before going back to his country on December. He said that if he were hired by his company next year, he would come back.

“I am willing to come two or three times more. I will do it until I get my dream come true,” he said.

His dream is the same that many others immigrants have: buying a house for his family.

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Rodolfo Padilla is one of the Mexicans that has made his American dream come true. He has two restaurants in Richmond.

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The dark side of the dream

Earning more money has many sacrifices. The hardest one for Lara is to leave his family.

“My wife and children did not want me to come. We all knew it was going to be hard, but I had to do it,” said Lara, who lives in Henrico County.

In spite he has been living here for three months, he misses his family. “It is hard, because every morning I wake up thinking they are with me, but then I realized that they are far away,” he said.

But he is not the only one who is suffering. “We know he is trying to give us a better life, but it is really difficult to understand he had to go. It is hard to say good bye to someone you love. The first days, my little brother was always crying,” said Carlos Alberto, Lara’s third son.

Alberto, 18, just graduate from high school in Veracruz and is planning to go to the army next year. He rejects migration.

“I would like our government to do something to avoid things like this. I would like our people to stay here, but I understand that there are no jobs. I know our politicians will not change anything. It is something that causes me shame. I am not happy to know that my father is in the United States. In fact, I do not like that country. I have heard that there is much discrimination,” Alberto wrote through Instant Messenger.

Other barriers

Lara said that leaving his family in Mexico is not the only sacrifice he has to face. Food and language are barriers he has to overcome too.

“I really miss Mexican food. In our country we are use to eat fresh and hot meals. Here everything is frozen. You have to keep it in the refrigerator and then take it to the microwave,” he said and explained that even though there are many Mexican restaurants in Richmond, food does not taste like in his country.

Language is also a problem for Lara, who does not speak any word of English.

“We are lucky to live together. If we were not, we would not have whom to talk to,” said Miguel Rosales, Lara’s coworker and roommate. He arrived along with Lara and said that living in the United States is quite different from Mexico.

“It is the price we have to pay for our wellbeing,” said Rosales.

Leonides Moreno, Lara’s foreman, said he knows it is difficult to come to work in the United States because everything is different. But he is sure that this is the only way for many Mexicans to have the chance to save money.

“You can work many years there and you will never save something. Here you can work hard and go back to your country with some dollars,” said Moreno, who is also from Mexico and has been living in the United States for six years.

Bolivian women support the teams that play in the Arlington Bolivian Soccer League (Photo: Miguel Souza)

Soccer is a crucial element to have thousands of Bolivian immigrants gathered. The most popular sport of South America gives them the chance to meet each other and also to remind them of the homeland they left behind. (versión en español)

By Miguel Ángel Souza

It seems to be a normal day for most of people in the United States, but not for Bolivians immigrants who live in Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. The Bolivian’s men national team will face Venezuela this Saturday in a soccer game for the South American World Cup Qualifiers. The match will be played in La Paz, but will give Bolivian immigrants the chance to be with each other and with their homeland.

“Bolivians who live in the United States get excited when the national team plays. They feel as if they were connected with the homeland,” said the Bolivian Consul in Washington, Oswaldo Cuevas. There are 14,583 Bolivian immigrants in Virginia, Maryland and D.C. according to the 2000 Census, but Mr. Cuevas said the number easily reaches 250,000.

A different day

Most of these people will go to watch the game in Bolivian restaurants located in Arlington, such as El Pike and Cecilia. In these places, Bolivians will watch the game as well as eat some traditional foods, like sopa de mani, chicharron, picante and pique macho. Others will meet at home with family and friends to watch the game, to talk and to remember the country they once left behind. Those who have to work will watch the game from their workplace.

“Some of them take a computer to go into the Internet and watch the game. It is not as good as the TV, but it is enough,” said Sandro Ibáñez, an immigrant who has lived in Annandale since the last year. The site http://www.jump.tv/ is also the most useful for those who do not have cable TV.

“I usually go to watch the game with my friends. We all are from different countries, but we enjoy being together,” said Oscar Rodríguez, a Bolivian immigrant who lives in Richmond and works as a foreman in a landscaping company. Most of his friends and coworkers are from Mexico and El Salvador. Even though he is not in touch with many Bolivians, he is always expecting to see the Bolivian national team.

Not just a game

Soccer and summer time for Bolivian families (Photo: Miguel Souza)

“Watching a soccer game outside of the country is really important for the people. It is not just a game. It is a means of feeling that you are not so far away from home. It is like a therapy,” said Gonzalo Canelas, president of the Bolivian newspaper Los Tiempos USA, which is printed in Falls Church.

In April, when the team won 6-1 against Argentina, it was like a national party not only in Bolivia but also in countries like Spain and Argentina, where there are about 2.3 million Bolivian immigrants, according to the National Institute of Statistics in Bolivia

“We usually have about 70,000 to 80,000 clicks per day, but when the Bolivian national team plays, the numbers increase. About 100,000 people went into the web site when Bolivia beat Argentina two months ago. Most of them were from Spain and the United States,” said Esmir Cortez, a journalist who works at the digital edition of El Deber newspaper, in Bolivia.

Going back to Virginia, Ibáñez said that soccer goes beyond just watching a game. “It helps us to be in touch every weekend, after five days of hard work. There is a championship in Virginia. It is organized by the Arlington Bolivian Soccer League. There are 20 teams in which not only Bolivians plays, but also people from El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala and Ecuador,” said Ibáñez.