Thread: A wary welcome as Ecuadorans settle in by the hundreds......

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articl ... y_welcome/

A wary welcome
As Ecuadorans settle in by the hundreds in Milford, concerns grow over lack of documentation, overcrowding, and cultural differences
By Franco Ordonez, Globe Staff | August 21, 2005

MILFORD -- Maria Caguana handed the shopkeeper a black plastic bag containing sandals, a blouse, candy, a videotape, and a little cash. The shopkeeper slapped on a large white label with the address of Caguana's family in a small village in Ecuador, then wrapped the bag in clear plastic tape and put it in a box with several other packages.

It has become a ritual for Caguana.

Every few weeks, the 36-year-old mother of four stops by the downtown store Unienvios to stock up on Ecuadoran groceries and send a package to family and friends. On good days, she said, there will be a package waiting for her -- perhaps a video from her family -- from her mountain home in the province of Canar.

''It's how we stay in contact," Caguana said in Spanish as she waited for the shopkeeper to finish the wrapping. ''We send videos to each other to say hello and see how the other is doing."

Caguana is part of a wave of Ecuadorans who have recently arrived in Milford. Town officials estimate that 200 to 500 have appeared in the past year. Their arrival is generating a wide range of reactions from locals, from curiosity and amusement to anger.

On any given day, particularly weekends, dozens of Ecuadorans can be seen walking downtown streets, washing clothes at the Village Laundromat, or playing volleyball on a local field.

The women are perhaps easiest to pick out, often wearing long, long skirts, their jet-black hair worn in a long braid known as a shimba.

Like many immigrants, Caguana said her family left Ecuador because of a lack of work and moved to the United States in search of jobs.

Wilson Valdez, who owns Unienvios, first visited the United States in 1986. He lived in North Carolina and studied English at a local language institute. He returned to Ecuador the following year but said he had been impressed by the work opportunities and left the door open for a possible return. He made that jump to Newark, N.J., in 1994.

''I moved here to try to better my life," he said, ''to search for better opportunities."

Valdez opened his store last month. It has quickly become an anchor for the community, serving as a clearinghouse for most local Ecuadorans' needs, providing, among other things, groceries, music, and sporting equipment.

The store is busy enough during the week. On weekends, it's packed with customers looking for CDs of traditional folk music, mote (a type of Ecuadoran grain), tropical fruits such as lulo and tomate de arbol, and the popular spring water Guitig, which Valdez said sells as quickly as it arrives.

''You can't get these things anywhere else in the region," he said.

Large groups play Ecuadoran volleyball, which is more aggressive and uses a harder ball and higher net. Police said five games may be going simultaneously on any Sunday in different parts of town, each drawing dozens of spectators.

Valdez, 44, said most of the men work in roofing and siding. They were drawn to the town, he said, by jobs associated with the rapid development in the western suburbs.

Caguana, who came within the past year, said Milford is a nice place to live -- but it does have its challenges.

''There are no jobs for women," she said. ''There are no cleaning jobs, jobs in restaurants or factories."

Town officials said they believe the majority of the immigrants are hard-working and respectful.

But Officer Joe Shuras suspects most of them are in this country illegally. He said he contacted federal immigration officials but was told they are so overwhelmed with cases that there is nothing they can do unless a felony is committed.

Shuras said many of the immigrants drive without licenses and sometimes fail to obey basic traffic laws. The police also often receive calls from neighbors complaining of noisy apartments occupied by Ecuadorans.

When police arrive, they often find the problems are the result of overcrowding, Shuras said.

''It's not unusual to have 10 to 12 people or more in one small apartment," he said

Shuras also said he has received complaints of illegal alcohol sales at volleyball games and of Ecuadorans making catcalls to teenage girls at the town park.

Chief Thomas O'Loughlin said most of the problems with the Ecuadorans stem from cultural differences.

The clearest example, he said, was when two women were arrested in April after their neighbors reported that they saw the women dragging a hog-tied sheep outside their Cemetery Street home and beating it with sticks.

''What's happening are really ethnic conflicts," O'Loughlin said. ''That which might be acceptable in their native country is not accepted as a norm here. Their feeling is that the [sheep] was food, whether it was alive or not."

With the town already hosting a sizable population of Brazilians, some residents had already complained to officials that illegal immigration is a growing problem in Milford. They see the Ecuadorans as a new threat.

They worry that the town is losing its New England charm and that the influx of immigrants will cause property values to plummet.

But others argue that the town has historically welcomed newcomers, and the latest arrivals, as long as they're abiding by state law, should be respected and welcomed.

Thomas O'Connor, a professor and historian at Boston College who has written and taught about Boston immigration trends, said the first wave of Ecuadorans to arrive in town could be the start of something bigger.

He said it would be natural for the community to grow, since new arrivals tend to seek out already established groups of immigrants from their own country.

''My tendency would be to say that this would be a continuing phenomenon," O'Connor said. ''I don't think this is a one-shot deal, as long as there are possibilities for jobs and income. These immigrants may be poor, but they are not stupid. I doubt they'd come to a place that doesn't have some benefit to them."

There are other pockets of Ecuadorans in the state. The 2000 US Census counted 553 in Lawrence and 489 in Boston.

The issue has come up in the casual talk at Johnny Jack's Restaurant on Main Street downtown. Waitress Cathy Pasacane said some customers have expressed concerns about the growth of the Ecuadoran population. But she said as long as they're hard workers and respectful of others, she doesn't have a problem with it.

''The Ecuadorans are coming," she said. ''Oh, my God, who's next?"

But Officer Joe Shuras suspects most of them are in this country illegally. He said he contacted federal immigration officials but was told they are so overwhelmed with cases that there is nothing they can do unless a felony is committed.

You mean there is nothing that they WANT to do.

But others argue that the town has historically welcomed newcomers, and the latest arrivals, as long as they're abiding by state law, should be respected and welcomed.

I guess that it is OK to violate Federal law.