My Protest

One day, as my friend and I sat together in a small cafe eating momos in our neighborhood in Kathmandu, I shared with her some of my biggest fears about the results of the election. The election of Donald Trump as my country’s new president had explicit consequences for my Mexican-American family and minority friends. For the past year, I have felt conflicted at times by my decision to come to Nepal work at Women LEAD, a professional and leadership development organization for young women in Kathmandu, Nepal. Was I betraying my country—my people—by choosing a life in international service?

“Sometimes,” she said to me, “just your presence itself is a protest.”

In challenging times, I have often turned to my own identity has a “hyphenated American” to guide my service in Nepal. During this time, I have often opened up about my childhood and upbringing as a way to connect with individuals. I have bonded with my Nepali friends over the similarities of our traditions and foods. When I found it challenging to talk to others, I remembered my grandmother, who didn’t speak English herself, and chose instead to learn Nepali. I strongly believe that there is more that unites us than separates us as humans, regardless of our race, gender, religion, and yes, even our nationality.

My community continues to struggle for many basic rights in the United States. Recent rise of violence and hate-crimes have also called into question whether we are Americans. When I think back to all the sacrifices my parents have made in order to come to this country, it dawns on me: I am not supposed to be here. I was not supposed to have made it this far. But the fact that I have made it to Nepal, after graduating with a university degree, is more than an accomplishment; it’s a protest. It’s a way of showing everyone, in the United States and abroad, that Latinos do belong here and that we are American.

My generation will be in charge of driving the United States’ policy agenda both at home and abroad for the next coming years. I see it as my duty to ensure that the diverse voices of Americans are included in these conversations. Through my current experiences abroad, I have come to realize why it is so important to have policies that are shaped by a desire to improve the lives of individual people, not just that make the most sense of the United States. As an individual of a multicultural background, I believe it is my duty to bring my unique perspective as a hyphenated American in today’s international development field and will make it my life’s work to ensure that the interests of communities on the ground are represented in international development and foreign policy. This is my protest, one that I will never stop fighting for until it becomes a reality.