While Blacks fight for their survival, Colombia's wealthy have other preoccupations. In the highbrow, rarified and polluted air of Santafe de Bogota, the Miss Columbia contest parades its select young women before an expectant nation. The announcers painstakingly describe each aspirant, even to the color of her skin. Save for a few Euro-Indians and a couple of light-skinned Black contestants, all are "white." Miss Santefe de Bogota, the long-legged, white-skinned audience favorite emerges the winner. Barely two hours later and the new Miss Columbia launches her reign by visiting the Black beaches of Cartagena, the port-city through which all enslaved Africans entered Columbia. There, to the delight of the world's photographers, Miss Columbia contrasts her white beauty with the Black skins of heavy-set women from maroon (escaped slaves) communities. The headlines and photos run, front page and center: "Carolina between Maroons," an unabashed reference to the old maxim, "a rise between two thorns." Three years ago the wealthy matron who organizes the Miss Columbia pageant claimed the country was not ready for a Black Miss Columbia.
Last May, President Bush signed an Executive Order allowing the Coast Guard to immediately turn back Haitian boat refugees without checking to determine if they were fleeing political persecution. Before that, thousands of Haitians had crowded into unsafe boats to try to get away from their dangerous homeland. The U.S. tagged them "economic" rather than political refugees. "The fact is our government has turned a blind eye to Haitians," said Wade Henderson, director of NAACP's Washington bureau. I have a dream that I intend to make a reality. I'm calling on African Americans and Haitians here in Miami to come together to sit down, talk and work out a plan to help Haitians. But I'm also asking that Hispanics, Jews, Anglos -- everyone -- pitch in to help.
Amid the flurry of designations by the media, law enforcement officials, and advocacy organizations--terms ranging from "migrants" to "asylum-seekers" to "economic refugees"--one thing was clear. The people aboard that boat had fled desperate conditions for safe harbor in the U.S. What awaited them when they touched land was then, and remains, a matter of great contention. When asked about the implications of the designation "migrant," Miami field office INS public relations officer Barbara Gonzalez said that in the context of INS policy, "There is really no such thing as a migrant." She said, "Many use the word," when the correct terminology for what they intend is "non-immigrant." How about the terms "alien" and "refugee?" Amnesty International notes that the term "alien" has been used in U.S. legislation to describe various types of non-citizens, including those Amnesty would call "asylum-seekers." Similarly, the INS describes an alien as any non-citizen or national of the U.S.
"White Brazilians are not accustomed to seeing Blacks in positions of power and seeing Blacks with money in shops, night clubs and hotels. Having more Black American tourists will cause white Brazilians to treat Blacks differently and that will cause them to get a different image of all Blacks. And that can help change attitudes," Medeiros said during a recent interview in Rio.
