Immigration has made America the melting pot it is today. Beginning as early as the 1600’s the first immigrants settled in the United States looking for various things amongst most were freedom. Immigration has continued to present day, legal and illegal, and it is still continuing to shape the social climate of America today. Many immigrants were met with hostility from being different and each group shares a unique story of their experience in the new world. Even today, most individuals in America connect with their homeland and are proud of their heritage. It is commonplace to see Puerto Rican and Italian flags on people’s cars and t-shirts, or a Mexican flag flying on a flagpole. These individuals are proud and because they are in America have the right to share that pride with the rest of the country. My family does not identify with our heritage too much and consider ourselves Americans. My parent’s parents were born in American and they consider themselves American. We have all grown up here and believe this is our home. We are respectful of our earlier heritage but identify with America the most. Instead of speaking about a personal immigration story in this blog I am going to discuss the experiences that my family, Italians, experienced when immigrating to America, and an issue Obama is dealing with right now concerning immigration.
Most Italians who migrated to America had agricultural skills, which were rendered useless because the cheap land in America had been bought up by the time Italians landed. These individuals were forced to move to more urban areas and take on lower level jobs such as shoe shining, rag picking, and sewer cleaning. Italians would accept any job that anyone else wouldn’t do. Most Italians would settled all over the US based on where they originated from and did not hesitate to mix in with non-Italians descendents. Italians are very proud of their homeland and have kept much of their culture in tact while in America; included their food, drink, art, and family values. Most Italians came to America with the idea of staying briefly only to earn money and then return to Italy, but only 1 in 4 ended up leaving due to the war or personal preference.
Currently, President Obama is facing several issues concerning immigration in the United States. “There are roughly 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. In addition to making a way for some of them to stay in the country legally, CNN has learned the Obama administration wants to remove incentives to enter the U.S. illegally, beef up border security and work with Mexico to cut down on illegal immigration.” (Lothian and Hornick) Many argue that Obama is taking on too much, too soon in his presidency and that he should be focusing on the economic climate in America. Obama supporters believe that “this actually is a good time to bring it up because immigration is tied so closely with our economy and what drives economic growth is economic development." (Lothian and Hornick) It is said that if these illegal immigrants were given rights that they would be able to come out from the dark and purchase homes, and goods that would in return stimulate the economy. After watching the video in class and learning of the strict rules we had for immigrants in the beginning I cannot believe we could go form that to allowing illegal immigrants to live in America. Many of these immigrants are uneducated and will drain government funding through social security and other benefits. America is also becoming too crowded and this would only promote more illegal immigration. I do believe it’s a good thing that Obama is tackling the issue of immigration because it is pertinent given our current economy.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/09/obama.immigration/index.html
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Polish Immigration
It has always been said that America is land of opportunity, where everyone is free. Many of our ancestors immigrated from other countries to find a better life in the United States. The Polish had two significant waves of people who came to the new world. The majority of Polish immigrants came in between the 1800’s and World War II. The Poles were one of the groups that came to America for a better opportunity and escape religious and political persecution.
The first major wave of Poles traveling to America totaled in at 2,000 people. In the early 1800’s the vast majority of this number were among the middle and lower class. They typically held positions such as nobles and intellectuals. The reason these people wanted to come to the US was to escape political revolts. (Polish Immigration into America)
The second boat of immigrants came in after WWII. The majority of these people were farmers who had lost there land and had nothing else. They came in search for a better life for them and their families.
This second wave was the biggest of the waves of immigration for the Poles. About 2.5 million Polish civilians came to Ellis island for a better life and to escape religious persecution. Some Poles wanted to make money in the US and send it back to their home land. Others wanted to start fresh in America and make it their home.
These immigrants either went through Castle Island or Ellis Island. Here there were many inspection processes. Doctors checked each individual for disease that could infect the American people. Only 2 percent of Poles got shipped back home.
After going through procedure at Ellis or Castle Island, Poles were thrown into a new world and a new life. Most of them stuck together and lived in a community. They had very close ties with their religion and established small Roman Catholic churches. The Polish finally assimilated into the typical American life.
Polish Immigration into America. Reisner, Lenny. http://nhs.needham.k12.ma.us/cur/kane98/kane_p3_immig/Poland/Polish.html
(I will find out more on my families story from my Grandmother over the holiday) =D
Immigrating from China
In discussing the immigration history of my ancestors, I do not have to look too far back. My father came to the United States from China in 1980, and his journey is quite an interesting story. Throughout my father’s childhood, the Communist Chinese government had interfered in his life, all occurring during the Cultural Revolution. I do not know the specifics, but his family consisted of landlords and they were at one point considered wealthy. This could not be tolerated and the land and property was taken away from my family. My father’s father and brother were brainwashed, tortured, and killed by communism. When my father was younger, his father told him that the only way to succeed and leave China was to study hard and be the best. So from an early age, my father spent all of his time studying. He entered Beijing University at the age of 16. All though he was at the top of his class, he was continually ostracized because of his family’s stance against the communist government. After finalizing his medical studies at the university, he was required to take a national test on his knowledge. His top scores qualified him to continue his studies in the United States, at the expense of the government. The plan was to send him to the hospital/university at Harvard, and he would return to China to be one of the first to perform the newly learned coronary bypass surgery.
So, he had no problems coming to the U.S., as the plan was to study here and then return. While in the U.S., my father had to consistently report back to a group which would watch him while he continued his studies. After his long and horrible history with the Chinese government, my father never planned on returning to China. Even though his journey to the U.S. was easy, the process to defect and stay was quite difficult. It took many months, lawyers, and expenses in order for my father to earn his freedom from the communist suppression.
I found an article, entitled Coming to America: The Story of Chinese Immigrants, which correlates with my father’s history. The article discusses the history of Chinese immigration to the U.S. In the early 1980s, the same time period my father came to the U.S., the number of Chinese students coming to the U.S. to study had skyrocketed. Also during this time period, “the Chinese government promised jobs in China to all students it sent to study in the U.S. and who received degrees from U.S. universities”. This is the same situation my father was in. Even though the promise sounds positive, from what my father tells me, it was not at all. The article also talks about a woman named Joyce Zhao, an English professor while in China, had limited choices in place of residence and where she taught. Even though the government had promised jobs and to some extent life security, these career choices and advancements were very restricted. Zhao had come to the U.S. in seek for more challenges and independence.
http://uschina.usc.edu/ShowFeature.aspx?articleID=890&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
So, he had no problems coming to the U.S., as the plan was to study here and then return. While in the U.S., my father had to consistently report back to a group which would watch him while he continued his studies. After his long and horrible history with the Chinese government, my father never planned on returning to China. Even though his journey to the U.S. was easy, the process to defect and stay was quite difficult. It took many months, lawyers, and expenses in order for my father to earn his freedom from the communist suppression.
I found an article, entitled Coming to America: The Story of Chinese Immigrants, which correlates with my father’s history. The article discusses the history of Chinese immigration to the U.S. In the early 1980s, the same time period my father came to the U.S., the number of Chinese students coming to the U.S. to study had skyrocketed. Also during this time period, “the Chinese government promised jobs in China to all students it sent to study in the U.S. and who received degrees from U.S. universities”. This is the same situation my father was in. Even though the promise sounds positive, from what my father tells me, it was not at all. The article also talks about a woman named Joyce Zhao, an English professor while in China, had limited choices in place of residence and where she taught. Even though the government had promised jobs and to some extent life security, these career choices and advancements were very restricted. Zhao had come to the U.S. in seek for more challenges and independence.
http://uschina.usc.edu/ShowFeature.aspx?articleID=890&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Irishtalian
I come from a very mixed ancestry. To me, it is really quite nice to have a blend of backgrounds because it makes me appreciate the differences in culture more than if I was only of one descent. Both of my parents have diverse ancestries leaving me to inherit an array of cultures and backgrounds spanning from the Middle East to Western Europe. On my father’s side, I am Italian and Turkish. His mother is completely Italian having ancestors from regions in southern Italy. His father was half Italian half Turkish. My father’s father [ my grandfather] died when my father was only 7, leaving him to be curious about much of his ancestry and past as it was never something discussed in great detail with his mother after the death of his father. As far as my father knows, a set of his great grandparents on his father’s side were from Turkey. My mother also has a variety of culture in her background. My mother’s father [ my grandfather] had relatives directly from Italy. My mother’s mother ( my grandmother) has relatives from Ireland, Scotland and Germany. As you can see, I am a mix of all types of ancestry and descents. I have a mix of physical characteristics that can be placed in several of these countries. One ancestry in particular that I know a little about is my Irish ancestry. I am closest with my mother’s mother [ my grandmother] and know that her Irish ancestry fought the hard battle that the majority of other Irish immigrants had to face when entering the United States. From the ride over on the disgusting often referred to as “ coffin ships,” the Irish fled Ireland because they did not want to die in poverty, oppressed by the British and fighting off the potato blight. Yet, when reaching the “ golden door” they thought of as America, the land of opportunity and of welcome, they were greeted with scouring faces and prejudice. After moving into America, towns of Irishmen and Irishwomen developed into “ Irish towns” or ‘ Shantys.” Irish could not find work in America and were often told “ NO IRISH NEED APPLY.” It was estimated that 80% of all newborns of Irish ancestry in the NYC area died because they lived in illness bred cellars and basements. This is something that definitely affected my ancestors as I know that my grandmother has often spoke of her grandparents and relatives living in NYC growing up and having to endure rough conditions.
http://www.kinsella.org/history/histira.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/27/navarette.may.27/index.html?iref=newssearch
I found this to be an interesting blog comment on how Hispanic immigration is similar to that of past-day Irish immigration : http://www.politicsincolor.com/blogs/marissa-trevi%C3%B1o/599/the-hispanic-immigrant-struggle-reflects-spirit-irish.html
http://www.kinsella.org/history/histira.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/27/navarette.may.27/index.html?iref=newssearch
I found this to be an interesting blog comment on how Hispanic immigration is similar to that of past-day Irish immigration : http://www.politicsincolor.com/blogs/marissa-trevi%C3%B1o/599/the-hispanic-immigrant-struggle-reflects-spirit-irish.html
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Italians in America
My ancestors are most from Southern Italy, particularly Abruzzi and Campobasso. I don't really have any stories of my ancestors because most of them I never met. I know that there are some of my family members left in Italy, but our family is unsure where they are living.
But I did some research on the mass emigration from Italy between 1876 to 1976, mostly to the United States. In 1850, less than 4,000 Italians were reported to be living in the United States, and then in 1880 the Italian population skyrocketed to 44,000 people and then 484,027 Italians by 1900. Throughout the mass migration southern Italian immigrants were the dominate group of Italians coming over to America. Despite the increased number of immigrants, the Italians were actually not the largest foreign group in U.S. cities; Italians made up 1.5% of the U.S. population at its peak.
Italians started working in jobs such as shoe shining, sewer cleaning, ragpicking, or whatever dirty, hard, and dangerous jobs that other people didn't want. Even children started work at a young age, at the expense of their educations. And something I found really interesting was that the Italians were one of the few ethnic groups known for NOT resorting to accepting charity, or turning to prostitution for money; I feel sort of proud that the Italians had some morals and beliefs they stood for.
Like other ethnic groups, the Italians clustered in groups all around America. More specifically, Neapolitans and Sicilians particularly settled around New York, and people from Sicily settled on certain streets, etc. But despite all the clustering of Italians, another interesting point was that there were never all-Italian neighborhoods; there would be some areas or streets with a large number of Italians from a certain part of Italy, but never towns or cities where everyone was an Italian.
A final thing I found while researching was that Italians tended to have horrible living conditions. Most of the places they lived were overcrowded and filthy; the laborers also had a tendency to not eat a lot of food in order to conserve what little food they did have and in order to save money. But then as more and more generations of Italians came over from Italy, their homes started to become less dirty and more home-like. Italians were noted to be very diligent workmen; in later years they obtained jobs as: shoemakers, fruit sellers, fishermen, waiters, and tradesmen.
http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/Italian.html
But I did some research on the mass emigration from Italy between 1876 to 1976, mostly to the United States. In 1850, less than 4,000 Italians were reported to be living in the United States, and then in 1880 the Italian population skyrocketed to 44,000 people and then 484,027 Italians by 1900. Throughout the mass migration southern Italian immigrants were the dominate group of Italians coming over to America. Despite the increased number of immigrants, the Italians were actually not the largest foreign group in U.S. cities; Italians made up 1.5% of the U.S. population at its peak.
Italians started working in jobs such as shoe shining, sewer cleaning, ragpicking, or whatever dirty, hard, and dangerous jobs that other people didn't want. Even children started work at a young age, at the expense of their educations. And something I found really interesting was that the Italians were one of the few ethnic groups known for NOT resorting to accepting charity, or turning to prostitution for money; I feel sort of proud that the Italians had some morals and beliefs they stood for.
Like other ethnic groups, the Italians clustered in groups all around America. More specifically, Neapolitans and Sicilians particularly settled around New York, and people from Sicily settled on certain streets, etc. But despite all the clustering of Italians, another interesting point was that there were never all-Italian neighborhoods; there would be some areas or streets with a large number of Italians from a certain part of Italy, but never towns or cities where everyone was an Italian.
A final thing I found while researching was that Italians tended to have horrible living conditions. Most of the places they lived were overcrowded and filthy; the laborers also had a tendency to not eat a lot of food in order to conserve what little food they did have and in order to save money. But then as more and more generations of Italians came over from Italy, their homes started to become less dirty and more home-like. Italians were noted to be very diligent workmen; in later years they obtained jobs as: shoemakers, fruit sellers, fishermen, waiters, and tradesmen.
http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/Italian.html
Thursday, April 2, 2009
You Do What You Have To Do.
After reading Maus, there were a few parts in the comic book that I felt were so emotional and passionate. The story of Vladek and Anja and their son Richieu. On page 66, the Vladek is returning from war to Anja and there is just a moment where they embrace each other and it is finally a permanent reunion for him with his family. This moment in the book struck me because I, as well as many other people I’m sure, have had those moments in their life where they haven’t seen a loved one in a long time and that immense relief of just ‘ ok, I’m here, we’re together,’ just floods every muscle in your body. The excitement building up to seeing a long lost love again is strenuous and nerve-racking so that relief, that release of hope is finally successful when you embrace that loved one. It is a powerful moment in the book when he picks up Richieu, his now 2.5 year old son and he is screaming because his Dad’s buttons on his jacket are cold. Vladek is taken aback and thinks that he doesn’t know who he is, but it’s just because his buttons are cold on his jacket. I feel this just shows how life can continue while there is a loved one missing and the son is just taking in each moment as they come and not worrying or stressing over his father not being there. This is due to the son’s age, however it’s a lesson that every age can learn from. On page 109, I was really moved by this passage where Tosha decides to commit suicide and the three children she has with her instead of die in a gas chamber. She always carried around a bottle of poison and decided to commit not only murder but suicide. This is a powerful thought and point in time as it is representing how the Jews were resilient in their beliefs and if everything else was taken away from them, if they could control at least how they died, they would. I can comprehend was Tosha decided to do, I do not necessarily agree with it, because it is such a morbid and hurtful task to accomplish. This section represents to me the idea of when a person has all their freedoms stripped from them and all they have left is the choice of how to die. This brings to light how many freedoms I live with today and take for granted. The “problems” I feel I have in my life are significantly diminished if not completely erased by the thought of how the Jews were treated back in Poland during Hitler’s reign.
It's incredible all of the sacrifices that not only Vladek makes throughout his story, but all of his family members and friends. His friends who were hung, that was a point were the story started to finally show and foreshadow the horrific events that will happen to the rest of the Jewish community. I truly felt bad and upset when there were the drawings of Vladek's friends hung and he kept playing the image of it in his head he sat and thought about what his next move would be. He was always planning his next " move" his next escape and way to keep himself and his family safe and out of harms away. Thinking he could save Richieu's life, he sent him away with Tosha only to have his son posioned by Tosha right before he would have been gassed in Auschwitz. Anja is constantly upset and is heart broken about Bibi ,Tosha and her baby Richieu. She flings herself to the ground on page 122 and is desperate to die and give up. Vladek will not let her. He makes the point of being together and they must struggle to live. Vladek did everything he had to in order to keep the family, Anja, he did have together and safe.
Hiding in bunkers, barely being able to eat and try to provide for his wife, Vladek proved that even in the worst of times you can keep going and you can survive. His hope and efforts to stay alive made him succeed.
After reading this book it makes me realize more about what Auschwitz means to people even today. I feel that when we go to visit Auschwitz I will appreciate the historical factors of it more and be able to understand and visualize what happened there years and years ago. It is not a place of happy memories, but right now in my thoughts it stands for a place where innocent people were killed and others survived and escaped from. It is a place that separated and divided families, devastated millions and was the physical representation of evil.
I appreciated the ‘ cat and mouse’ aspect of the book and how the author tried to create this little world animals drawings to represent what was happening in such a horrible time. I feel that it makes it easier to connect to the characters because you are truly reading their feelings and thoughts and regardless if they’re human or mouse it’s in front of you, moving your thoughts around into patterns and ways that maybe aren’t pleasant, but the author got me to feel what each character did at certain points.
I can relate Maus to my own life in that I have overcome some particularly gruesome and truly empty moments in my life, not nearly to the extent of the holocaust, but I still have had similar feelings to Vladek. I have never given up even when there was another horrible thing coming my way, I plan and I figure out a way to get around it. Survival is key when bad things begin to happen and they are out of your control.
It's incredible all of the sacrifices that not only Vladek makes throughout his story, but all of his family members and friends. His friends who were hung, that was a point were the story started to finally show and foreshadow the horrific events that will happen to the rest of the Jewish community. I truly felt bad and upset when there were the drawings of Vladek's friends hung and he kept playing the image of it in his head he sat and thought about what his next move would be. He was always planning his next " move" his next escape and way to keep himself and his family safe and out of harms away. Thinking he could save Richieu's life, he sent him away with Tosha only to have his son posioned by Tosha right before he would have been gassed in Auschwitz. Anja is constantly upset and is heart broken about Bibi ,Tosha and her baby Richieu. She flings herself to the ground on page 122 and is desperate to die and give up. Vladek will not let her. He makes the point of being together and they must struggle to live. Vladek did everything he had to in order to keep the family, Anja, he did have together and safe.
Hiding in bunkers, barely being able to eat and try to provide for his wife, Vladek proved that even in the worst of times you can keep going and you can survive. His hope and efforts to stay alive made him succeed.
After reading this book it makes me realize more about what Auschwitz means to people even today. I feel that when we go to visit Auschwitz I will appreciate the historical factors of it more and be able to understand and visualize what happened there years and years ago. It is not a place of happy memories, but right now in my thoughts it stands for a place where innocent people were killed and others survived and escaped from. It is a place that separated and divided families, devastated millions and was the physical representation of evil.
I appreciated the ‘ cat and mouse’ aspect of the book and how the author tried to create this little world animals drawings to represent what was happening in such a horrible time. I feel that it makes it easier to connect to the characters because you are truly reading their feelings and thoughts and regardless if they’re human or mouse it’s in front of you, moving your thoughts around into patterns and ways that maybe aren’t pleasant, but the author got me to feel what each character did at certain points.
I can relate Maus to my own life in that I have overcome some particularly gruesome and truly empty moments in my life, not nearly to the extent of the holocaust, but I still have had similar feelings to Vladek. I have never given up even when there was another horrible thing coming my way, I plan and I figure out a way to get around it. Survival is key when bad things begin to happen and they are out of your control.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
"You have to struggle for life"
A particular moving part of the “Maus,” story is in chapter 5 on page 122. At this point Vladek and Anja have just heard of Richieu's death and Anja cannot handle the immense emotions it evokes. She is so overwhelmed by the situation that she tells Vladek that she wants to die. Vladek holds Anja and tells her “to die, its easy… but you have to struggle for life.” Even though this story is told as ac artoon, the visual that accompanies this scene is powerful. Anja breaks down and falls to the ground once she hears the news about Richieu. The next image shows her screaming that she doesn’t want to live and Vladek is embracing her attempting to comfort her.
This scene is gut wrenching and makes you appreciate the bonds of family. Vladek and Anja had been through so much devastation and seen vast amounts of torture but still the one thing that made Anja want to die was the death of her child. Seeing the Nazis take over their country and ruin lives was nothing compared to their child being exterminated? I cannot image the strength it took Vladek to remain a pillar of support for Anja at this time and embrace her. The death of Richieu broke Anja down to the point when she didn’t feel human. How could Vladek find the strength to keep his composure and be there for Anja? Its amazing that Vladek was able to console her and literally pick her up off the groun and save her life. They both knew that the future was bleak but still were able to move on through the strength of being together. Without Vladek, Anja would have given up and not moved from the ground. This illustrates the importance of love and family in everyday life.
I thought it was very fitting that Vladek said dying is easy but you have to struggle for life. This scene stands out to me because I think every reader of this story can take something away from this specific part. No matter how much I my schedule is busy, or my homework assignments are meaningless, or issues I have with girls, it is what makes life worth living. We wouldn’t be living if we weren’t struggling. I think what Vladek said can be applied to everyone’s lives. If everything in life is handed to you and you never have to struggle then are you really living? Strength, knowledge, and creativity stems from struggles and obstacles. How can someone who never faces obstacles truly grow as a person and fully mature? If you asked me throughout the day if I would like everything handed to me, I like everyone else, would probably say “yes please, just give me the answer!” But after analyzing this scene in the story I think what Vladek said is relevant to my daily life. My situations are not on the same scale as this story but they definitely apply and prove that I must encounter and overcome struggle sin my life by leaning on support of my personal and professional networks.
This scene is gut wrenching and makes you appreciate the bonds of family. Vladek and Anja had been through so much devastation and seen vast amounts of torture but still the one thing that made Anja want to die was the death of her child. Seeing the Nazis take over their country and ruin lives was nothing compared to their child being exterminated? I cannot image the strength it took Vladek to remain a pillar of support for Anja at this time and embrace her. The death of Richieu broke Anja down to the point when she didn’t feel human. How could Vladek find the strength to keep his composure and be there for Anja? Its amazing that Vladek was able to console her and literally pick her up off the groun and save her life. They both knew that the future was bleak but still were able to move on through the strength of being together. Without Vladek, Anja would have given up and not moved from the ground. This illustrates the importance of love and family in everyday life.
I thought it was very fitting that Vladek said dying is easy but you have to struggle for life. This scene stands out to me because I think every reader of this story can take something away from this specific part. No matter how much I my schedule is busy, or my homework assignments are meaningless, or issues I have with girls, it is what makes life worth living. We wouldn’t be living if we weren’t struggling. I think what Vladek said can be applied to everyone’s lives. If everything in life is handed to you and you never have to struggle then are you really living? Strength, knowledge, and creativity stems from struggles and obstacles. How can someone who never faces obstacles truly grow as a person and fully mature? If you asked me throughout the day if I would like everything handed to me, I like everyone else, would probably say “yes please, just give me the answer!” But after analyzing this scene in the story I think what Vladek said is relevant to my daily life. My situations are not on the same scale as this story but they definitely apply and prove that I must encounter and overcome struggle sin my life by leaning on support of my personal and professional networks.
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