Hector Garcia told the story of the five wise men who were blindfolded and asked to identify an object by touch.

Thursday, June 22, 2000

Hector Garcia told the story of the five wise men who were blindfolded and asked to identify an object by touch.

The first man said it was a wall. The second man said no, he thought it was a pillar. The third guessed a serpent, the fourth a fan and the fifth a rope.

Together they figured out it was an elephant.

"So it is with our perceptions of reality," Garcia told the diverse group of people gathered Wednesday in the meeting room at the Austin Public Library. "Each culture has its perception of reality, its strengths and weaknesses. No matter how great any one part’s perception is, you get greater perception together."

Garcia, a native of Mexico who has lived in Minnesota since 1973, is executive director of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) for the Minnesota and Dakotas region. He came to Austin Wednesday to gather information. He met for almost three hours with the group, first explaining what NCCJ was all about, then asking questions about the community and what the people gathered there hoped would happen as the community becomes increasingly diverse.

According to Garcia, NCCJ is about promoting understanding and respect between all religions and cultures in a number of ways. Wednesday’s information gathering was to give NCCJ a better idea of how to go about doing that in Austin.

The next step for Garcia will be preparing a proposal to the Apex Austin organization and other community leaders explaining what NCCJ could do to further ensure that the process of becoming a multicultural city is a positive experience for everyone involved. Then it will be up to city leaders to decide whether or not to bring in NCCJ.

He praised Apex and the community’s proactive approach to its changing population.

"What you’re doing here is commendable, very progressive and fairly unique," he said. "We can add to your program to ensure that the outcome is as good as possible."

Garcia figures his group can do that because of its extensive experience with such situations and because they aren’t from the community.

"The most important role of the outsider is to help an organization or community look at itself," he said. "We don’t have the answers; the community does. But how do you know what you’re doing is an accurate observation of reality? Sometimes it takes someone from outside to point out that maybe it isn’t."

Two things are certain if NCCJ is hired: all parts of the community will be involved in the program, and the program for Austin won’t be exactly the same as any previous NCCJ programs.

"Each community, each group is different," Garcia said. "It would be arrogant to propose a program without finding out those different parts of Austin. There is no fixed recipe where we tell you if you do A, B, C and D, you’ll be fine. Solutions like that are artificial and don’t last."

If hired, it appears that one of the first things Garcia would do is leap on the speeding train that is Apex Austin and slow down the process.

"First comes planning, building relationships and trust," he said. "Then the tools and specifics in addressing the needs. Often today people tend to get to the solution-action phase too quickly. I’m convinced if the right conditions are established, then the answers will come. You have the answers, but first everyone must feel empowered to voice his opinion. A team spirit is crucial."

Although the meeting lasted nearly three hours, Garcia lost only a few of the mixed group to other engagements. And, when the meeting ended, there were several who lingered to have an extra word with the cultural broker.

Mayor Bonnie Rietz, who was one of the founders of Apex, was happy with the meeting.

"I was very pleased with the ideas that came out: the quiet wisdom of Nghia Nguyen (a Vietnamese translator), the suggestions from Job Telemantes (the owner of four Mexican grocery stores in southern Minnesota). I hoped people would be very honest and I think they were. We need to get everything out on the table to make this work."