Why they leave...

   I suppose you have never lived through a situation where death became preferrable, and the situation had been created by people who claimed to be helping you?  I have, and believe me, risking your life to go somewhere else and help your family live is preferable to living in a war zone, as El Salvador and much of Latin America have been, due to the democratically elected governments that our CIA has a habit of regularly otherthrowing.  So, in a way, someone did hold a gun to their heads and force them to come up north.  It was US.

  Also,  although this was not part of our original conversation, those who know me, know that I do not wear jewlery of any kind.  When my partner many years ago wanted to buy me diamond earrings (when I have never had any pierced body parts in my life, and pointed out that I did not intend to pierce my ears for this dubious gift), I refused.  Possibly contributing to the demise of the relationship.  I pointed out then, those fifteen years ago, that conflict diamonds were a stain on the conscience of the world, but apparently it needed to be dramatized in cinematic form with the new flashier name of blood diamonds for anyone to notice.

Thank you for making my points.
Shira