My
immigration story is not mine. It is the story of my cousin. I'll
call her Eva. She sold all of her belongings and arrived in Atlanta
during Christmas of 2005. She was full of the hopes of living the
American Dream. For the first three months, she struggled terribly.
She spoke no English and had no transportation. I taught her how to
ride the bus so she could get around. I even tried to encourage her
to go to school and learn how to speak English. Interview, after interview
went by and employers turned her down. She did what many Spanish-speaking
people do, went to work for other Hispanics. Eva got a job working
at a Dominican hair salon. Instead of encouraging her to learn English
and take advantage of the fact that she is a legal resident of the
United States, she took the easy road out. In the salon, no one speaks
English. Until a month ago, she slaved 10 hours a day, 6 days a week
for a measly $275. I guess she just woke up one morning and got sick
of it! She packed up her things and her daughter who was doing great
in school reading and writing English and moved to New York. She sent
her daughter back to the Dominican Republic. Eva is now working in
another Dominican hair salon in the Bronx, and regrets ever leaving
home. She left behind a decent career working at a radio station and
a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration.
The
reason I wrote this story is to let other Immigrants know that living
the "American Dream" is not as easy as some people make
it out to be. I work for a big company here in Atlanta in bilingual
customer service and it hurts me to hear Latin Americans who have
been here 20 years calling in to say they can't understand their phone
bills because they're in English. Or mothers who have they're kids
call in because they can't understand English. We have to stop being
lazy as an entire community. If we want to be respected and welcomed
in America we have to adapt to American ways and not expect everything
to be laid on a gold platter and be spoon fed the "American Dream."
I
don't blame Americans who feel like immigration is a bad thing. In
some ways it is. I love my heritage and I love my roots. I enjoy being
Hispanic and love being able to return to the Dominican Republic.
I believe that immigration is good for those who come to America and
make an effort to become American. It is possible to keep the all
of our customs and traditions in the home and integrate it into the
"American Dream" that all of our ancestors came searching
for.
I.
Torres
Atlanta, GA
COMMENTS...
Hello,
I read the story about your cousin and realized how difficult it
must have been. I am a natural born citizen but many Americans live
in ignorance of other cultures and languages. I agree your cousin
should have made more of an effort to learn our primary language
but I dont think it would hurt if Americans learned to speak someone
else's language either.
We
need to make it easier for new immigrants to learn the basics without
assimilating them completely. It is important that each individual
immigrant keep their heritage and perhaps teach it to others. I
think a nation which encourages the practice of customs and culture
is on the right path and we all have a lot to gain from each other
not just the Immigrants.
Just an opinion.
Kapono
Maine
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