Two garage attendants are talking about the svelte Mini Cooper Coupe I’ve just parked. One says he likes it, the other laughs.“Are you kidding? That’s a chick car.” The first man’s face falls.Palermo Galindo was a teenager when he immigrated to the United States – a 15-year-old kid from a tourist town in Mexico, ready to learn English but too anxious to ask many questions.
“It had a lot to do with the fact that I wasn’t managing the language well and was unable to communicate my feelings,” Galindo, Hispanic and immigrant liaison for the city of Fort Wayne, says. “It makes everything harder.”
Galindo’s personal experience as an immigrant is an important part of his work, which involves strengthening the city’s ties to immigrant and emerging populations.
“Because I am an immigrant, I have that understanding,” he says. “It’s not easy to walk into a government building and communicate what you need or how you feel when you have not mastered the language.”
Through Galindo’s community connections with independent groups, organizations and city and county departments, he is able to bridge communication gaps between government and the city’s immigrant populations.
“Basically, I let them know that the city wants to welcome everyone,” Galindo says. “The mayor wants everyone to be able to participate in government.”
Galindo’s community connections range from the African Immigrants Social and Economic Development Agency to United Hispanic Americans and the Burmese Advocacy Center.
The increasing number of emerging populations in Fort Wayne keeps him busy, he says.
“When you build trust with communities, they begin to feel comfortable participating in government,” he says. “That’s how a community works together. That’s the way a community can grow.”
