Instead, today's note is about the conclusion to A Little Something To Hide, which as you may know, I've been serialising over the past five months.
Felipe hits the shelves today and his appearance brings to an end the journey from San Francisco to Albuquerque. I'm not a fan of travelling by coach, but this journey's been different, my fellow passengers have been quite candid about their revelations.
I'm not going to say too much about Felipe here, suffice to say he's one of the 47.8 million foreigners living in the USA today, almost a quarter of whom are undocumented migrants.
When conducting my research into migration to the States, I discovered an interesting snippet of information - undocumented migrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2022, a third of which goes toward funding programmes that they're barred from accessing. All I'll say about that, is that perhaps a little maths might be useful before too many scream about mass deportations.
To an extent, A Little Something To Hide represents my observations of modern America, which allowed me to explore injustice in multiple guises – fairness often took a seat toward the back of the Briscola coach, possibly because my normally optimistic view of the world disappears when I turn on the news or browse my social media feeds. At times, it seems as though we’re overwhelmed by the greedy and the cynical, is it any wonder then, that elements of nastiness should make an appearance on the road to Albuquerque.
As an escapee from the Medellín Cartel, Felipe's story reflects the lives of other immigrants arriving in the US for a better life. As a counter to the narrative that so often spews ill about what the immigrant population brings to a country, I wanted Felipe to be mostly harmless, to exist as no threat to anyone that enters his domain. He is entirely benign, save for ... well, you'll have to read the book to find out.
Felipe’s story is not an isolated one and despite the hate that is often directed their way, most migrants are hard-working, law-abiding citizens, who contribute to the great diaspora that has shaped the American landscape for generations, and which makes it the rich and vibrant country that we see today.
America has its issues: a polarised nation, extreme gun violence, eye-watering wealth and income inequality, a lack of affordable healthcare for many, and drug addiction to name a few, but it remains an exemplar to many. Over hundreds of years, peoples from many nations have flocked to the country in search of a better life and the opportunities that few countries are better positioned to provide. It is a genuine melting-pot, a place like no other, yet how sad is it that inter-generational memories are so short, that those whose ancestors migrated to the country should be so afraid of those that follow in their footsteps.
A Little Something To Hide: Part eleven - Felipe
Felipe was a waif when he fled his home in Medellín to cross the border at Antelope Wells, escaping the cartel’s newly emerging leader. In the US he embraces his new culture, indulging in a quiet life of fast-food and sedentary practices. After nearly thirty years he considers himself safe from those he escaped, but does the cartel ever forget those it suspects of betrayal?
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Craig Brown is an author living in Newbury. Discover his serialised novel, 'A Little Something To Hide' at craigbrownauthor.com
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Copyright © Craig Brown, 2024
12 November 2024
