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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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US: Man Deported To Brazil Looking To Make A New Life There
ccguide Monday 12 Feb 2001 Pubdate: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 Source: Beacon Journal, The (OH) Copyright: 2001 The Beacon Journal Publishing Co. Contact: Address: 44 E. Exchange Street, P.O. Box 640, Akron OH 44328 Fax: (330) 996-3520 Feedback: http://www.ohio.com/bj/editorial/vop.html Website: http://www.ohio.com/bj/ Forum: http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?abeacon MAN DEPORTED TO BRAZIL LOOKING TO MAKE A NEW LIFE THERE AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- A man deported to Brazil in November because of a marijuana conviction said he's trying to make a new life for himself while staying in touch with his American family. Nancy Saunders and Jim Herbert adopted Joao Herbert when he was 8. They decided not to have him naturalized until he could understand how special it was to become a U.S. citizen. Joao was arrested with two friends in 1997 for selling 7 1/2 ounces of marijuana to an undercover Wadsworth police agent. He was convicted of trafficking in marijuana and put on probation. While at a drug rehabilitation center, Herbert learned that the Immigration and Naturalization Service was seeking to have him deported under a 1996 law that made any noncitizen convicted of anything but the most minor offense subject to mandatory deportation. After only a few days in a country where he was warmly welcomed, given shelter and treated to meals in nice restaurants, the 22-year-old Herbert thought living might not be so hard in Brazil. ``I look forward to meeting people and living a good life in Brazil,'' he told the Akron Beacon Journal for a story published Sunday. After an initial stay at a homeless shelter, Joao moved in with a Brazilian family in Campinas, a city near Sao Paolo, and began teaching English and working for an import/export company. His parents have been trying to send him money each month to help with room and board. His mother has been communicating with Joao through e-mail and infrequent phone calls. In an e-mail message, Joao Herbert expressed his anger at the U.S. government, particularly the INS. ``I feel that they didn't care about my mother and father when they deported me,'' he said. ``You think that I should come back, but with all that's happened to me, I am happy where I am.'' But while he may be adjusting to his new life, a letter Joao wrote to his mother the night before he was deported showed he was painfully aware of what he was leaving behind. ``I'm going to try my best to show you that you raised the best son in this world,'' he wrote. ``I wish God could keep us together, but he's keeping you in my heart.'' - --- MAP posted-by: Andrew
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