Immigrants today face many challenges when they come to the United States—learning a new language, adapting to a new culture, and adjusting to a new system. Parents are sometimes forced to leave their native countries for the United States in pursuit of financial support of their families.  Quite often they leave behind their young children, or infants, in the care of family members.  Though the parent may have every intention of quickly reuniting the family, legal and economic barriers can keep the families apart longer than anticipated. Children are especially susceptible to these challenges as they face an added emotional component when they arrive to live with parents and family members they barely know or remember. In some instances, years have passed.

When families do reunite, both the parents and children can have different expectations. Children find themselves with feelings of loss concerning trust and love, and can experience distress, jealousy, and resentment.  They often feel nostalgia for their native country and dearly miss their grandparents or other adults who raised them. Parents, too, can feel frustrated.  After working so hard to raise enough money to bring their child to the United States, the child doesn't act or respond the way they anticipated.  Instead of being overwhelmingly grateful, the child can be moody and distant, quietly angry, and resentful. Parents can be at a loss at what to do, and can experience their own feelings of guilt and despair.

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Reunified Families… Program Format

Carol Cadby, an Arlington Public Schools teacher originally from El Salvador, acts as the studio host of the program.  She’s takes us on a journey that brings us between Latin America and the Washington DC area.  By following the stories of two separate families being reunified in the United States, we’re able to establish emotional links to the native countries through on-location video footage and Latin American actors.  We also use local Arlington, Virginia footage and actors.  The narrative scenarios are enhanced by commentary by the host, as well as a technique that involves the actors talking directly to the camera that helps to create a personal mindset of what the characters are really thinking and experiencing.  Rather than simply trying to tell the viewer what is happening, the program is made active and engaging through dramatic scenarios, host and counselor commentary, and the characters' thoughts and insights.

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Reunified Families… Production Notes by Hildi Quinonez and John Stuhldreher

We were approached by Francesca Reilly-McDonnell, a Specialist of HILT Special Projects, and the HILT counselors of the Arlington Public Schools: Silvia Burwell, Shirley Jones, Beatriz Mitchell, Lourdes Rubio, and Dama Vasquez.  They have worked for several years with families in the process of reunification. Their goal was to produce a video that could help school staff, parents, children and family members better understand the challenges of family reunification. Two of the HILT counselors, Beatriz Mitchell and Lourdes Rubio, took the lead by writing the original draft of the script. They identified commonalities between families that go through this process; and based on these, two fictional families were developed to represent the many immigrant families that face separation and reunification.

To create a more authentic program, we were able to videotape on-location in various regions of El Salvador.  In setting the scene for the two fictional families, we were able to shoot in a rural location for the daughter’s story, and for the son, a more urban location. Again, the two locations were in keeping with the representative profile of recent immigrants.

Regarding actors, we coordinated our needs through a drama professor at the University of El Salvador; he not only participated in one of the central acting roles, but assisted in finding other actors and locations as well.

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Reunified Families … Testimonials

Message received by email 01-09-2006
Hi Hildi, I just wanted you to know that I watched Reunified Families this weekend. I think it's really well done and it's such an important topic. Thank you and AETV for making the video! I plan to order several copies for my family literacy sites.
Donna
Family Literacy Specialist
Arlington Education and Employment Program (REEP)

Reunified Families … Order a DVD

Length: 27 minutes
Spanish with English subtitles
Scene selection menu