An Escape to Tucson

Wednesday, 06 April 2011 18:07

  Nine years ago, he walked down the tarmac leading to the large airplane, grouped with his mother and older brother.  He sat down in his seat, took one last look at the country he had home for his entire life, and watched it fade away as the plane rose higher.  Minutes later the ground below had all but disappeared.  Next stop, America - Colombia was left far behind.

Sergio Mejia, a sophomore at the University of Arizona, moved to Tucson during the fifth grade.  His mother made the decision to move him and his brother to America because of the extreme conditions in Colombia at the time.  Shortly before the family moved, Pablo Escobar, the notorious drug lord of Colombia, had been shot.  Sometimes referred to as the “Worlds Greatest Outlaw,” Escobar is considered the greatest trafficker of cocaine to have ever lived.  In 1993, he was shot in Medellin, Colombia, the base of his operations.  As a result, outrage erupted in the quaint country, with many guerrilla groups rising up and wreaking havoc in the streets.

“It was unsafe, everywhere you went.  I had to stay inside at all times.  If I wanted to go see my neighbors across the street, I had to ask my parents and would have to be escorted by a body guard,” Mejia said.  This situation drove the family out of the country.

Despite their decision to move, most of Mejia’s extended family remained behind, including his father.  His father has still yet to make the move to Tucson.  Though Mejia and his family that came with him were able to escape from the dangers of Colombia, he left behind what he loved most about Colombia.

“The biggest thing in Colombia is family, it’s how you are raised, it’s a part of you from the day you are born.”

The family-driven society is driven by a strong sense of religion as well.  Lunch breaks were often a few hours long, giving kids and parents adequate time to return home and have lunch with their families.  Mejia was close with his extended family as well, and saw many of them on a daily basis.

But family didn’t stop at his aunts, uncles or cousins either.  “The neighborhoods you lived in became your family also.  It was similar to an Italian culture in New York at the beginning of the 20^th century, everyone knew everyone, people shared everything, it was like a big giant family you looked out for.”

When he was first flying into Tucson, Mejia remembers thinking to himself  “Oh my god, everything is so brown, and looks dead,” a vast difference from the luscious tropical lands of Colombia.  Though the geography of the two areas varied greatly, Mejia claims it wasn’t long before he learned to love it.

The family settled in the Catalina Foothills, where his mom and step-dad still live today.  “I really loved living in the Foothills.  Everything was so quiet, and people knew about everyone,” Mejia said.  “It gave me a sense of what it was like in Colombia, and that made the transition much easier.”

Along with the closeness within the Foothills area, Mejia claims another factor that brought him in was the freedom he could have in America.  “It was crazy getting used to.  In Colombia if I wanted to ride my bike, I had to ride it around in circles in my garage.  Now my family was letting me ride three miles to school alone- it was great.”

Sergio Mejia Interview by WJRapp

 

After his high school graduation, Mejia ventured a few miles south to attend school at UA.  His older brother had enrolled at St. Mary’s College of California, and the out-of-state tuition was difficult for the family to pay off.  When it came time for Sergio to enroll, the economy was on the decline, and he made it easy on his family by staying close to home.  “(UA) let me stay close with my family.  My mom raised me, and with my brother gone, I felt like I had a duty to be here to protect my mom.”

In his first semester on campus, Mejia went through fraternity rush, and joined Beta Theta Pi.  Coming from Colombia and not having any family members who had been through the Greek system, he had no idea what to expect.

“There is nothing like it in Colombia.  My younger cousins know only what they’ve gotten from movies.  But my older relatives have no idea what a fraternity means.”

His decision to join Beta Theta Pi centered around his desire to find a group of guys he would remain close with forever, guys who would ultimately be a part of his wedding.  “I will never regret joining, it was the best decision I have ever made.  I used to have two brothers, now I have 120 behind me at all times.  It makes you more comfortable about everything you do, because you’re not only doing it for yourself, you’re doing it for your family.”

Mejia still manages to make it back to Colombia to visit his father and other family every summer.  Despite the dangers of the country when he left, most of it has disappeared.  According to Mejia, the new president has rid the country of more than 90 percent of the guerrilla groups.  Aside from this, the country has put a great deal of effort into beautifying and modernizing the country.

“It used to be filled with poverty, and though it was still beautiful, it’s amazing how great it looks now.  The economy is on the rise; they’ve created an amazing metro system.  It definitely went through its nuts stage, but its absolutely beautiful now.”

Written by Wil Rapp