“”Raquel, how many times have I told you to eat everything on your plate?!”
“Dad, I don’t like onions! Can’t you make an exception?”
“Raquel, what person wouldn’t want to have the food you’re eating?”
My dad has told me stories about his childhood, when he didn’t have enough to eat and how he immigrated to the U.S. I had little sentiment for those stories but I wouldn’t pay attention to what my dad’s point was.
One trip to Tijuana, a poor town on the Mexican border with little kids begging for money, changed the way I thought about my dad’s stories. I saw a person with a messed-up shirt, faded jeans, and a backpack, expecting to find hope in another country. It touched me because I felt selfish to have everything that someone poor would value and that I would just take for granted. Now I feel tremendously proud of my parents because they have acquired many things, such as a house and cars. Maybe it isn’t all they wanted, but just enough to give us what we need.
They came for a better future
Some people think that the reason people immigrate to the U.S. is because they want to travel, to take advantage of the welfare and live here because they are lazy and for other false reasons. Talking to immigrants, I found that the reason most people immigrate to the U.S. is for a better future: cultural freedom, economic opportunities and respect for human rights.
“My parents wanted to move here to get away from an Islamic country,” said an Armenian man from Turkey who preferred to withhold his name. “My father and his parents are avid Christians and believed they should practice their religion in a country where they won’t be persecuted for their beliefs. I came to this country one year before my parents at the age of 10. I was so young when I moved here—the only consequence has been that I feel American outside my house and Armenian as soon as I walk into my house. I feel multicultural because I speak three languages everyday. This country has treated me very well.”
The conflict is not always about religion. Immigrants may also seek economic opportunities not available in their native country. “The reason I immigrated to the U.S. was because I wanted to get out of the immense poverty that Mexico was suffering from,” said Taurino, who immigrated when he was in his late teens. “I felt depressed leaving my family and friends, but at least I would have a better opportunity for my future.” He then told me he didn’t have the opportunity to continue his education and since there wasn’t much work, he had to immigrate to the U.S. for a better opportunity. “It wasn’t difficult to fit in because I live here better economically than in Mexico.”
People escape for different kinds of persecution, for example political beliefs. “I am here in the U.S. because of the totalitarian system in Cuba,” said Menomen, who immigrated in his early twenties. “I felt imprisoned and without any rights to express my feelings and to top it all off I felt miserable. If the person did not receive their communion they would be treated like a dog. What I expected of the U.S. was what I received: a country with liberty and rights for everyone. I had to navigate 90 miles by sea to get to the coast of Cayo Hueso, Florida. People have treated me for who I am.” He is now a proud citizen of the U.S.
Immigrants work very hard to make a better life for themselves and their families. They work from day to day to ensure that their children grow up to live full and productive lives. My mom even made an exception: she forbade me to do chores so I could study. For this reason, I have the utmost pride and respect for my parents and other immigrants. I also acknowledge that I must not take for granted what has been given to me so painstakingly, for being a citizen of the United States is truly something to value.”