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bajabound2005
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Mexico refuses Miss Valentine and a truckload of 869 pairs of donated shoes
Mexico refuses Miss Valentine and a truckload of 869 pairs of donated shoes
By Sarah Bultema
The Reporter-Herald
For eight years Jeanette Rojas held onto a dream to bring shoes to the impoverished children of Mexico. For one month, after being chosen as Miss
Loveland Valentine, she began collecting shoes for the Mexican families that couldn’t afford them.
For 12 hours, she and her family drove south to the border with a truckload full of the 869 donated pairs.
For one day, she waited in Mexican customs for the approval to cross the border.
But that’s where her journey came to a screeching halt.
Why? Because a bureaucrat said so.
“Our turn came and she just said no,” explained Jeanette, who is now back in Loveland along with the boxes of shoes.
“She said there was no way we could bring them in and there was nothing we could do.”
Now, after discussions with the representatives at the Mexican consulate in Denver, the Rojases have learned they were possibly denied bringing in the
shoes because some of them were made in China.
Mexico has banned the import of Chinese products because the two countries compete for labor costs, explained Laszlo Kalloi, consul for community
affairs at the Mexican consulate in Denver.
However, he did not understand why the import officer did not allow the American-made shoes through.
“If there were any kinds of restrictions, we would know about it,” he said.
Kalloi did note, though, that the Mexican import office is run by a totally different part of the government than the consulate.
“The way they handle themselves and they way they work — they have their own rules,” he said.
Kalloi said he will investigate the issue and find out what happened.
“I wish I could give you an answer,” he said. “We’re going to figure everything out and make it happen.”
While the reasons as to why she was unable to bring the shoes into the country remain unclear, Jeanette said she will not let down everyone in
Loveland who donated shoes or the Mexican children who need them.
“I don’t accept failure,” she said.
“Maybe the timing was off. But it’s going to happen.”
Jeanette began collecting shoes in March, hoping to bring as many as she could to Mexican children whose families could not afford them on their own.
It was a dream she’d hoped to see become a reality since a drive through Mexico eight years ago when Jeanette witnessed what the children go through
firsthand.
“The street was burning (a child’s) feet. You could see the pain, and it just broke my heart,” she said in a previous interview.
Over the next month, Jeanette collected nearly 900 pairs of donated shoes from the community, coming home from school each day to find bags of them on
her doorstep and checks to buy more in the mail, she said.
During the Mountain View High School senior’s spring break, Jeanette and her family packed her father’s truck with the boxes of shoes and began the
drive to the Mexican border.
When they arrived, the Rojases declared the import, just to be safe. That’s when an import officer told them they could not continue.
The reasons varied, from citing a required tax on each pair to a recent amendment banning the import of all American goods into Mexico.
Kalloi said he has not heard of these restrictions, and did not know why the officer denied their entry.
And like the consul, Jeanette and her mother, Antonia Rojas, were confused.
They had spoken with the Mexican consulate before their trip and gotten the OK. They had made sure each pair was new, as the import law required. They
even had a letter from the small village’s church that would be receiving the shoes, proving they wouldn’t be sold.
But the officer didn’t budge, and with Mexican soldiers and tanks stationed around the building, Antonia said they didn’t want to argue or take any
chances.
“I sat down and I cried,” Jeanette said. “It was one of the worst feelings. Worse than anything I’ve ever experienced in my 18 years.”
While the Mexican consul didn’t have a clear answer why they couldn’t pass, the Rojases have their own thoughts as to why they were held up.
Antonia speculated the import officer may have wanted a bribe for passage. Jeanette thought it may have been some pride at stake.
“It’s really kind of a slap in the face when an 18-year-old knocks on the government’s door and says ‘You know, you’re neglecting this, you’re
oppressing this,’” she said, later adding, “Mexico’s not bad. It’s their own government oppressing them, hurting them.”
The family drove the boxes back into America, dropping them off at a cousin’s house near the border, before continuing into Mexico empty-handed.
“The hardest part was the trips downtown and seeing barefoot children, knowing we had 800 pairs of shoes that would fit them,” Antonia said.
For Jeanette, her initial sorrow surrounding the situation was followed by anger, her mother said. But soon, determination kicked in.
“Nothing fuels me more than people telling me no,” Jeanette said.
And she hoped Loveland and everyone who donated shoes would keep believing in her.
“We need them to trust us to persevere,” she said.
“Shoes don’t spoil. ... There’s still going to be a need. It’s going to be OK.”
Friends don't let friends drink white zinfandel.
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Pescador
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My, my, my, and this girl is from my hometown.
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BMG
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajabound2005
Now, after discussions with the representatives at the Mexican consulate in Denver, the Rojases have learned they were possibly denied bringing in the
shoes because some of them were made in China.
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What percentage of shoes aren't made in China nowadays?
Bureaucrats! 
I think the world is run by C- students.
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bajabound2005
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and why is almost everything we see in all the stores in Mexico labeled HECHO EN CHINA
Friends don't let friends drink white zinfandel.
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lingililingili
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How about those stickers "Hecho en Mexico" that are placed over top of "Made in China"?
•Life is just one damned thing after another
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thebajarunner
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Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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NAFTA???
Isn't it curious....
Just a couple days ago Presidente Calderon was pleading for the retention of NAFTA.
I always thought that the acronym included "free trade"
Guess that proves how little we common people understand about all this.
"Free" for whom?
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Lauriboats
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Very sad indeed.
What we see depends mainly on what we look for.
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Gadget
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Last year we had a clothes drive at our church. A missionary in TJ set up a clothes distribution and BBQ outreach for one of the poorest eastern
barrios. A bunch of men from our church loaded up vans and trucks full of food and clothes and headed south.
I was riding with a guy in his van that had never been across the border. We were denied entry in the declara lane and told we had to cross at Otay.
We drove to Otay and declared our van full of used clothes for the poor and homeless. Nope, can't bring used clothes into Mexico and why were you
sent here, they know that at San Ysidro also.
The guard opened the gate to return to the US, we pulled through and over to the side of the waiting cars, opened all the doors of the van and
unloaded every bag and box to the poor folks working the cars in line for handouts. All in clear view of the guards who just turned us around. 
We headed back for TJ and the task at hand. We were the only load that didn't get across that day for whatever reason, but the stuff still got to
those in need I think.
There's always a way to defeat a bureaucrat. You just need to have a 2 digit or higher IQ. 
[Edited on 4-28-2008 by Gadget]
"Mankind will not be judged by their faults, but by the direction of their lives." Leo Giovinetti
See you in Baja
http://www.LocosMocos.com
Gadget |
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Hook
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All part of the influence of the monopolistic Mexican corporations, ad nauseum. 
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DENNIS
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Protectionism, pure and simple. The Pan party will be the first to protect business in Mexico, even the sugunda industry.
Another thing occurs to me....Those working at customs with their little bit of power and inflated disgust for the US will be offended at our efforts
toward Mexicos need for charity. Of course, these a-holes have nice shoes.
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Oso
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$imply a mi$under$tanding that required the correct $olicitation.
All my childhood I wanted to be older. Now I\'m older and this chitn sucks.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Oso
$imply a mi$under$tanding that required the correct $olicitation.
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Well, of course but, we arn't supposed to talk about that.
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Taco de Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by lingililingili
How about those stickers "Hecho en Mexico" that are placed over top of "Made in China"? |
How about those labels "Made in China; Assembled in Mexico"....
Truth generally lies in the coordination of antagonistic opinions
-Herbert Spencer
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lizard lips
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The guard opened the gate to return to the US, we pulled through and over to the side of the waiting cars, opened all the doors of the van and
unloaded every bag and box to the poor folks working the cars in line for handouts. All in clear view of the guards who just turned us around.
Improvise and overcome-------I love it! YOU DID GOOD-------
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Paulina
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That's really too bad that happened. It sounds like she's a determined gal and will eventually find a way to make it work.
When we take clothing for donation we pack it in suitcases as well as trash bags, although the bags are not in full view. If I'm asked about the
clothes I tell them that I'm lazy and don't like doing laundry, keep a straight face and smile a bit. Knock on wood, it seems to work.
I don't know how that would go over with 800 pairs of shoes though.
P<*)))><
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Baja&Back
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A Christian group in SoCal runs the Hogar (orphanage) in San Quintin. As of January, the had 12 PALLETS of donated clothing, flour & rice in a
rented warehouse in San Diego. Every time they try to get this stuff across the border, they are turned around (rudely, I'm told). Now all their
vehicles are recognized and searched every time.
For several years now, we have had our guests carry a bag or 2 each in their RVs when we caravan across the border. It's a small thing, but every bit
helps, and our guests feel good.
Problem is: IT'S gosh darn DISGUSTING THAT THESE NEARSIGHTED AND UNCARING ADUANA STAFF DON'T GIVE A S**T ABOUT THEIR HOMELESS ORPHANED CHILDREN.
What kind of future can Mexico have with that kind of attitude????
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Paulina
I don't know how that would go over with 800 pairs of shoes though.
P<*)))>< |
Maybe if you told them you're Imelda Marcos.
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Bob and Susan
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Imelda ...
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Paulina
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Dennis, Bob y Susan,
You guys are on to something.
Yo soy Imelda!
I.<*)))><
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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jodiego
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Last year we took a motor home full of toys, clothes, bikes, etc down to an orphanage in Tijuana. When we got to the border crossing at San Ysidro,
we were told we could not bring any of the stuff in because we had not filled out a declaration form. They opened the gate which led is into the
traffic coming BACK from Mexico and we spent about an hour trying to merge and get back across. Then we headed to Otay Mesa and waited about 45
minutes. When we got to the crossing, we handed the guy a Pepsi as he stepped into the motor home to take a look around. No problema. We were on
our way and the kids got all the stuff. That would be a great "Pepsi Generation" commercial IMHO.
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