PRESENTATION BY SENATOR DAN DA PONTE

 

 

January 18, 2004

 

Thank you very much. I am going to try to do this program today as bilingual as possible. First I would like to thank Jose Ferreira and Adiaspora.com for the invitation to be here, and also congratulate you and all of those who have been involved in making Adiaspora.com a reality. Any of us that utilize email, the Internet or the web really can realize what a powerful tool it can be. This is certainly a method and a way to reach, not only a city, a state or a province but the entire world.

 

As you’ve heard in my biography that Ana was describing, I guess my situation is somewhat unique. During the past day and a half here I have had the opportunity to talk with many of you and talk with many of the people, and make some references, and maybe some comparisons at how different the political climates and the political and governmental structures are between the United States and Canada.

 

I was elected back in November 1998 from a working class district of many Portuguese immigrants. My parents were obviously both immigrants from the Azores as was mentioned and like many of you came here or came to the US looking for better opportunity and to make a better life for themselves but also to pave the way for a bright future for their children.

 

I’d like to just begin by giving you an overview of what strides we have made in the Portuguese community of Rhode Island, at least in Rhode Island (and yesterday you heard from my good friend Tony Cabral about the political climate in Massachusetts).

 

Today in Rhode Island we are proud to have a general officer of the state, who was actually my predecessor in the State Senate, Paul Tavares, the son of Azorean immigrants from São Miguel, who serves as the State Treasurer, and who was elected back in 1998. When I was elected to the State Senate he was elected to State Treasurer, and elected by the entire state of Rhode Island. We are a small state, small in size, small in numbers but our numbers are still larger than Alaska, which is the biggest state by land.

 

Paul was elected, not only because he was certainly qualified for the job, but had the support and respect of the Portuguese community. Like many of us who have been fortunate enough to serve and have been elected, whether it be at the local level, whether it be at the statewide level, or even appointed positions, the one thing that I found is that many, not all, are not just Portuguese by their last name but know the issues, know the culture and know the needs of the Portuguese community.

 

I look at my district, for example, of East Providence where I live and grew up. It is a city of about 50 000 people. I would say that about a good 20 000 of them are of Portuguese descent, many first generation immigrants. When my predecessor decided to run for State Treasurer there was really a void and there was a lot of concern from the Portuguese community that there wouldn’t be someone who would be able to return a phone call and speak to them in their native language. What was most interesting to me as I began this endeavour and looked back at the history of the seat that I currently hold in the city of East Providence (and now I have also picked up part of the Portuguese section of Providence, our capital city) was that for the 47^th consecutive year, the person who has held that seat has been of Portuguese-American heritage, has been a member of St. Francis Xavier Parish and has been a member of the Holy Ghost Beneficial Brotherhood. I look around the state and I don’t think that has ever, at least in Rode Island, been the case. What that tells me and should tell all of us, especially the youth that are here,  (I look around and can see several young faces) is that there is power in numbers. In our community, that is obviously so proud of what we have accomplished, this has really been demonstrated in my case. In the US and Canada you probably have the same.

 

We always talk about the American Dream in the US. I look at myself and at my circumstances and I am living an American Dream, a great deal of which had to do with the support of the Portuguese community and also a knowledge, an understanding and appreciation for our culture, for our heritage and our language.

 

In Rhode Island we have, as I have mentioned, a Treasurer who is of Portuguese descent, who is fluent in Portuguese and who listens to fado in his state vehicle as he drives around the state. We have nine members of the House of Representatives who are of Portuguese descent, a few of which who actually speak Portuguese and some that are unfortunately Portuguese in name only. In the Senate, where I have served in the last five years, there are three of us. These past several weeks we had some political turmoil. We had the election of the Senate majority leader, who is the second most powerful person in the Senate. She is actually a woman of Portuguese-American descent, Maria Teresa Paiva and her last name is Weed, (she married an American man)  who is now the second most powerful person in the State Senate and who is very proud of her Portuguese heritage and who also has a very active and supportive Portuguese community in the beautiful city of Newport. Some of you may have had the opportunity to visit and if you haven’t, the door is always open. We have a wonderful, very vibrant Portuguese community in the State of Rhode Island that is prepared to welcome you.

 

As I said, we are a small state of about a million people. Fortunately we have about 10% of the population that is of Portuguese-American ancestry and one that is very active, not only at the state level but also at the local level. Speaking about politics and government, we have many city and town councils who have members who are of Portuguese-American heritage, some actually immigrants. We have chiefs of police who are first and second generation Portuguese-Americans. But there is something that I think that we all have in common, which is that many of us have been involved in organizations like this for many, many years and know what it is like to be Portuguese.

 

I would ask but I won’t because some may be embarrassed, I would venture to guess that some who are in this room are immigrants. This is an example I use often because I think it tends to humble me, and how I view things. I think of my father who came form São Miguel from the very poor village of Rabo de Peixe, that some of you may know, who never had a pair of shoes until he came and immigrated to the United States. And I often think, especially with organizations and groups like you, that I can’t imagine what it must be like to just one day pick up everything you have, which for many was probably very little, and move to a world, or move across the world, to a place where you knew no-one, didn’t know how to speak the language and had to completely start from new. That is the example I use very often especially to the young people that I speak to. When we sometimes look at a goal or something that we want to accomplish and it seems impossible and we see people that are successful, who have worked hard to be successful and admire what they have done and how they have done it, what strikes me is that we don’t have to look very far but look at our own parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and see what they’ve accomplished, the sacrifices they’ve had made for us and specifically for my generation and the generations to come to have greater opportunities. For that you all deserve a round of applause. Really!

 

This message is mostly for the youth but for those of you here who may have children at home I can’t stress how important it is, if for nothing else, to just get a greater appreciation for different cultures, for our own culture, for our own language, to just get involved in some way, some shape of form, to get involved whether it be through civic organizations, whether it be thorough religious or political organizations or campaigns.

 

Tony Cabral, I think, made a terrific point and that is that it’s all about connections and it’s all about relationships. If we were to depend on just the Portuguese community to get elected, chances are that it wouldn’t happen. But when you represent different communities then they see that you have an appreciation and a respect for your own culture. They know that you have a respect, although you may not be of their ethnicity, culture or background, for what they have gone through and the challenges that they face. And that is, I think, all a result of making those very important connections and getting involved with civic or beneficial organizations, whatever they happen to be. So to the youth here and to all of you (I guess you are here because you are already involved in some way shape of form), the next time you go to an event or a meeting of whatever organization you are involved with, bring a friend, bring five friends!

 

With respect to politics and government, I always say it doesn’t matter what you do in life, you can be a doctor, you can be an accountant, you can be a construction worker, you can be a dentist, it doesn’t really matter, but at some point in your life, your profession, your desires or your hobbies, etc, will cross paths with the political and governmental process. It may not be today. It may not be five years from now but it may be twenty or twenty-five years from now. Give yourselves the opportunity and take that leap of faith just like our parents and grandparents did when they picked up everything they had and moved to a new world. Take that leap of faith and get involved with the type of organizations that will provide you with those connections and relationships that will last you a lifetime!