| | |  Editorials | Opinions 
Getting Profiled, Staying Safe and the World Cup - A Visit to Mexico
 Allan Wall - PVNN
June 21, 2010
 |  | Mexicans continue to be killed in the ongoing drug war, which is a tragedy. Security is an important topic, so we are taking precautions to stay safe. So far we have been safe. |  | | |
I resided for a decade and a half in Mexico, and met and married my wife there. Recently I was offered a job in the U.S. and moved back. However, since my wife is from Mexico we have already made several visits to Mexico and plan to continue. So I currently write from Mexico, where we are visiting.
We traveled in our car, crossing the US-Mexican border. After crossing, I applied for (and paid for) a tourist permit for myself and an auto permit for the car. After all, I should obey Mexican immigration law!
After finishing the border business, we proceeded on into the interior. My wife was driving and I was in the front passenger’s seat.
Well, we arrived to a Mexican migration checkpoint, and guess what? The agent at the checkpoint didn’t even ask for my (Mexican-born) wife’s documentation, he just asked for mine. In other words, I was profiled!
It was quick though. The agent saw I had the document and we proceeded on our merry way. It was undeniable, however, I had been profiled.
Despite all the hoopla over profiling, we all do it. It's a valid police tool if used appropriately. And in this case, the Mexican migration officer was exactly right - the car's driver (my wife) was Mexican and the front-seat passenger (myself) was a foreigner.
We arrived to the metropolitan area in which I once resided. We've been spending a lot of time with my wife's parents. (In Spanish they are my suegros, the collective term for mother-in-law and father-in-law.) Our children have been spending a lot of time with their grandparents, which is good.
There are things in Mexico that I don't have access to in the U.S., so it's good to have such opportunities here. We have also been able to see relatives, friends from church and neighbors. We also had the opportunity to visit a first-rate agricultural operation in the country.
Mexicans continue to be killed in the ongoing drug war, which is a tragedy. Security is an important topic, so we are taking precautions to stay safe. So far we have been safe.
The biggest item in the news here though is not the drug war (which after all, goes on all the time) but the World Cup. The World Cup is sort of like the Olympics of Soccer, held every four years. It is a big deal in Mexico. (I myself knew almost nothing of it before I moved here.)
In the World Cup, national teams compete with each other for the championship. Four years ago, in 2006, the Italian team won. The Mexican team has never won the World Cup, but each four years Mexicans' hope is renewed again. This 2010 World Cup is being played in South Africa, and 20,000 Mexican fans traveled there to see it.
I'm not really a soccer fan or expert, but I enjoy the World Cup for its international flavor. I especially like to watch the opening of each game, when the two opposing teams line up and the national anthems are played.
So far the Mexican team has tied with host South Africa and has beaten France. Mexico's next opponent is Uruguay.
It should be interesting... |
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