'Cultural unrest'

En Espanol

TALL AND THIN, with green eyes and short brown hair, Shaun Jurgens is what some Hispanics might call a “gringo,” a white man.

He grew up in the suburbs of New York, not far from the Bronx, and came south for an education. He joined the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office in 2005, days after he graduated from the University of Mary Washington with a degree in Spanish.

Jurgens found that he fit in better in the Fredericksburg area than on the outskirts of New York City.

The deputy is a country-music fan and a diehard Republican, a self-described redneck who would fly the Confederate flag proudly—if it wouldn’t get him into trouble at the office.

But Jurgens has another interesting personality trait: a heart for Hispanics.

The deputy has become the “go-to person” in the Spotsylvania department, said Sheriff Howard Smith. Jurgens is the one summoned when Spanish-speakers are involved with crimes, accidents, or—as was the case in June—two drowning deaths on Lake Anna.

“He’s really taken to the Hispanic community,” Smith said. “He’s been a lifesaver for us.”

Jurgens said his reasons for wanting to work with Hispanics are simple. Latinos have strong family values, “and they seem to be really good people,” he said.

But the 22-year-old deputy wonders what the future holds in communities where the Hispanic population is exploding.

The number of Latinos in the Fredericksburg area has more than doubled in five years, and Jurgens sees “cultural unrest” growing with it.

He fears that Hispanics will get tired of “working 18-hour days and making the economy stronger”—and demand to be treated like citizens.

On the other hand, Jurgens knows Americans will argue that illegal immigrants are law-breakers, first and foremost, who should be treated as such.

“I just worry about what’s going to happen in the future,” he said.

‘Their status is not my job’

Whether an immigrant is in the country legally or without papers is one of the biggest issues in the national debate. But local law-enforcement officers aren’t nearly as concerned about documentation as other issues.

Officers across the Fredericksburg area insist it’s not their responsibility to check a person’s legal status.

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Of interest

Beatriz and Jose Davila try to reach Hispanics through “Ministerio Torre Fuerte,” the church they started in Stafford County three years ago, and the Bible classes he teaches in Spanish at the Rappahannock Regional Jail.

Sometimes, the bigger crowd is the one behind bars.

The Davilas, who moved here from Venezuela eight years ago, want Hispanics to recognize that the United States has different laws than their homelands.

“People come here very ignorant,” she said. “They need to remember three things: to love others, to respect others and to follow the rules.”

Focus

Sylvia Torres has a makeshift altar in her office.

Actually, it’s a three-tiered plant stand, but it’s not lined with African violets or Swedish ivy. Votive candles, an image of the Virgin Mary and statues of children and angels fill the shelves.

Women who come into Torres’ office immediately recognize the display. Many Hispanics dedicate a corner of their homes to altars, where they pray and light jar candles that burn for days.

“Women sit down, and they start talking, and then they start crying,” she said.

Torres is the Hispanic services coordinator for the Rappahannock Council on Domestic Violence. She was hired almost a year ago to serve the growing number of Spanish-speaking women.

Torres took almost 80 reports of domestic abuse in her first six months on the job.

“I’m starting to feel scared,” said the Puerto Rican native. “I’m happy on one side that I can give the services and that they have found somebody who can help them. On the other side, it’s so sad.”

Many women are like one client, who has six children and is totally dependent on her husband’s income.

When he spends the rent money on liquor, they start fighting. He declares that he can do as he pleases because “he is the man,” and the abuse begins.

The husband and wife are in the country illegally, Torres said. The woman doesn’t have any family in the area, can’t read or write English and doesn’t have a job.

Few Hispanic women will leave their husbands in such situations, Torres said. Equality between the sexes isn’t as prevalent in some Spanish-speaking countries as in the United States, she added.

Torres helps women who have been abandoned go through the legal process. For those who stay with their husbands, she offers support groups and counseling.

“I can count very few happy endings,” she said.

Date published: 8/18/2006

En Espanol

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