DAYTONA BEACH NEWS-JOURNAL November 25, 2007 Language barrier still divides Pierson PIERSON -- In an attempt to bridge the communication gap with its Hispanic community, the town used taxpayers' money to send its town clerk to Spanish classes. But little has come out of it, and it's not been easy, said Debbie Bass, who often seeks help from tellers in the bank inside the Town Hall building to interpret for her. "Learning individual words is not a problem but learning to construct sentences is very difficult," said Bass, who took two six-week Spanish courses. "You can't learn a language one hour a week." Although the town advertises in its agenda that Spanish speakers may get translation services during the bimonthly meetings, immigrants and a local Hispanic question the town's sincerity in including them in public affairs. "If they really wanted to include us, they would. They could start by providing the (translation) equipment people requested several times," said Marcos Crisanto, coordinator with the Farmworker Association of Florida in Pierson. The association in the past has made requests to get translation equipment, which the Town Council declined to do. In 2004 -- the same year the council voted not to provide translation equipment -- the council voted to post the agendas on the Town Hall's door in Spanish and English. In January 2007, town officials sent the town clerk to learn Spanish. Town Attorney Noah McKinnon told the council in 2004 the "ability of persons to participate in the democratic process means they need to be able to read what's on the agenda." Pierson fernery owner and Councilman Herbert Bennett did not return calls seeking comment. But those concerned about immigration say many immigrants -- whether legal or illegal -- resist assimilating to American culture and ultimately pose a threat to the county's identity. "I think there are just some people here who refuse to speak it. They feel they are going to lose something from inside," said Jaber A. Jaber, a Pierson business owner. "But they are here, and they need to adapt." Despite the attempts to reach English-limited residents, there's still "a very big language barrier," Bass said.
The agenda is in English only. Hispanics -- and many non-Hispanics -- rarely attend the Town Council meetings. A volunteer interpreter stopped going altogether. "It's not going very well," said Bass, when asked how the Spanish-language courses were progressing. Bass said she used an online program to translate the agenda into Spanish but quickly learned it was stringing words together without any context. "The translation was not clear. It was getting people confused," Bass said. "I was told not to bother doing it" unless there was someone who could translate it. She said none of the town's five full-time employees is bilingual. Jaber, 38, a Palestinian immigrant and owner of J.J.'s Grocery, said the town should not have to provide language services to immigrants. "People should learn English. If they are too old, they should have the younger people helping them learn," he said. While he's against the town providing Spanish language services, he's learning to communicate with 50 percent of his customer base. And he's not the only one reaching out to Spanish-speakers. Some Pierson businesses and public institutions such as the Pierson Medical Center and Pierson Elementary School have bilingual staff. Crisanto said immigrants are eager to learn English and many have begun to do so. "People see the need to learn English. They come (to class) tired from working from 6 in the morning, but they still sacrifice coming to learn because they know it's necessary. . . and will help better their lives," he said. But learning a foreign language is a slow process that requires tremendous effort and dedication, he said. Bass agrees. "You don't learn things overnight and put everything you learned together. That's when I got frustrated, when I'm not able to communicate what I've learned," she said.
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