Introduction to the story of Arcadio Salanic Salanic

Although Arcadio Salanic Salanic had previously made several legal trips between the United States and his war-torn home country of Guatemala, he was detained on November 3rd, 2007 because of an issue with his VISA.

Instead of simply going through with the deportation, and thereby giving up his ability to travel legally into the United States, Arcadio applied for asylum in the U. S.

Even though it meant the possibility of months in jail, Arcadio sought to continue his work creating a network of assistance for exposing and putting an end to human right abuses in Guatemala, which is a major source of many of the immigrants into America.

Even earlier than World War II, much of the fruit that is imported into the United States comes from modern plantations in Guatemala, and as such Guatemala was has been an early player on the stage of globalisation.  Corruption in the government and in the large national corporations has, for the last several decades, fostered an environment of violence and fear, a violence that forces many to take up dangerous journeys through Mexico to find refuge in the United States.

Because of this appeal for asylum and the ability to recruit help within the United States, Arcadio has been, like many immigrants who are arrested before being deported, moved though makeshift prison communities as his trial, asylum case, and appeal have been backlogged in the U.S. court system.

Also like many deportations, he’s been in prison for over a year, enduring botched scheduling, translation issues, and an un-sympathetic legal system that has keep Arcadio in prison for over a year. 

Starting this week, I’ll be running installments of letters written by Arcadio to his colleague and my good friend Adam, in the hope of both gaining assistance in expediting Arcadio’s case, as well as lifting Arcadio’s spirits with the support of an understanding audience.

As a point of clarification, this is just the story of one person, not a piece of research or a journalistic story.  The letters from Arcadio have been translated by Adam, who has also been intermittantly correspondening with Arcadio over the phone.  Only a few perspectives are represented here, although these perspectives provide a compelling look at how one person, some who has tried to improve the conditions in his country, has been lost in this country.  Additionally, I will also be using the Tumblr form—including formating the letters as quotes and adding related pictures—to add some character to the story.

Please re-blog these posts and forward on the information, and if you know anyone who can help, please let us know.

Best,

Taylor