Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Leaving the Mountains

Leaving the Mountains: Coalmining and Economic Migration

Machlyn Blair
Appalachian Media Institute/ Youth Radio

Intro:
There are many parts of the country where illegal immigration is not a pressing issue?places far from any U-S border?places where the economy isn?t strong enough to attract workers. But some Americans in these places see a direct link between their experiences and the experiences of the millions of immigrants who crossed the border illegally for economic reasons.

19-year-old Machlyn Blair lives in rural Kentucky and finds the current immigration debate relevant to his life, and the history of his family. Machlyn grew up in a mostly white rural county in central Appalachia, where the only type of migration happening now, is people leaving the region. The Appalachian Media Institute and Youth Radio sent us his reflections.

Script

A lot of people, when they think about immigrants, think about them "coming in." They don?t think about what it was like for them to leave their homes in the first place. I do, because one day, I might have to leave my home in the mountains.

I live in Jeremiah, Kentucky. For generations, people in my family have moved from state to state for jobs, and put their lives at risk in the coal mines. Here, leaving the mountains is a rite of passage, just like crossing the border might be for others. I hear kids every day making plans about their future, and eastern Kentucky isn?t a part of that.

I never thought I would have anything in common with teenagers from other countries like Mexico, but I do. Seeing the immigration debates and demonstrations on TV, I understand that big companies look at our families as dollar signs, as people who can pack coal out or bring the tomato harvest in.

Many people think economic migrants in our country had a choice. I can tell you there is no real choice in the decision to leave home. I look around my community and see how many people are out of a job, trying to get by working at Walmart, or getting hurt in the mines.

So far, I can count 23 people in my family who have left the community for financial reasons. I don't want to become the 24th ?someone my family sees only on the holidays. Making a choice to leave means going where people don't wave as you drive by?Where nobody knows me or my family?Where people look down on my way of talking?A place where my customs and traditions are seen as backwards.

Knowing where I?m from is one of the things I value. I don?t want to give that up for a paycheck. And I?m afraid if I go, I?ll never be able to come back.

Back Announce: Machlyn Blair is from Jeremiah, Kentucky. His essay was produced by the Appalachian Media Institute and Youth Radio.