Similarities

Written by Charlene Ward

Costa Rica is an absolutely amazing place. It has been very interesting to see all the cultural differences, as well as the similarities. I could not help but noticing the parallels between illegal immigration in the United States and in Costa Rica. Costa Rica has an immigration issue with its neighboring country, Nicaragua. Many Costa Ricans extremely dislike Nicaraguans for a wide variety of reasons which include economical, social, and ethnic issues. Illegal immigration is something that they have trying to prevent. As of now, there are 600,000 Nicaraguans living in Costa Rica. Most complain that the Nicaraguans benefit from the government despite not paying tax. They were still able to acknowledge that the Nicaraguans were working jobs that were undesirable to most Costa Ricans. Costa Ricans are very proud of their country, and they believe that Nicaraguans tarnish that image.

In the United States, we have the same attitude towards Latin American illegal immigrants, but most of our discrimination is directed towards Mexicans. Often, we acknowledge that the illegal immigrants coming into the country are very helpless, though we still discriminate against them. The United States finds illegal immigrants from Mexico and other Latin American countries to be a nuisance for the same reason that Costa Ricans find Nicaraguans to be nuisances. I was surprised by the relentlessness that Costa Ricans felt about the Nicaraguans, but I had to realize that we have the same issue in the U.S. Coming to a new country really allows one to see how similar we humans are. I am positive that Costa Rica will continue to amaze me. I already know that this trip will be a life changing experience.