A still from the “Farmingville” documentary which shows protesters holding a pro-immigration sign reading “No human being is illegal”. // Courtesy of Camino Bluff Productions.
On Sept. 30, the Hofstra University Library Special Collections hosted a screening and discussion of the documentary “Farmingville” to commemorate the film’s 20th anniversary.
Members of the panel included the directors of the film, Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini, Professor Mario Murillo, the Vice Dean of the School of Communications, Dr. Alan J. Singer, Hofstra’s Program Director of Social Studies Education, as well as Paul Tonna and Matilda Parada, two people featured in the film.
The panelists reflected on topics including the film’s message and impact, political polarization and connections between how immigration was discussed 20 years ago compared to now.
“The film began with my concern about the hate that I saw growing in Long Island at that time… culminating in that headline: ‘they wanted to get some Mexicans,’” Sandoval said. “I figured that as a lawyer, other people could do the legal advocacy, but I considered myself to be a storyteller, so I thought, ‘a documentary – why not?’”
Sandoval and Tambini spent a year in Farmingville connecting with both residents and migrants to make the film as part of their mission to present both sides fairly. However, that idea came with challenges.
“We had a lot of discussions about how much of the anti-immigrant rhetoric to put in it, and [Sandoval] was adamant [that] we have to hear their voices,” Tambini said. “If we don’t hear their voices, then they’re not heard [and] there’s no way to solve the problem. I was like, ‘How much of a platform do you want to give these people?’”
Singer reflected on the parallels between the talking points presented in the film and those common in politics today, such as the conspiracy theory that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating their neighbors’ dogs and cats.
“In [Springfield], local residents feel overwhelmed, there’s little assistance to them, and that stew ends up being used as a political [fodder],” Singer said. “Certain parties are not willing to step in and provide practical solutions and that’s the tension that’s existed for decades now.”
Political polarization around immigration was a frequent topic for both panelists and students. Ben Cohen, a junior majoring in history and a Long Island local, asked the panelists, “How can Long Island move forward to try and resolve these problems and acknowledge feelings on both sides of the aisle?”
In response, Murillo reflected on his experience covering other communities on Long Island experiencing similar issues with migrant workers when he worked as a journalist.
“Farmingville is just one of dozens of communities on Long Island that were going through the same thing,” Murillo said. “I must have gone to dozens of rallies or mobilizations or meetings…it was the same discourse.”
Gabriella DeLeon, a sophomore health science major, identified with the migrants’ perspective and felt deeply moved by the film.
“I went to this [panel] specifically because my dad is an immigrant, so I wanted to know the history of Long Island and how people have treated immigrants in the past,” DeLeon said.
DeLeon says her father immigrated from Guatemala to New Jersey to work as a day laborer and now owns his own landscaping business through which he hires recent migrants.
“He gets to hire the same people he once was, which is nice,” DeLeon said.
DeLeon’s story is common. Parada, an immigrant rights advocate who helped organize day laborers against discrimination, reflected on her experience and how migrants’ situations have improved over the years.
“I am still involved in that community… I can see a big difference now. Twenty years ago, all those men [were] without their families,” Parada said. “Now… they own their own houses, they have businesses, they don’t need Human Solidarity anymore. The people who was [sic] hating them [are] now hiring them”.
While the controversy that paralyzed Farmingville 20 years ago has subsided somewhat into acceptance, immigration remains a contentious issue on which politicians and common people alike struggle to agree. However, Parada affirms that the only way through this discord will be to spred civility and tolerance.
“Unfortunately, discrimination is never going to end – not only in America,” Parada said. “We don’t want our children [to] grow up in an environment with hatred, so we need to teach them how to tolerate [other] people.”
