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-- Number of illegal Brazilians in the US quadruples because of local soap opera

Number of illegal Brazilians in the US quadruples because of local soap opera

By Andrew Hay

quote:

Bras�lia (Reuters) - Brazilian immigrants are illegally going to the United States more than ever, in the hope of finding work and better lives, exactly like the characters of the soap opera "Am�rica". The number of Brazilians without documents detained in American soil has quadrupled this year when compared to 2004, an increase much higher than that of illegal immigrants from other Latin American countries, according to American authorities. When trying to identify the factors that could be propelling this exodus, authorities noticed the passion of the Brazilian people for "Am�rica", a soap opera that has been broadcast since March and that shows illegal immigrants risking their lives in order to get in the USA and finding jobs amidst the difficulties. "Any publicity leads people to believe they're going to get there", said an American diplomat who didn't want to have his name published. Along with half of all television watchers in the country, Tarcila Madureira Silva, 20 years old, turns the TV on every night in order to watch the Soap opera, broadcasted by TV Globo. She saw the heroine of the story, Sol, finding a job as a dancer in Miami and sending money to her family in Rio, among love scenes with her gringo boyfriend. Silva had already seen her neighbours building houses with the money earned illegally in the United States. "I decided to leave in order to improve the life of my family", she said, and in July she left her mother and two younger brothers in Gonzaga, a small city in Minas Gerais, in order to make a 8 thousand kilometer trip to the Mexican border with the United States. As happens with one of four illegal immigrants, she was arrested by the authorities minutes after she crossed the border. Many people manage to be freed after paying bail and escape, but she was deported. AUTHORITIES CAUTIOUS WITH THE SOAP OPERA During the last months, Brazilians became the second greatest group of illegal immigrants detained in the USA, being outnumbered only by the Mexicans. In some cities in Brazil, up to a third of all inhabitants left the country in order to find better jobs. There are cases of 15 year old teens taking the trip. What moves these Brazilians is the dream of finding the hope, money and glamour that their hometowns lack. The Brazilian economy is rising, but unemployment still affects 10% of the population. Almost half of the population lives in poverty and struggle to find work where even minimum-wage jobs are limited, with wihich it's hard to survive. When the American authorities tried to explain the high number of illegal Brazilian immigration this year, they noticed that the Brazilian currency was much stronger, which made the 9 thousand dollars requested by "Coyotes" on the Mexican border cheaper by comparison. Other than that, the news that Mexico is going to be more strict in their immigration policy might have been another factor that led these Brazilians to take the trip, said a representative of the embassy in the USA. When the number of Brazilians detained on the border between April and May increased to 7 thousand people, almost the total number of detainees in 2004, North American authorities started to look for other reasons. That's when they noticed the soap opera. Since then, the employees of the American embassy in Brazil watch "Am�rica" regularly. According to Leonardo Monteiro, part of a parliamentary commission on immigration, the soap opera tripled the number of Brazilians going to the American border. Groups supporting immigrants confirm that "Am�rica" is having an enormous influence. "The soap opera shows people having great difficulties, but the fact that one or a couple of them succeeded gives the impression that people can do it", commented Luis Bassegio, who runs the Migrant's Pastoral Service of the Brazilian Catholic Church. GLORIA PEREZ Critics like Monteiro say "Am�rica" glorifies illegal immigration by showing Brazilians living in a happy world of fantasy, instead of showing how hard and difficult illegal life in the US is. The producers claim that "Am�rica" shows the real life, although it does so in a beautiful and dramatised way. For Gloria Perez, the author of "Am�rica", "the soap opera shows Brazilians that leave for the dream of a better life and end up becoming segregated immigrants excluded in a foreign land". "Am�rica" shows Brazilians suffering discrimination, exploitation and rracial segregation -- everything that they deal with in major Brazilian cities. The difference is that in the soap opera, as happens in real life, they find jobs as cosnstruction workers or cleaning ladies that pay in two days what they'd earn in a month in Brazil. The 1.3 million Brazilians residing in the United States, half of them being illegal, send back to Brazil about 2 billion dollars every year. Those who move back to their homeland inspire others into following their example. The stories of Brazilians found drowned in Rio Grande or dead in the desert don't even make it to the news. Wearing a thick gold chaing and a shirt that reads "Massachusetts Home Sweet Home", Fabiano da Silva is sitting in front of the restaurant he opened in Guanh�es, in Minas Gerais, with the money he brought home from the USA. He spent 4 years in the USA working illegaly as a gardner and in restaurants. "I'd do it all again", he tells his friends, when he tells his stories about America. (Maria Pia Palermo and Guido Nejamkis contributed with this article in Brazil and Anahi Rama in Mexico)

I'm going to post my thoughts later.

edit: Thanks you very much, Renegade

Maybe the Americans should hire the Metropolitan police to go and sort them out?!

quote:

Originally posted by George Smiley Maybe the Americans should hire the Metropolitan police to go and sort them out?!

There are no subways in the Mexican border, you noob!

Re: Number of illegal Brazilians in the US quadruples because of local soap opera

quote:

Originally posted by Lira if anyone could tell me my mistakes in English, I'd appreciate it

Read the article through and didn't actually notice any, but since you've given me licence to be a picky asshole...

quote:

The number of Brazilians without documents detained in American soil must be multiplied by four this year when compared to 2004

"Must be" isn't really the right phrase. Try: "The number of Brazilians without documents detained in American soil has multiplied by four this year when compared to 2004" or, even better, "The number of Brazilians without documents detained in American soil has quadrupled this year when compared to 2004".

quote:

a soap opera that is being broadcasted since March

Should read: "a soap opera that has been broadcast since March".

quote:

As half of all television watchers in the country, Tarcila Madureira Silva, 20 years old, turns the TV on every night in order to watch the Soap opera

From the context, "As half..." should be "As with half..." or, even better, "Along with half..."

quote:

heroin

Heroine. Heroin is obviously something quite different.

quote:

illegaly

Illegally.

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a 8 thousand kilometer trip until the Mexican border

"Until" should be "to".

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As it happens with one out of four illegal immigrants

You can lose the "it" and probably the "out" as well.

quote:

instants

Insistence.

quote:

In the last months

"In" shouldn't really be used in a temporal sense. It would read better as "During recent months..."

quote:

In some cities in Brazil, even a third of all inhabitants left the country

"Even" doesn't really sound right in that context. Try replacing it with "up to" or "as many as".

quote:

What moves these Brazilians is the dream of finding the hope, money and glamour that their hometown lack.

Unless they all come from the same hometown, it needs to be made a plural.

quote:

affects

Just though I'd congratulate you on using that word and by using it correctly, something 99% of native English speakers fail to do.

quote:

Almost half of the population lives in poverty and struggles for a limited number of jobs paid with minimum wages

I can't put my finger on why, but this sentence just doesn't sound right. Try writing it as "Almost half of the population lives in poverty and struggle to find work where even minimum-wage jobs are limited". Hopefully that was what you were trying to convey.

quote:

When the American authorities tried to explain the high numbers of illegal Brazilian immigration this year

Should be "the high number of illegal Brazilian immigrants".

quote:

and making the 9 thousand dollar requested by "Coyotes" in the Mexican border become cheaper.

Should be "which made the 9 thousand dollars requested by "Coyotes" on the Mexican border cheaper by comparison."

quote:

stricter

"More strict" sounds better.

quote:

into taking

"To take".

quote:

in the border

"On".

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part of a parlamentar commission about immigration

"Part of a parliamentary commission on immigration".

quote:

that runs

"Who runs".

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as it happens in real life

Again, you don't need the "it".

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2 billion dollar

"Dollars".

quote:

The stories of Brazilians found drowned in Rio Grande or dead in the desert doesn't even make it to the news.

"Doesn't" should be "don't".

quote:

"I'd do it all again", he tells his friends, when he tells his stories in America.

I think you mean "about" America.

Your English is pretty good apart from all that, though...

OMG!!!!you are a picky asshole

I didn't read the article but is it due to "El CLon?"

Thank you very much indeed, Renegade, your observations help me a lot.

If you're not busy (I reckon that correction must've taken you a lot of time), I wonder if you (or someone else) could help me with this doubt:

1) "As it happens with one out of four immigrants": The use of the word "it" is quite confusing for us, since we're used to elaborating sentences without subject and/or object in Portuguese. We have the idea that every verb needs a subject in English so, once I drop it from the example, is there really no subject? Or that's an exception to the rule?

As for the rest, I believe I understood what the problems were, cheers. I did find it interesting that you mentioned native speakers mix "affect" and "effect" up... are these words homophones in spoken language?

But yeah, thanks for being a "picky asshole" [sic ], it does help me a lot and gives me more confidence to teach and take those proficiency tests

quote:

Originally posted by metalgearsolid I didn't read the article but is it due to "El CLon?"

No, but it's from the same director and TV station. The woman seems to have a good heart, but fails miserably when it comes to actually doing the right thing.

quote:

Originally posted by Lira As for the rest, I believe I understood what the problems were, cheers. I did find it interesting that you mentioned native speakers mix "affect" and "effect" up... are these words homophones in spoken language? .

No there not, but they just seem to confuse people for some reason.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael19 No there not, but they just seem to confuse people for some reason.

I dont know what the difference is! I just use effect and leave it at that!

quote:

Originally posted by George Smiley I dont know what the difference is! I just use effect and leave it at that!

dont think i can explain the difference aswell! Think i know when to use them though.



hmmmmm

effect is..

quote:

Originally posted by Dictionary.com 1.Something brought about by a cause or agent; a result

affect is..

quote:

Originally posted by Dictionary.com To have an influence on or effect a change in: Inflation affects the buying power of the dollar.

Also had to look up homophone earlier aswell!

quote:

Originally posted by Lira 1) "As it happens with one out of four immigrants": The use of the word "it" is quite confusing for us, since we're used to elaborating sentences without subject and/or object in Portuguese. We have the idea that every verb needs a subject in English so, once I drop it from the example, is there really no subject? Or that's an exception to the rule?

I'm not an English professor, but so long as the subject appears later in the sentence (in this case "immigrants") I'm pretty sure the "it" is redundant. Often, the phrase "as happens", in this context, is punctuated with an adverb such as "often" or "usually" (i.e. "As usually happens with one out of four immigrants") but it isn't necessary. You can test it with any other verb as well: "As (it is) spoken by one out of four immigrants" or "As (it is) attempted by one of four illegal immigrants". In each of these cases, the "it" / "it is" isn't necessary so long as the subject appears later on (I don't think it's necessarily gramatically incorrect, having said that, but you won't see it appear too much in written or spoken English).

And, just to confuse matters further, "As it happens" is actually a fairly common English phrase in a different context, usually where the subject appears in a previous sentence. So, a common example from spoken English:

"Do you have a watch?"
"Yes I do, as it happens..."

Or, to use your example:

"She was arrested trying to cross the border with large numbers of other Brazilian immigrants. As it happens, one in four are captured at the border."

The phrase "as it happens" tends to be employed to mean "having mentioned that", in other words linking one sentence by invoking the content of the previous one (if that makes sense?). So, using the above examples:

"Do you have a watch?"
"Yes I do, now that you mention it..."

And:

"She was arrested trying to cross the border with large numbers of other Brazilian immigrants. Having mentioned that, one in four are captured at the border."

I'm being anal, but I think if most native English speakers were to read the phrase "as it happens" as opposed (<- notice, no "it is"? ) to "As happens" they'd immediately read it as "Oh by the way, now that you mention it...", the meaning the phrase usually has. Hopefully this makes sense?

quote:

Originally posted by Lira I did find it interesting that you mentioned native speakers mix "affect" and "effect" up... are these words homophones in spoken language?

They're not, but they do sound similar. Still, I'm not sure how difficult the "affect=verb, effect=noun" principle can be to remember.

Re: Re: Number of illegal Brazilians in the US quadruples because of local soap opera

quote:

Originally posted by Renegade \"Must be\" isn't really the right phrase. Try: \"The number of Brazilians without documents detained in American soil has multiplied by four this year when compared to 2004\" or, even better, \"The number of Brazilians without documents detained in American soil has quadrupled this year when compared to 2004\".

detained IN american soil? makes it sound like theyre buried or planted

cant effect be a verb?? as in effecting change? i thought that was a verb. but i was never taught any of this shit.

Would "detained on American soil" give a better meaning?

quote:

Originally posted by Renegade Hopefully this makes sense?

It does, thank you, I see the difference now

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN cant effect be a verb?? as in effecting change? i thought that was a verb. but i was never taught any of this shit.

I believe I can help here:

1. Effect (as a noun)
   
2. Effect (as a verb)
   

1. Affect (as a verb)
   
2. Affectation (as a noun)
   

dude, your english is fine. better than fine. certainly better than my portugese

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