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SLA Q2 report card conferences with students, families and Advisors will be held on Thursday, 2/6 and Friday, 2/7. Families should consult with their child’s Advisor(s) to discuss conference times on one of those dates.

Students will have noon dismissal times on both 2/6 and 2/7. Class schedules on each day will run as indicated below.

Thursday, 2/6

08:15 - 08:55 C Band

09:00 - 09:40 D Band

09:45 - 10:25 E Band

10:30 - 11:10 A Band

11:15 - 11:55 X1/Y1 Band

11:55 - 12:00 Advisory (Transpass Pick-Up)

12:00 - 12:30 Lunch/Dismissal

Friday, 2/7

08:15 - 08:55 B Band

09:00 - 09:40 C Band

09:45 - 10:25 D Band

10:30 - 11:10 E Band

11:15 - 11:55 X2/Y2 Band

12:00 - 12:30 Lunch/Dismissal

Author’s note: When reading my essay I would like you to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

Power is a privilege. Being able to make choices for yourself and having the power to be whoever you want to be can be exciting, but this power can be taken away when labels are put in place by others. Labels are created to confine people into a box; to limit them and make them feel as though they do not belong. This often happens to immigrants that come to the United States, seeking a better life than what their home country could offer. The United States gives off the impression that all are welcomed but in reality, those who flee to the states feel as though they do not belong because Americans never let immigrants forget the fact that they were not born here. Already feeling misplaced because they have lost their homes, the center of their universe, just to come to a place where they believed they would be safe but really isn’t what’s being advertised. Most Americans tend to focus on themselves and when things interrupt our system we usually push them to the side so we don’t have to worry about them; I think that’s when labels come into play. I don’t feel as though it’s to be seen as being self-absorb or being selfish, it’s just that most Americans prefer to stay in their own world. By giving people a label it limits them and puts them into a box that others can push to the side. A lot of people have the mindset of if it isn’t a problem for me then I don’t want anything to do with it, I know most of the time I personally act that way but I have to catch myself and come to my senses. America has a lot of crappy components within itself, which is why its people focus on that rather than the outside world because we can not help other people’s problems as we’re still dealing with our own. This tends to be the case more if you’re black causing you to be desensitized on another level. I feel like Americans began to see certain stuff as normal because of how often it appears so when it happens to others it’s not as shocking or overwhelming for one to handle. When following most narratives about immigration the concept of labels is heavily represented. From them being seen as being poor, illegal, thieves, being helpless, or that this is the perfect life that they’ve always dreamed of. These labels are distributed by people who choose to forget where they have come from. It amazes me because they are being seen as someone/ something they want to be seen as but now immigrants are only seen “through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of the world that looks on in amused contempt and pity.” Forgetting that 98.4% of the United States’ population isn’t native to the land meaning that technically we all deserve at least one of the labels that are constantly being given out. The fact that many people believe that immigrants should have the “perfect life” now that they have come to America but are limited. The concept of the American Dream doesn’t really seem to be everyone’s dream. I wanted to focus on a narrative by a young Nigerian girl who didn’t believe in this dream. She found herself trying to fit into the American standard but when she was in Africa she felt free. No longer feeling the pressure to be someone she isn’t. The feeling of not having a home is bad enough because home isn’t just a building. It isn’t just somewhere where you place your head at night. It is the thing that your heart yearns for when you are lost, mentally or physically and when that is taken away a part of you is taken away too. So imagine not having a home and coming to a new place that doesn’t allow you to consider it your home; it would suck.

Works Cited: Nazario, Sonia. Enrique’s Journey. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2014 Okoro, Enuma. “A Return to Nigeria.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Apr. 2014, https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/a-return-to-nigeria/?hp&rref=opinion

INTRODUCTION: How do we identify home?

In my essay, I wrote about what home means and the struggles many refugees face when fleeing to other countries in hopes of safety. I used the film Beasts of the Southern Wild to get my message across. As you read, I’d like you to think about how you view home, and how we treat and think about refugees who’ve lost their homes.

ADVANCED ESSAY #2: HOME: AN EXTENSION OF SELF

In a brightly lit room, white walls and shutters take place in the background, along with a light pink toy set. Two young white girls in dresses stand towards the back of the photo. A white woman bends over to talk to a young black girl with fluffy brown hair pulled back out of her face. The young girl wears a pretty little blue dress with a white collar. Her face shows sadness and dissatisfaction. The girls name is Hushpuppy. When she’s home, you can tell she’s a free-spirited girl. She wears her hair out in a fro, a shirt, pants, and boots. She’s a wild little girl, whose spirit is being suppressed at the hands of outsiders. People claiming that they know what’s best for her and her people by inserting themselves in the lives of those they don’t quite understand.

Of the various struggles refugees face during times of war and migrating to places of refuge, one big loss they experience is the feeling of home. They have had their home(s) torn away from them, whether that means their culture, their people, places, and or objects. Broken countries, homelands that no longer serve as a home but as a battlefield. “Sometimes you can break something so bad that it can’t be put back together,”(Beasts of the Southern Wild). Losing home is a fight against one’s identity.

In the film, Beasts of the Southern Wild, the viewer watches as Hushpuppy and her father fight for their home, the Bathtub. The Bathtub is a swampy part of New Orleans that gets the worst hits of storms due to it being below sea level. In the film, they go through some similar struggles that refugees go through. As a large storm was getting ready to sweep over New Orleans, the people of the Bathtub had to choose whether or not they were going to evacuate or stay in the attempt to rebuild after the storm hit. Most of the people leave, but Hushpuppy, her dad, and a few others stayed to fight.

As home is often associated with a house, the truth is, the two are not always interchangeable as some people’s houses are nests of negativity. Places they may be seeking asylum from. When addressing home, it is meant as the attachment to these things. These places, people, objects, and ideas. It is when they give off a feeling of love, nostalgia, and comfortability, can one consider something a home. Home is often also a thing through which ones culture thrives.

It can be extremely hard to keep your culture and cultural practices pristine when you migrate to somewhere with different cultures. You can easily lose your cultural identity if you are trying to escape from a reality, which is the case for many refugees seeking asylum from dangerous conditions. In Beasts of the Southern Wild, Hushpuppy says, “MY daddy says if he gets too sick to drink beer and catch catfish, I should stick him on a boat and set him on fire so they don’t plug him into the wall.” This quote illuminates the will of her father and her people that most others may not be able to relate to. In the film, they fought for their home. Their culture and their people. Hushpuppy’s father tells her what he wants done to him before others who don’t understand what kind of life they lead, to get their hands on him. This was his way of keeping his culture in the midst of devastation.

Similar to Beasts of the Southern Wild, refugees experience rips in their homeland. Whether it be at the hands of their own governments ill governing and enforcement/infliction of their rules and ideals, natural disaster, etc… Refugees must choose in what way they will cope with the present conditions. Will they attempt to flee? Seeking sanctuary in other places, hoping to find a new life, a new home, apart from their poisoned country. Or, will they fight? Putting themselves on the front line, using their voices and their bodies to fight back.

Once in a new place, in most cases of refugees who are undocumented, they are treated as illegal entities. Not human beings, fleeing from death, looking for a life beyond the restrictions of their country. As they move away from their country, they move away from the only home(s) they knew. In their country, they had a life and in their life, they had a home(s). The truth of the matter for most refugees is that they are not always welcomed into countries like America, where you are stripped of your title as human and put into a box labeled with misconceptions and stereotypes. Leading to an ongoing difficult life-path.

As we go through life, we come across countless homes. Extensions of ourselves. A home is a beautiful thing through which life can thrive. We must cherish our home(s) and we must ensure that we allow for others to do the same.

Work Cited:

Zeitlin, Ben, director. Beasts of the Southern Wild. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2012.

“Beasts of the Southern Wild (Blu-Ray).” DVD Talk, www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/58625/beasts-of-the-southern-wild/.

The dangers and misfortunes of Migrants’ journeys and the untold stories of their lives are often misunderstood. Throughout this year, I have researched in dept into the lives of refugees from different countries. I also was able to see the perspectives of how different countries treat these people. In addition, I witnessed one on one conversations with a refugee and people vacationing to the Greek islands which was very enlighting. Enrique decided to come to America to find his mother, just like a lot of refugee stories. For many years Enrique’s mother had been in America trying to make enough money to bring Enrique and his sister to join her. It seems like through all of the research we have done throughout the year that many other refugees stories have many similarities. “For Enrique, Maria Isabel isn’t just a way to stem the loneliness he felt since his mother left him” (Pg 33). I think this was a good example of why it is so important for humans to have connections to other humans. Enrique was really missing his mother when he met Maria Isabel. I also think that it’s important to note why Enrique’s mothers Laudes came to America in the first place. The book explaines that many refugees leave because “ They live on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa , Honduras. She can barely afford food for him and his sister, Belky, who is seven.”(Pg 4). The way Enriques lives in very rough and it’s hard for his mother. There are a lot of other people in the same situation where they are from and in some cases some are in worse situations.
Virtually unnoticed, Enrique will become one of an estimated 48,000 children who enter the United States through Central America and Mexico each year, illegally and without either of their parents. This statistics bewilders me because they are kids my age taking extremely dangerous train rides that a large percentage of people get robbed, beaten or even raped. The experience of immigrants without US approved documentation is difficult. People who do not understand the immigrant experience often believe that it is an easy decision to make and an easy process to go through. The idea that people who do not go through the State Department for official citizenship are taking the easy way out is ignorance. As was highlighted in Exit West, there is a lot of stigma relating to how people look at you . People risk their lives and leave everything they knew behind in the hopes of finding better opportunities. The official process of getting citizenship can take years, some cannot afford years and need to make immediate changes. The hope in the end is that it will have all been worth it, but it is in no way the easy way out. A major theme that is explored in Enrique’s Journey is the youth experience. Language around immigration is harsh in the US. The things that people say against immigration, advocate for it the name of national security are inhumane, and they do not realize that they are often talking about children. While adults do not deserve to be treated harshly, the issue is made particularly important because young adults and children make up a large portion of those who migrate. Rural and blue collar Americans are often concerned that those who emigrate are “stealing jobs”, while that argument is still xenophobic, perhaps it they understood the amount of children who are seeking education opinios would be less cruel. There are no guarantees for immigrants and refugees. They have to find ways to survive in countries that are often unwelcoming, “Refugees had occupied many of the open places in the city , pitching tents in the greenbelt between roads, erecting lean-tons next to the boundary wall of houses sleeping on rough sidewalks and in the margins of the streets” Pg73 (Mahsin Hamid). Nothing about the experience is easy. People also misunderstand what refugees go through emotionally as well. It is emotionally difficult to leave behind their culture and adapt to a new culture. Often times the new culture has a different language which is one huge barrier.“ I understood a mother gave birth alone in a hospital and didn’t even know the language with no one of her people there to wish well to the child in Arabic.”Joanna Kakissis ( Last Resort). In this example, you can see that the mother is unable to participate in a tradition that is part of her culture, because she is caught up in a language barrier. ` I’ve realized that I’ve only scratched the surface of what refugees go through. I’ve tried to highlight that it’s not an easy process and how much more work that the process of becoming a citizen entails. People need to understand what these people go through because maybe instead of refugees being welcomed by hand cuffs we can welcome them with open arms.

Author Note: Dear Reader. I’d like you to read my essay and get comfortable with my words. I want you to place yourself in the text and feel my words.

Dear Someone,

This is not easy for me, an immigrant turned American, to write. Consider this a one-sided and inconsequential letter of a young, lost girl’s words. What is the true definition of home? Can another environment ever replace home? You’re probably wondering why I wrote this. Here’s why. My country, Iran is what I call home sweet home, or at least used to. I couldn’t see myself referring to America as my home. Home is home, and everything else is not-home. That’s the way the world is constructed. The pain I experienced at a young age took a huge toll on me and the person that I am today.

Do you know how it feels to feel lost within yourself? You’ll get used to waking up every day to the new scene that you swear could never get old. You’ll meet new kids, people who are completely different from the ones who lived in your old neighborhood. Nobody will judge you nor criticize you and the most they’d do is stare but who cares? you’d already be used to it. You’ll be so stuck in your current fairytale, so deep into the illusion, that you’d believe that this is the best decision your parents have made in all your years of living. Then days would go by, the trees would start to shed leaves, the news would talk about the rise in killings, the streets would be emptier and so is the hole in your heart because you realized that the change your parents made meant you had to leave behind the family that mattered most to you and you believe so much that you were progressing and growing because you no longer had to sleep with the fear of waking up to bad news, that your cousin didn’t make it back or your papa was brutally murdered in his home and now you’re scared. You’re all alone when you realized that the whole entire world is crazy and rather separating yourself from the people who could protect you the most, you needed to be there with them. Do you know how it feels? Home is the only illusion that makes sense, not the country that you thought moving to would diminish the fear in your heart.

In our defense, we were never looking for a new home, rather a new beginning. We never had intentions of America being our new home, at least not me. Iran would always be home to me. Wasn’t that the true definition of home? Not where you’re from, but where you are wanted. Home is the only place where your fears and doubts are cast aside but my home is fragmented, and although we all know it’s true, I’ll still lose the argument. Even if the evolutionary path of knowledge and wisdom is presented in my evidence. So I will hold my silence and create my own will to survive. And the divide will occur and I’ll still be the outsider.

Definition of home? Home could be a townhouse or it could be a small fire and the light it cast on a few familiar faces. Definition of home? Be it ever so humble, it is more than just a place. But whatever home is… its a way of organizing space in our minds. The reality is, home is where you make it and You will inevitably return to your original home at the end of such a journey.

Introduction -

         The goal of my paper was to exemplify the constant pressure on immigrants to assimilate. I hope to move the readers of my paper and encourage them to be more conscious not to put pressure on immigrants.  When reading my paper one will realize the sacrifices one has to make both when assimilating or choosing not to do so. 

Essay -

         A young brown-skinned Native American man sits with his long sleek black hair streaming over his shoulders. He has quarter-sized gold hoops in his ears and various necklaces decorating his neck. He is covered with a short fur jacket and a white undershirt. The same man later poses, his hair cut short, with a part on the right side, brushed to the left. His neck and ears are free of jewelry. This time he wears a dress jacket, collared shirt, and tie. Although he did not come to the United States from another country, he exhibits what many immigrants must do to reflect mainstream American society, in hopes of maintaining refuge. 

         Cultural assimilation is the process by which someone from a minority group alters their values, beliefs, and behaviors to assume that of a majority group. When immigrants move to different countries the pressure to assimilate is ongoing and if they choose not to alter themselves they may find themselves branded an outsider.  

         The pressure to behave like the majority and follow their beliefs is derived from many different sources that depend on an individual's situation. For adults, it can come from peers in the working world, friends who they see doing so, or the fear of getting deported if they are undocumented. For kids, it often comes from family, peers, school teachers, and many times the media. 

         The media often portrays immigrants and/or the countries they come from in a negative light. Media outlets and journalists do this by focusing on the bad things that have happened in a country and to associate immigrants with the people doing wrong in order to give them a bad reputation. People like President Trump, who are widely covered in the media and therefore play a highly influential role in shaping public opinion, perpetuate negative ideas about immigrant groups. This makes their living in the country even harder since they are not welcomed and people have false preconceived notions about them. Assimilating won’t change ones skin tone; however, it may make it easier for them to live in a new country without attracting as much negative attention. 

         Assimilation often means sacrificing a part of one’s identity. Enuma Okoro, a woman born in Africa and migrating to America stated,  "Coming of age in foreign classrooms, my sister and I slowly shed our native skins. We let teachers mangle our names, then adopted their mispronunciations — introducing ourselves with syllables our own relatives tripped over." (Okoro 1) .  Names are a big part of who people are. Often times, names are unique to someone's culture, region or family. By not correcting her teachers’ mangled pronunciation of her and her sisters’ names, she has allowed her identity to be trampled for the convenience of another, but doing so also lightens the pressure. When she speaks of “shedding our native skin,” she is exemplifying the assimilation process. In her writing, she explains that when she first got to America from Africa she had no good thoughts about her old country.  Many immigrants experience this when trying to disassociate themselves from their past. To be someone else you must also forget who you were. She went on to say that later when she went back to visit, she got in touch with her roots, discovered many things she liked and decided to move back. 

People who choose not to assimilate either find a community where they can avoid it or live a life with the ongoing pressure of harassment. On the other hand, culturally assimilating does not ensure immunity from harassment.

         Once assimilated, one might feel as foreign to their own past and culture as they did when first coming to a new country. In We Need New Names a girl traveled from Africa to America. In Zimbabwe, she peed in the bushes, ate with her hands, played with her friends all day not attending school and spent the majority of her time outside. In America she pees in the toilet, often uses utensils, and spends her time inside and on the internet or talking to friends. In the beginning, she hated America and wanted to go back, but later she stated, “One part is yearning for my friends; the other doesn't know how to connect with them anymore, as if they are people I've never met”(212). This shows how foreign the place and people she once associated with home are. Many immigrants still yearn for their old country, but understand that it was best for them to leave considering the conditions there. The internal conflict she faces of yearning for her Zimbabwe and simultaneously wanting to fit in, in her new country makes this lack of connection hard to repair.

         How do immigrants feel about assimilation? Assimilation can involve changing religion. Adopting a different language, the slang that may come with that and even the accent.  It can also mean breaking one's own traditions and ideals to adopt new ones. Assimilation applies a lot of pressure on immigrants. For example, in We Need New Names, Darling’s Aunt Faustilina in America would practice speaking English in a mirror after she messed up a conversation in English until she spoke precisely and articulately. Aunt Faustalina, is her role model, and from her, Darling learned both what to do and what not to do. For immigrants, learning what to do and what not to do is a continual struggle that may never result in the acceptance they seek while it compels them to sacrifice parts of their identity to do so.

Citations -

Bulawayo, NoViolet. We Need New Names. Vintage Books, 2014.

Okoro, Enuma. “A Return to Nigeria.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Apr. 2014, opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/a-return-to-nigeria/?hp&rref=opinion.

“A Tour of 5 Refugee Camps.” This American Life, www.thisamericanlife.org/greece/.

“Sea Prayer .” YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKBNEEY-c3s.

“Don’t Have to Live Like a Refugee.” This American Life, 19 Apr. 2019, www.thisamericanlife.org/593/dont-have-to-live-like-a-refugee.

   Americans often misunderstand the lives of refugees because of widespread misconceptions. Refugees entire lives are put on hold and are often put in danger, many even perish along the way. Many aspects of immigration are often overlooked and brushed under the carpet. Refugees do not have the option to leave their homeland and lose more than just their house in search of a better life.
   The U.S government and media often say that immigrants come into our country and steal taxpayer’s jobs. What isn’t publicized is the struggles immigrants and refugees face to make it to America or a safer place to restart their lives. There are many dangers that come with migrating and seeking refuge. An example of this is seen in the article Desperate Crossing by Scott Anderson, it tells the story of 733 refugees traveling from Eritrea to Sicily. The article includes photographs of the cramped boat, the hundreds of refugees had nothing but the clothes on their backs, which was the only thing between them and the hot summer sun. Most of the children on the boat did not know how to swim and there were no lifejackets onboard the boat. The migrants paid upwards of $1,500 for what they thought was a 6-8 hour journey, realistically though, it would take 6-8 days. Before the boat reached the island of Sicily the boat capsized, only 28 refugees survived. Sadly events like this are common, thousands of refugees die in transport to a new home some contracting life-threatening diseases or starving. Yet these are not the things that we are frequently made aware of. Instead, we are told that refugees do nothing but steal taxpayers’ jobs and create havoc within the country. If the media would allow citizens to see the struggles refugees and immigrants face there would be a better understanding of their intentions. To live a healthier and happier life in a safer environment.  
When immigrants uproot their families and lives they lose more than their home, they lose irreplaceable aspects of their life. Refugees’ homeland is somewhere they do not need to explain their identity or subside their culture, but when they are forced to leave their home they also lose their identity. This is especially clear when moving to the United States, many immigrants have to explain themselves and their identity in hopes of being accepted. In the novel, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri she touches on the losses that come with immigrating. On page 56 Lahiri writes ¨They’ve learned their lesson after Gongol. They´ve learned that schools in America will ignore parents’ instructions and register a child under his pet name. The only way to avoid such confusion, they have concluded, is to do away with the pet name altogether, as many of their Bengali friends have done.¨ This quote represents how it is difficult to stay true to your culture when the people around you don understand its importance. Rather immigrants give up the fight to show their culture and identity, afraid of disrespect from others. United States citizens are predisposed to assumptions for Muslims, giving people the idea that they are all terrorists. Sadly people do not take the time to understand people’s differences, instead, they try to conform them to their standards. Another example of how immigration causes many people to lose their culture and identity is seen in the article A Return to Nigeria. Enuma Okoro writes of the differences immigrants feel when visiting their homeland, “Each time I boarded the plane to return to the States it was with a surprising hint of sadness. I became increasingly uncertain about what I was really going back to. Sure, there was a reliable infrastructure of basic necessities like electricity and medical care. Yet, back in Nigeria, I had the irreplaceable experience of feeling connected to an untapped part of myself. I was gaining insight into my ancestral and communal identity as a Nigerian, as an Igbo woman.” This quote shows how refugees lose their sense of culture and their identity when moving to a better living environment. This quote from the article shows how at some point refugees would rather sacrifice their living environment to live somewhere they don’t need to explain their identity and culture. Many people do not acknowledge the sacrifices refugees make to have a better life in a safer environment. 
Seeking refuge has lifelong damaging effects on immigrants. Throughout the film Beasts of the Southern Wild, the viewer realizes what being an outsider can do to a person. Immigrants and refugees often feel like outsiders in their own homes. They are treated differently even though we are all people, that cannot seem to accept each other’s differences. At the beginning of the film the protagonist, Hushpuppy narrates a conversation between her and her father as he explains life outside the “bathtub”. “ Ain't that ugly over there? We got the prettiest place on earth. Daddy says, up above the levee… on the dry side, they're afraid of the water… like a bunch of babies. They built the wall that cuts us off. They think we all gonna drown down here. But we ain't going nowhere.” This scene in the movie stuck with me as Hushpuppy is very young and is already being taught the ways in which the world discriminates against those who stray from the streamline. Those living in the bathtub make up a community of understanding individuals who come together and celebrate their differences. People living on the other side of the levee treat people of the bathtub as outsiders. Similarly, many immigrants are treated as outsiders, they have to work harder to be seen and treated as equals. Having to prove and explain themselves to be accepted causes emotional damage, feeling inadequate for being themselves. Ultimately immigrants tell their stories, passing them down from generation to generation. Another scene from Beasts of the Southern Wild that represents the emotional damage immigrants deal is when Hushpuppy says ̈If Daddy kill me I ain't gonna be forgotten, I ́m recording my story for scientists of the future.¨ Immigrants and refugees tell their stories so that their struggle is never forgotten. Immigrants and refugees lose their culture and identity when searching for the start of a better life. Sadly although they escape the struggles in their homeland they are dealt a whole new stack of difficulties that ultimately pose lifelong emotional damage. 
   In today’s society, immigrants and refugees are misunderstood and placed under a category of unworthy. They are treated with disrespect for being different when in reality every single person is unique and different and deserves an opportunity for a better life. Americans often misunderstand the lives of refugees because of widespread misconceptions. The misconception that refugees do nothing more than steal taxpayers’ jobs and money hides their struggles. That immigrants’ entire lives are put on hold, they ́re put in danger, and they ́re forced to seek refuge. The sooner this misconception is forgotten the sooner everyone can accept each other differences and respect each other enough to give others the opportunity for a better life.

Ethan Friedman English III Mr. Block January 2020

Authors’ Note:

In this essay, I wanted to connect my life and my nostalgia linked to my home with the experiences of people around the world. I wanted to stress how lucky I am to be able to call a place home and be able to experience my 17 years of life there. There are many people in the world who are forced out of their homes, and it’s important for me to highlight the issues in the world when I have the opportunity.

                                 Home Base

As he heard the bells from the departing train, he leaps off of his make-shift cot and scrambled toward the tracks. His limbs clothed in the murky mud from the swamp-like ditch he and his peers had slept in to stay warm. He got to a full sprint as he lept at the perfect time to make it in-between the ultimate and penultimate cars. He ascended the rusty ladder and sat down with his legs crossed facing the newly formed home behind him. That is where the signature picture was taken. He leaves a world of poverty and danger and heads for one with opportunity. I do not live in that same world. My world gives me more opportunities. My world gives me an education. My world provides me with friends of all different kinds. My world even lets me say and do whatever I want. There is a reason that I love my home. Philadelphia reminds me to be strong, to be caring, to be confident, and to bleed green. There will never be another home this meaning fun to me. I do not have to worry about where I am going to sleep, what I am going to eat. I have grown up to understand that there are people on the same planet that I live in who do not have those same privileges.

Some are forced to make a large magnitude of changes in their life to be able to have what I have by default. A Nigerian girl, who’s family moved to New York City to raise her and her sister, did not have the same life. Their names were not pronounced right, they were judged based on their skin, and nobody understood their language. Over time, after her father died, she started to go back to Nigeria and write about her community there. She slowly started to feel like she missed her real home. Just like I feel, you can never replace your true home. She said, “Each time I boarded the plane to return to the states it was with a surprising hint of sadness” (A Return to Nigeria). The problem is, we do not always realize that not everybody has the ability to go back to their home. Sometimes, they are forced out forever. Those are the people that we need to help.

In America, we should be willing to assist refugees. During our schooling and through the news, we learn all about the struggles the migrants and refugees have to endure just to have an opportunity to work and survive. America is most certainly not full. We should be looking for people around the world who need an opportunity. Who cares who is making your clothes? Who cares who builds your cars? Who cares about who where people are from? People are people. As long as they are not causing a problem and are not affecting your life, why does it matter? At the end of the, you never know what could happen to you. In each others’ shoes, you would beg for America to take you in and save your life. We need to understand the damage we are doing by denying immigrants. A significant majority of immigrants want to come to America to work just like everyone else. They want to go to school. They want to be happy. They do not want to hurt anybody.

There are refugees from everywhere on the planet. Not everyone can go home. We think that all of them come to our countries successfully and the struggle is whether or not we want them. The reality is what Enrique said, “Every day, hundreds of families are not as lucky. They are again being torn apart”, in Enqirue’s Journey. There are many groups who become stranded with nowhere to go. We need to look at this issue from other perspectives to understand that home is not guaranteed to everyone. What we take for granted is an incredible privilege.

Works Cited: Nazario, Sonia. Enriques Journey. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2014.

Okoro, Enuma. “A Return to Nigeria.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Apr. 2014, https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/a-return-to-nigeria/?hp&rref=opinion.

Introduction:

What I’d like the reader to take away from this essay is the significance of the seemingly insignificant aspects of immigration regarding how immigrants are viewed in society. Without looking at all aspects of immigration, it is impossible to get a solid understanding of what life is like for immigrants.

Essay:

Immigrants and Their Everlasting Attachment

A man stands looking into the path in front of him. His daughter is sitting on his shoulders; she looks to be no more than three. Their clothing is dirty, and trash lay on the ground behind them. Rundown homes are in the distance. They have just arrived in a new country after enduring a difficult journey. They were forced to say goodbye to their homeland, and hello to a foreign country in which they know nothing about. They had to leave all they have ever known for something completely foreign to them. Although this is their new home, they will always hold a special connection to their home country. This lasting attachment that immigrants have to their homeland is an aspect of immigration that is not always talked about and is often overlooked. The everlasting feeling they get when they think about their home country is something that very few can understand, as it is impossible to fully understand something without actually experiencing it. A few works that touch on this subject in order to help others understand the feeling, however, include the book Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, the film Beasts of the Southern Wild by Lucy Alibar, and the article “A Return to Nigeria” by Enuma Okoro.

Each immigrant has their own story, history, and longing for their country which makes understanding their struggles very difficult. There can either be a specified reason for one’s deep attachment to their homeland, or it can simply just be. An example of this is in Exit West, by Mohsin Hamid when Saeed and Nadia are preparing to flee from their home country and seek refuge and they are faced with the fact that Saeed’s father will not be escaping with them. Upon asking his father why his father responds with, “‘Your mother is her.’ Saeed said, ‘Mother is gone.’ His father said, ‘not for me’ (Hamid 95). Although he had the chance to, he refused to leave his wife, who had died, behind. She was buried in that country, therefore he must stay there. The connection Saeed’s father developed for his country was so much deeper than imaginable that he would rather risk his safety, let alone his life, in order to remain in the place his wife was buried. In this case, his wife being buried there strengthens the connection he has to the country, even though he already had a deep connection there before. His reason for staying is unique to him, as is anyone’s reason. It is not necessarily the country itself that he is connected to, it is what the country holds that deeply resonates with him. Although Saeed’s father ultimately stayed and is not an immigrant, he is the perfect example as to how if one were to leave their home country, their attachment and resonance to that country would remain with them throughout their whole life.

Similarly, in the film Beasts of the Southern Wild by Lucy Alibar, after the community is evacuated and brought to the dry land in attempts to “save” them, they all find a way to escape back to their land even though it is seen as unsuitable by those in the dry land. They had a deep connection to their home as there was a great sense of community that was unfulfilled during the time they spent in the dry land. Although they returned to run down, unsustainable shack-like homes, they regained their sense of belonging, which is often a leading reason as to why immigrants have such an attachment to their homeland.

Another example as to how belonging plays a role in the lasting attachment immigrants have to their home country is demonstrated in the article, “A Return to Nigeria” by Enuma Okoro. Enuma had spent only a small portion of her life in Nigeria before her family immigrated to the United States. She had grown up without feeling connected to her home country or feeling like she wanted to return. That was until she had to return to bury her father, as it is custom in Igbo culture to bury oneself in their country of origin. She reminisces, “I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that there was a land and a people that rightfully claimed me. Choosing to ignore that seemed oddly irresponsible…” (Okoro 2). Okoro had always struggled with her identity, as she felt should could not label herself as Nigerian nor American as she did not fully resonate with either of those cultures. Upon returning to Nigeria, she realized that there is a whole village that knows her name and knows who she is and is accepting of her. That feeling was something she never had in America. After contemplating it for a while, Okoro finally decided to give up her first world lifestyle, buy a one-way ticket, and move to Nigeria, which remains a poor, developing country. Okoro is the perfect example of how strong the sense of belonging and attachment can be for immigrants, even if they do not initially feel that sense of longing for their homeland.

Although discussing the attachment that immigrants have to their country of origin may seem insignificant compared to other aspects of immigration, it is very necessary to look further into it because it allows the public to attempt to understand the effects immigration has on immigrants and their wellbeing. If those who make laws about immigration do not even understand the severity of all aspects of immigration, it is not fair for them to make laws limiting resources and safety precautions for immigrants. There are a lot of components to the immigration crisis and there are many different opposing opinions, however, if one were to look at the seemingly insignificant parts of immigration, as these writers have done, it is clear to see that it goes much deeper than just “wanting to come to America.” It is not an easy decision for immigrants to make to leave their country, and only do so when necessary for their own safety and future, as they know the feeling of attachment will linger for their lifetime.

Works Cited

Alibar, Lucy. Beasts of the Southern Wild. Hamid, Mohsin. Exit West. Penguin Random House, 2017. Okoro, Enuma. “A Return to Nigeria.” The New York Times, 23 Apr. 2014. Oxfam. “7 Ways You Can Help Refugees Right Now.” Oxfam, 13 Jan. 2020, www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/stories/7-ways-you-can-help-refugees-right-now/.

Reader’s Note: The purpose of this project is to help people realize what really makes strong relations between people, how do humans create a community and if it’s fully determines on free will. There are three key examples I used, two of them being from books I read in English class. One of the things that people should keep in mind is that the purpose of this essay is to break down the major factor that contributes to creating communities, acknowledging there are other things that play a role. I hope readers finish reading this paper learning something they didn’t realize before.

Between two rows of temporary tents, about a couple hundred feet apart, are a group of children, they are all spread out, some of them are talking and playing with their friends, others are staring into space. The ground is light gray with gray pebbles and rocks spread throughout it. Every two tents have a satellite next to it. Towards the left side of tents, near the middle tents, stand 3 women monitoring the kids. 5 tents down are men that seem to be fixing a tent. These refugees are living though conditions due to how expensive it would be to move and live in Europe. They had to flee their country and leave most of their belongings. They don’t have a strong, sturdy shelter as a permanent home. There is no certainty of an actual home, and it starts to look like the camp is becoming their new home. They worked together to migrate, supporting each other by creating a system in which other refugees can also cross the water. Securing people with life vests, having people safely arrive onto the land. With these refugees going through a similar struggle, a sense of community and unity starts to emerge due to their common struggles.

This pattern could be found in many different communities, people unite because of a common struggle. One example is the black community, specifically in America. Society creates a stereotype of black people. According to “[An African American is] born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world —- a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world.” - W E B DuBois. DuBois points out that black people have to view everything in two lenses, their point of view and how the rest of the world would view the same thing. Due to these two points of view, they have to watch what they do because the rest of the world already have a negative perception towards them. The only people who understand this struggle are other black people because they also go through the same thing. They find some level of comfort within each other, which creates a unique bond within each other.

In the book “The Namesake”, narrates the life of a 1st generation Bengali-American named Gogol. While he was growing up in America, he started to hate his name more and more because it was an unusual name and it made him stand out and not in a good way. The name was given to him by his dad because when his dad was in Bangladesh he almost died in a train accident. And the book he was reading on the train was written by and author whose name was Gogol. It was a major event that happened in Gogol’s father, Ashoke. It was special to him. When Gogol turned 18 he told his parents that he was changing his name to Nikhil, still preserving his Bengali heritage but a more common name. Further in the book, Ashoke dies in an accident which gathers everyone to their house (Gogol was living on his own in New York). Years later, Ashima moves out of the house and she has a party. Gogol goes in his room and finds the book with the author which he was named after, he starts reading the book that majorly impacted his life and he realizes no one will call him Gogol anymore.“The givers and keepers of Gogol’s name are far from him now. One dead. Another, a widow, on the verge of a different sort of departure, in order to dwell, as his father does in a separate world” pg 289”. At this moment, Gogol is having a moment of realization. Nobody will call him Gogol anymore, since he’s not going to see his mom as much and his father is dead. It wasn’t just a name, it was something that connected him to his parents. The difficulties and struggles that they faced adjusting to a new country, but still found ways to stay in touch with their roots. And the way they passed it on to their children was giving them special names that not only connect to their culture and traditions but to their personal lives too.

Gogol wasn’t close to many Bengali-Americans in the book, I think that’s one of the reasons he had trouble finding himself. He didn’t have people in his life that were balancing both American and Bengali culture. One of the only things he had that connected to his family roots was his name Gogol, which nobody was going to call him anymore.

The point that is being made is that even though we value the role communities in our society and specifically in our daily lives but fail to realize and appreciate two huge factors in forming bonds with others, the same struggles they face and connections to the same roots. Whether it’s having familiar yet unique names that originate from the same place, or extreme cases like going through the same humanitarian crisis. People find comfort with people they could relate to.

              ThEy'Re StEaLiNg OuR JoBs

In today’s political climate, Republicans, in particular, happen to hold a very inaccurate thought regarding immigrants (especially ones of Latin American descent). That thought is that they cross over the border as rapists and murderers. It’s fascinating they believe this because statistics suggest otherwise. There are more whites incarcerated than there are Latinos. So that whole argument is really invalid. The primary reason immigrants enter the US is to create a better life for not only themselves but also their families. They aren’t stealing our jobs, they’re simply working the ones that we don’t want. On June 16, 2015, during a speech, Donald Trump said, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” With the leader of our country saying this, it’s no surprise that his followers agree with him. Trump ran his campaign on anti-immigration before he was elected he would say refer to Latinos as gangsters and Muslims as terrorists. And that’s how he won. He fear-mongered his way into office. And we must remember that fear-mongering is not new. In the nineteenth century, Americans would say that African American Men were sexual beasts, and if you weren’t careful they’d rape your white wife. And to no surprise, this led to various acts of violence against black men. And history has repeated itself in this country, mosques are being vandalized and hardworking people are being locked in cages, separated from their families, and deported. The fact that this still worked centuries later brings to light a much bigger issue in this country. And that problem is bigotry. As Americans, we love to talk about how progressive we are and how far we’ve come as a country. Now even though America can be considered progressive compared to MANY MANY countries, and we have been more and more welcoming of time. We’re still quite far from being a truly progressive and welcoming country. The 2016 presidential election did a great job of bringing this issue to light. The ugly truth is that more than 62 million Americans voted for an open bigot. And the reason why those (at least) 62 million Americans are so easily manipulated is that they’re isolated both physically and mentally. They either aren’t around enough minorities so the only experience they have with them comes from Fox News. Or they’re so stubborn that they’re really a lost cause. The primary reason I feel so adamant about this topic is because of my personal experiences. I grew up around a lot of Bengali Muslims, and interestingly enough it was always my American friends getting me into some kind of trouble. While my Muslim friends were always trying to get me to make better life decisions. The notion that Muslims are violent is factually incorrect. The Quran preaches peace. The only reason the middle east is such a war zone right now is because of US involvement. We took their natural resources and killed so many of their loved ones, they have a valid reason to not like our country. Yet, the only Muslims committing acts of terror are the extremists. The everyday people have nothing to do with it. The truth is that a lot of immigrants who come to this country (documented and undocumented) tend to work harder than the rest of Americans. They’re forced into lower-paying jobs due to their immigration status, level of fluency in English, etc. They survive with these lower-end jobs and still have to pay similar living costs as everyone else. Thus, they work much longer hours and take whatever jobs they can get. If you go out into the countryside and into the farms, you’ll see that the staff of farmhands consists of many immigrants because other Americans just don’t want to do that kind of work. When my mother first came to this country with a two-year-old daughter and not a word of english, she needed a job to provide for my sister. And she ended up working as a maid in a hotel making $4.25 per hour. She wasn’t lazy, she wasn’t stealing anyone’s jobs, she was just doing what she could to support her family just like everyone else. The only jobs she ‘stole’ was when she was picked for promotions due to her punctuality and impeccable work ethic rather than her Americans coworkers who’ve worked there longer but didn’t work as hard. Calling Immigrants violent and lazy is a slap in the face to every single hardworking American Immigrant who came here for a better life.

Citations:https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/06/16/theyre-rapists-presidents-trump-campaign-launch-speech-two-years-later-annotated/

My essay focuses on the determents of cultural assimilation as well as the ways that American life forces immigrants to leave behind the culture of their homes. I want readers to notice the critiques of the current system and begin to think about ways that we could change these things.

The choice to immigrate to another country or place is a hard decision for anyone. Having to completely change your life is a complete shock and this decision is never made lightly. People immigrate for many different reasons, it could be for safety, better job opportunities, education, family, but it is never an easy decision. One of the many challenges that immigrants face when living in a new place is the balance between the two cultures. Choosing which aspects of your native culture and the new culture to incorporate into your life is a choice that every immigrant has to make. The same goes for the children of immigrants, who in many cases are torn between the traditions that their family wants to teach them and the traditions of their friends and peers. In this essay, I will explore the sacrifices that immigrants and children of immigrants have to make to assimilate into their new culture.

“The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahari, follows the son of two immigrants, Gogol. In Indian culture, most people have a nickname and a “good name” (one that they use on legal papers, at work and school, etc). When Gogol goes to school for the first time, his parents, Ashima and Ashoke, instruct the teachers to call him “Nikhil,” but there is some confusion and he ends up continuing to be called Gogol. When Gogol’s sister is born, their parents decide to give her only one name, “They’ve learned their lesson after Gogol. They’ve learned that schools in America will ignore parents’ instructions and register a child under his pet name. The only way to avoid such confusion, they have concluded, is to do away with the pet name altogether, as many of their Bengali friends have done.” Ashima and Ashoke were forced to give up one of the vital traditions in Indian culture to make the lives of their children easier. Gogol had to grow up with his pet name being used for everything and they didn’t want that for their second child. The entirety of “The Namesake” stresses how important names are in Indian culture, showing the level of sacrifice that giving their child only one name was for Ashoke and Ashima. One of the keywords from this quote is “Learn.” Ashima and Ashoke, like all immigrants, are forced to learn the nuances of their new culture. In American in particular, we expect immigrants to assimilate into our culture instead of celebrating and trying to understand our differences in ways of life. We can see this often in the current events in America. From crowds of people chanting “Build the Wall” to foreign language speakers being discriminated against, being told that “this is America, speak English.” The culture of America backs immigrants into a wall, where their only choices are to conform or to fail.

We see this type of behavior in “Beasts of the Southern Wild” also. While the people that live in the bathtub aren’t technically immigrants, they may as well be, as their way of life in no way resembles the culture outside of the bathtub. Once Hurricane Katrina hits, a “rescue team” comes to take the residents in the bathtub to a hospital. The only problem is that no one in the bathtub wants the help of outsiders. They created a community within themselves and distrust the outside world. In this case, the outside world wants people in the bathtub to assimilate to their culture, and leave their home for safety, because they believe that their way of life is the best one. Most of the people that live in The Bathtub are happy with their lives, even if people on the outside wouldn’t consider them ideal. America often writes a narrative of being the saviors or heroes of history, but in many cases, people are perfectly fine with their lives, and don’t want to be “saved”. This situation is reminiscent of the boarding schools that young Native American children were forced to attend, which taught them to adapt to western culture. They were taught English, forced to dress in western clothing, and converted into Christians. In the early American’s minds, they were saving and “fixing” the Native American children, but in reality, they were stripping the children of their Native culture based on extremely racist ideals. This savior complex is weaved into American history and is something we still haven’t shaken even today.

The story of immigration in the United States is a complicated one. The founders of the US were immigrants, who stole the land we live on today from Native American people. Today, that is America’s biggest fear, of having our jobs, our land, stolen from those we see as the other. Our definition of what “American” even is is shallow and weak. Instead of accepting and appreciating our mix of cultures we hold certain traits and traditions at a higher level. If we can’t realize and reconcile with these truths, we will never be able to move forward as a country.

The Impact Parents Have On Their Child?

“I am your father. Behave yourself. Stop being difficult with your grandma.” As you can see the parents are making sure to show there kid from right and wrong by telling them what they have to do. they also show them the love and making the baby know that they will always be there no matter what. You also see the mother making eye contact with her kids and husband to show that she is also showing love to them both. Parents are also the most brain in the relationship because sons and daughters would go ask them for any help because that’s what you really want to ask because they might know better from right and wrong and that can show their kids from the best and and learn what’s wrong. Kids always want what they want but parents might have another idea to teach their kids that it might be very bad and wrong to do that. The father would always be with their kids 100% even if they are wrong but they oust also teach them what is was that made them do the wrong thing. The police do not do anything. Some of them are even in on it.” This can tell you that the cops can’t even be trusted and this makes it harder because you won’t have no one to look up to, or call for help, they would just not care and keep going. This is where the father or mother shows up and tell his son that this world is. It what you really think or see, this world makes see what it wants you to see and to show you that it’s about that and it won’t change your mind. It also says that cops are in it and that can be a problem because they have more power than the people so they can do whatever they want and you can’t do anything about. This can also tell you that the police in this country are more powerful just because they can pull over people and this have no rights, and this can be worse for them because they can get killed just because they wanted to make a point. This is where a father has to take out of his time to show and go give the details to their sons to show them that not everything should be about the cops and talking with them for anything and that he should call his dad if it not that bad. People in this world do whatever they want because of the freedom and chance we have. But the father we have to show them the ways and guide them to a better place and mind set that it’s not like people that are born in a rich family that means that you will be rich and your kids and if you are born in a poor family that means you will have the same job and the same amount of money so it’s hard to tell and you can’t do anything about that because that’s the rule. But you can make your own choices and make it better and that’s what a father should say to their child because if they want the best for them they would do anything and whatever it takes. People would try to move to a better place but the problem is if you didn’t go to school and collator would be hard to find a job that would make you a lot of money so it can be the same but at the same time it can be a better life and freedom for your kids and their kids to come. So father would do whatever it takes so that the son or daughter learn from good and bad and a child needs a father in the pic so that can show that they can also be man and learn from the father from what’s good and bad. Something that does not make sense to child or a son or daughter even if it’s something that they have never seen before and that can make them overthink it or want to know more about it. They would always ask the father because that’s how life is and mother for things that are not the big because they might make a big deal about it and they father might not. This world has a lot of things to find out and for most people they don’t want to find out about it because that can cause them big problems or killed so that’s why you should always ask a father that is in the pic and ask hey do you think this is a good idea or a bad idea so that you can learn from them and their past mistakes. You should stay with what you got or ask around for help. In Conclusion, parents are the ones that keep you in check and teach you the ways on what is wrong and what is right. You might like the choices they give you or what they tell you to do but what you have to know is that they want what is best for you and your life. Sources Article Title Figure 2f from: Irimia R, Gottschling M (2016) Taxonomic revision of Rochefortia Sw. (Ehretiaceae, Boraginales). Biodiversity Data Journal 4: e7720. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.4.e7720 Enrique’s Journey

Don’t feel obligated to a stranger. It makes you feel you owe someone something who you have no connection to. Why would you allow yourself to be brought down by the thought of some else’s pain? Not to say that the suffering of a stranger is irrelevant but only that one shouldn’t let it get to them if they’re doing alright for themselves. The other side to that coin is having empathy. Being able to understand someone’s pain and sympathize for them is important. That statement can pertain to a beggar or the orphan. In this case though it pertains to the immigrant and refugee. It’s hard enough to carry out your own struggle of a life. Most Americans take things day to day if not week to week. So there isn’t any room for anything but sympathy for a refugee. It’s real easy to be in a position that many Americans are in and say that you don’t owe a stranger anything, but it’s true. With privilege comes responsibilities but not obligations to humans on the other side of the globe. War has ravaged humankind since the very beginning and only the dead see an end to war. Americans are lucky enough to live in such a safe haven where the worst blow was dealt on September 11th. Even emits all the chaos and aftermath of such an event there were no American refugees, no Americans were forced to leave the country because of a fear for their lives. The privilege to live in such a place is undeniable. Especially when on the other side of the planet there are human beings leaving behind everything they’ve ever known in hopes of a better, safer life. It’s probably the scariest and most difficult journey a person can make and yet tens of millions are forced to make it. There are so many people now that the story of the refugee is in fact the story of the modern world. Over the years, the only thing that’s changed is that there are more people to be displaced. Now with modern media and how connected everyone is it’s an issue that is recognized worldwide. The only thing is it’s so very difficult to solve. As much as locking immigrants out is looked down upon, it’s only considered because there is only so much you can do about the issue. There isn’t one definitive answer to the question of where do these people go? The one thing that is known is that they have nowhere to go. For as long as these people have been becoming displaced, where to go has been their biggest question. The ones who make it wind up somewhere but how welcolm they are is what affects their future the most. In many countries, refugees can find asylum but limited embrace from the people already there. After reaching the finish line by getting to the new country refugees are often met with disrespect and snap judgments. People who are set in their ways will create false justifications for such inhumane disrespect but all those people have one thing in common. They have never met a refugee. Never spoken to the people they think they hate so much. Somehow people are able to create such a strong opinion of something they have never experienced, and this plays into many more aspects of life rather than just immigration issues. Although, refugees seem to get the worst of it. People who have already been through so much get thrown aside like nothing.
When people are face to face it’s a whole different story. There must be only a handful of truly awful people who can look refugee in the eye and explain how they feel no different than how they felt before. Most people can empathize and relate with someone who has a drastically different story than your own. That’s why the video by the New York Times was so good. It showed exactly that. In the video refugees got to sit down and speak to native people living on the island they migrated to. The video was sobering in the fact that these people are so similar to everyone else. Their conversations were genuine as were the laughs, these people got along. Possible because of the mentality that the natives went into such a project with. They understood the refugees situations and had empathy for them. Of course there was no obligations, just a genuine conversation. If more people could have this opportunity with migrants things would be much different.

Works cited: “The New York Times.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 Feb. 2016, www.nytimes.com/video/multimedia/100000004237409/migrants-stories-from-a-greek-island.html.

Introduction:

I would like the readers to see that I tried to include both my own opinion and the connections from the real world. I think when writing this I just wanted to express all my thoughts and my view on the society we currently live in. I would like you, the readers to recognize and understand the story of Ibanez. The story in some way shows the misconception we have about Immigration and the misconception of what happens once someone migrates to a new country. Writing this essay was hard in the sense of I have a lot of opinions and there are a lot of facts the dilemma is how do I write all of this in a way where it’s not confusing.

Full Essay:

A garage full of immigrants sits wondering. Why was this happening? What had they done besides seek refuge in a country that once screamed freedom? What they would later find out due to it making national news was that they were being detained and sent back to their native country due to fear from the American government. The excuses for why this was happening in the belief of what an immigrant brings with them the word immigrant or illegal alien is associated with drugs, violence, and being unamerican. The government that we are supposed to trust in an attempt to unify the world we inhabit has in many ways failed to deliver their promise. Most take the words of our government as truth and in turn have ruined the opportunity to build a relationship with those trying to live the life that we are privileged to have. We live in a country where we judge without having experienced, we respect and listen to the wealthy, but in reality, we have more in common with immigrants than we do with American billionaires and politicians. We just like immigrants have dreams and aspirations, and we in some cases struggle to get by. Compared to the billionaires of the world we are all at the bottom of the melting pot. The cause of this Immigration issue is due to the fear of change in power within American society.

Immigration according to American politicians is a contributing factor to America’s economic growth. But if that’s the case why has it become such a wedge in American society? We now live in a society where change is inevitable, but as just as many people want to see a change many want things to either stay the same or revert to what they used to be. The policy concerning immigration in the US has changed constantly. In 2016 ICE removed 240,255 immigrants in 2018 that would increase to 256,085. There has been an increase in the removal of immigrants from the US and there have been countless policies set in place to try and limit the illegal migration of immigrants. The most recent and in my opinion the most drastic was the zero-tolerance policy which allowed children to be separated from their parents who were unlawfully entering the United States.

After all that has happened the question began to arise, Are our leader’s actions a representation of the country as a whole? Which formed the bigger question Do American citizens understand and sympathize with immigrants? The answer is simply no, we do not understand nor sympathize with the struggle of an immigrant because we simply have not experienced it. In the CBS News article “You have to live in fear” Is the story of an immigrant named Ibanez who illegally crossed the border after his family at the age of 14. He was born in Mexico and while there he lived a life where a meal wasn’t to be expected every day which he says was one of his hardest memories from living in Mexico. His family snuck into the United States, but while they were on the land of the free they were far from freedom while his siblings are safe from having to immigrate back Ibanez and his mother are not. He is fearful that one day will be the day in which he is separated from his family, but until then he continues to go to school and work to provide for his family.

A common misconception that Americans tend to have about immigrants is that once they cross that border their lives and their families’ life instantly change for the better and that is simply just not true. The life of an immigrant is hard it is full of loss, struggle, and pain you are in every sense of the word on your own whether an immigrant is legal or illegal. Due to the policies that exist today that revolves around immigration the relationship that people from other countries have with one another including our own has made things weird in a sense of probable difference of opinion. I don’t think the word immigrant or any synonym of the word should exist. I think as human beings we inherited the land that was left to us and it’s not the property of one single individual or an established group of people. I think it is one thing to have established a set of rules in a society, but when you begin to prohibit others from pursuing their dreams then something is truly wrong.

We are letting the ideas of our government officials create these ideas of who and what immigrants are. Trump recently said, “We have people coming into the country or trying to come in, we’re stopping a lot of them, but we’re taking people out of the country. You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are, These aren’t people. These are animals.” The basis of what America was formed on does not match the America of today and even early America wasn’t what life for an individual should have been. The idea that we are indoctrinated with unalienable rights for the pursuit of liberty and happiness is not present in the laws of immigration and modern-day America.

Works Cited: Shaban, Bigad. “‘You Have to Live in Fear’: One Undocumented Immigrant’s Story.” CBS News. CBS Interactive, November 22, 2014. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/you-have-to-live-in-fear-one-undocumented-immigrants-story/.

Korte, Gregory, and Alan Gomez. “Trump Ramps up Rhetoric on Undocumented Immigrants: ‘These Aren’t People. These Are Animals.’.” USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, May 17, 2018. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/16/trump-immigrants-animals-mexico-democrats-sanctuary-cities/617252002/.

Treat Others how you Wish to be Treated Jackson Shumard

In a picture, taken by Vadim Ghirda there is a lot of people doing different things. We can see about a dozen men, knee-deep in a flowing river doing various tasks. Some of the men look to be holding one man back from the others. Most of the other men are standing around watching this happen while a man in the back stands around with his camera taking pictures. At the same time, we can see a baby being passed from man to man which seems to be in hope to get it away from the water. Although it is a very chaotic photograph, it is obvious the baby is the focal point of the picture.This picture was taken to show that even in a time of chaos there will be ones who put other priorities first and feel an obligation to others. This is significant because there is a wide range of responses people have in situations of despair. Growing up, and to this day I commonly hear the phrase “treat others how you wish to be treated” and I keep it fresh in my memory. This phrase holds a lot of weight when having a discussion about obligations to others. Obligations can look very different when dealing with people of varying importance in your life. Most people would say they feel the most obligation towards their family and friends, but what about strangers? I think that when dealing with strangers peoples obligations greatly vary. Many people feel little to no obligation to strangers and no pity to those in situations below theirs, but there are also a ton that are the complete opposite. For example, the people that serve in the military, the fire department, first responders, teachers, and policemen are all careers that are based on serving the needs of others who are almost always strangers. But even more specific than that, what about the people who do more to help individuals? The ones that feed the homeless, or help people cross the street, or even holding the door. What caused such the variation in levels of obligation people feel and what obligations (if any) do we have to strangers? While reading “Enrique’s Journey” there was many obvious examples of people helping strangers they had never seen and probably never would again. “Enrique is stunned by the generosity. In many places where the train slows in Veracruz-at a curve or to pass through a village-people give. Sometimes twenty or thirty people stream out of their homes along the rails toward the train. They wave. They smile, they shout, and then they throw food.” In this scenario dozens of people ride the tops of trains for days through mexico, few with money for food or water. In the small and very poor town that this train is traveling through countless families come out of their homes on the regular to give a portion of what little they have to the migrants on the trains. I found this significant because of how much it is related to the question of what obligations people feel towards strangers. In this case these people feel obligated to feed the countless different people coming through their village every week when they themselves have very little. When it is looked into more closely, many people can’t afford to be giving away food or water, but they do. “These are unlikely places for people to be giving food to strangers. A World Bank study in 2000 found that 42.5 percent of Mexico’s 100 million people live on $2 or less a day. Here, in rural areas, 30 percent of children five years old and younger eat so little that their growth is stunted, and the people who live in humble houses along the rails are the poorest.” If this information is true, and they still give away little of what they have why is it rare to see someone help a stranger at in Philadelphia? The variation of obligation people feel to others is something that I think exists a lot less in America. I think for the most part Americans are greedy. Many have ten times what those people in Mexico do, but won’t share a penny to someone who needs it. I think that the level of variation that people feel towards others is a response to how a person grew up. It is much more likely for someone who has struggled themselves and gone through hardships to recognize when someone else is and lend support. That is why so many of the Mexican families living along the tracks feed others, because they too have been hungry or poor at a point. In a place like America the attitude is different. There is a stigma to work and get it on your own and little pity to those who rely on others. While in certain situations this may be the appropriate response, I think that many people just need a little help or proof that someone cares about them to get them back on their feet. If everyone would show a little more obligation to help those around them it would benefit everyone.

https://politiken.dk/fotografier/art5849931/Click-the-black-background-and-switch-on-their-reality Pg.106 “Enrique’s Journey” Pg.105 “Enrique’s Journey”

My goal for this essay was to make people think about their obligations to others. When we look at how people treat strangers it varies from person to person with a wide range of responses. I am proud of how I examined the responses of the people living in Mexico along the train tracks. using the book “Enrique’s Journey.” It greatly shows the difference in how strangers are treated there compared to other places in the world and bring up the question of why that is.

Introduction

The goal of my essay is to determine who belongs and what makes someone a native. Something that I am proud of is how I describe the photograph in the beginning of my essay. I would like the readers to notice the analysis I used to prove my points. I tried to connect all the sources we in class to my topic.

Who Belongs?

In a photograph from a refugee camp at the Islahiye Camp in the southeastern Turkish province of Gaziantep, the ground is covered in dust, dirt, and rocks. The sky is filled with clouds hanging over the bunched up mountains in the background. There were about 15 white tents lined up along the sides of the dirt. About 7 on one side and 8 on the other. In the middle of all this are about 30 people, more than half are kids. It seems most of the kids aren’t happy and are looking for something to do.

When people think about immigration the main focus is about immigrants not belonging. But the main reason why they think they don’t belong is because they moved from another place but the reality is that people choose what they want the criteria of an immigrant to be based on the situation. In the book We Need New Names the kids are going around trying to find something fun to do. It reminds me of that part because the environment they were in wasn’t the cleanest and didn’t have the best living conditions. The difference is that those kids in that book weren’t immigrants. Their environment was in that condition because of crime, war, and other world problems. In the picture the immigrants were put in an environment with similar conditions because that’s how immigrants are treated since they aren’t natives.

This raises the question of who belongs and what makes someone a native? A widespread belief is that decisions about “who belongs” are often based on appearance. I actually believe this to a certain extent though. I believe this is true because usually the people being targeted in the United States are people that don’t identify as white or black. Such as Latino/Mexican, Chinese/Asian, Middle Eastern, and many more. I’ve rarely seen people with the fairer skin color be questioned on rather they belong in the United States or not compared to other races. One reason I disagree with that is because one way they determine “who belongs” is if that person was born in that country. If they were then that person is automatically considered a citizen of that country. Another way they determine “who belongs” is by checking if a non-native born person has their citizen papers because if they don’t have them than they believe that person should be allowed to live in that country.

According to We Need New Names one of the main characters Darline, moved from Africa to the United States specifically Detroit, Michigan. When she got there she pronounced it as Destroyedmichygen. She met this girl named Kristal and they weren’t really friends. Kristal was teaching them how to put on makeup and she felt superior to them because of that. Darline did not feel the same way. She thought to herself “Kristal thinks that since she taught us to wear makeup and has a weave, she is better than Marina and myself, but the truth is she can’t even write a sentence correctly in English to show that she is indeed American.” I chose this quote because this shows one of the “qualifications” of a native. Since Kristal could barely write in English (the native language of the U.S) Darline is a little skeptical about Kristal actually being American.

According to another book Exit West one of the main characters Nadia was describing her neighborhood. There were many people moving in and out throughout her time there. As she was describing that she said “We are all migrants through time.” What I got from that quote was that everybody is a migrant to another place. For instance when you are from a certain place you are considered a native but when you travel to somewhere different you are now considered a migrant or an immigrant and the same goes vice versa. Another example of this was in an article called A Return to Nigeria. The boy was describing his childhood when he said “Coming of age in foreign classrooms, my sister and I slowly shed our native skins.” He is saying that he is losing his native culture because where he is at now it is considered foreign which forces him to adjust to fit in with natives. Another thing is when someone doesn’t belong they are forced to adapt to the culture around them and sacrifice very important things from their home. When Darline moved from her hometown of Africa to the United States, she had to leave her friends (which were like family to her), her mom, and all the fun things she did there. When she got to the United States it was very unfamiliar to her. She thought the way they danced, ate, and talked was weird. Immediately after she got there she started looking for things that she would see back home. She couldn’t find anything. Her cousin that she didn’t even really know she was related to told her “This is America, yo, you won’t see none of that African shit up in this motherfucker.” This shows that Darline has to adapt to the culture of the United States because what she is used to is nowhere to be found. Since the culture there is not the same as Africa’s culture she has no choice but to learn to adapt to it. In Exit West Saeed and Nadia had to leave Saeed’s father behind along with their jobs and their homes. That was hard because they had to adapt to an unfamiliar place with other each other. In the beginning of the journey they weren’t even that close but as the journey went on their bond got stronger.

In conclusion there are a lot of different factors that go into determining who belongs and what makes someone a native. For example someone isn’t considered a native simply because they weren’t born in that place. Many people believe that theory. So in that case everybody is considered an immigrant when they go somewhere else.

Sources 16 Children – 16 Photos: Click the Black Background and Switch on Their Reality Peter J - https://politiken.dk/fotografier/art5849931/Click-the-black-background-and-switch-on-their-reality Exit West by Mohsin Hamid We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo A Return To Nigeria by Enuma Okoro

Being a refugee is hard. It can be mentally and physically draining. Leaving everything you know to be somewhere else, a place that you potentially won’t be welcome is a very big sacrifice. Nothing will ever be the same, no matter how hard you try. But one thing that could be affected specifically is relationships. It is very rare that a set of people remain together for the entirety of their trip to wherever they decide to go. When this happens, particularly with children, it can cause many problems and strain in the relationship. And even if they stay together, the harrowing living and traveling conditions can cause arguments and any misstep can ruin the fate of everyone that you are with. Through reading all of the things that I’ve read in class within the past two or three months, I have come to realize that stressful situations can almost always cause a (sometimes permanent) strain on a relationship.

In Enrique’s Journey, the titular character, Enrique, has a mother that immigrates to the United States from Honduras when he was very young. She promises to return, but he grows up and lives a portion of his adult life without her. After a life of yearning for his mother’s love, he decides to travel up to the US to be with her. When he gets there, it’s not at all what he expected. On page 191, it compares this to that of the Odyssey and the works of O. Henry, stating, “Children like Enrique dream of finding their mothers and living happily ever after. For weeks, perhaps months, these children and their mothers cling to romanticized notions of how they should feel toward each other. Then reality intrudes. The children show resentment because they were left behind. They remember broken promises to return and accuse their mothers of lying… The mothers, for their part, demand respect for their sacrifice: leaving their children for the children’s sake. When their children say, “ You abandoned me,” they respond by hauling out tall stacks of money transfer receipts.” As you can presume, what ended up happening was something that neither of them would have expected. The relationship between him and his mother is so strained that they barely even know each other. Her decision to immigrate for a better life ended up messing up whatever great relationship she could have had with her son.

In the story Exit West, Saeed and Nadia are a pair of young people living in an unnamed city that end up falling in love with each other. However, a sudden war enters their city and they were forced to flee. Throughout the entirety of the book, we see Nadia and Saeed drift farther and farther apart from each other. They speak about it a little bit on page 204. “Saeed and Nadia were loyal, and whatever name they gave their bond they each in their own way believed it required them to protect each other, and so neither talked much of drifting apart, not wanting to inflict a fear of abandonment, while also themselves quietly feeling that fear, the fear of the severing of their tie, the end of the world they had built together, a world of shared experiences in which no one else would share, and a shared intimate language that was unique to them, and a sense that what they might break was special and likely irreplaceable.” We can see that all of this traveling and moving around has definitely taken a toll on their relationship. They ended up dating other people by the end of the book. Now, no one can be sure that they would have definitely worked out if the war never happened, but everything that happened in the book definitely expedited the process.

In the short story Wildwood, the main character (and narrator) is a teenager living with her mom and younger brother in New Jersey. This is one story that is not really focused on immigration/refugees; instead focusing on poverty, which is a different kind of stressful situation. The narrator has a very bad relationship with her mother; she constantly berates and abuses her daughter, verbally and sometimes physically.

Immigration is usually a grueling and unenjoyable process. If you add on being a refugee, the process becomes the ultimate test of strength and perseverance. You rarely ever end the journey the same person you were when you started. And based off of stuff that I’ve read in this class, many relationships cannot stand the aforementioned test. The situation is too stressful and strenuous on the psyche, usually in a negative way. In fact, I think that any stressful situation can take a toll on a relationship, in a multitude of different ways.

Works Cited: Nazario, Sonia. Enriques Journey. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2014.

Mbue, Imbolo. Behold the Dreamers: a Novel. New York: Random House Inc, 2017.

Meloy, Colin, Carson Ellis, and Junot Diaz. Wildwood. St. Louis, MO: Turtleback Books, 2017.

My goals for this essay are: to get as much writing time as I can, try to exceed the requirements and not do the bare minimum Have my writing be clearer get my essay proofread and go deeper into ideas that need it. I’m most proud of my essay is the part when I talked about the article because I feel like I went into depth and explained.

This is a picture of refugees trying to cross into another country. There are barbed wires that go from the ground and past their heads. When you look into the distance, it seems like the wires never end as if it’s a maze and what you can see past that is just barren land. It looks as though the people have been walking for a while. The man on the far left in the front is trying to squint to see how much longer the walk is for them. The child in red at the back looks like he or she has no clue as to what’s happening. Everyone is walking in pairs of three, probably because their traveling as a group or there isn’t enough room for everyone to walk together. Another thing is that everyone is wearing jeans and jackets. It’s nothing too heavy that might slow them down but no one is carrying luggage.

When it comes to moving to another country, it’s all about the different opportunities that you can have. The legal way of moving to America, getting a green card or an immigrant visa, can take more than 10 years. Some of the different ways of getting a visa are getting a family petition or an employment sponsor. Even with these options, people still have to get different forms and money. Another thing is that not everyone gets approved or don’t have enough time. That’s when people have to resort to sneaking into a country, which is dangerous and could put them back into the situation they once were or worse. After arriving and settling migrants need jobs and money to support themselves and whoever else might’ve arrived with them. Unfortunately, most jobs don’t pay as much and don’t give migrants the same respect as everyone else. The main jobs that people usually associate with migrants are agricultural workers, construction workers, drivers, tailors, maids, and housekeeping. What people don’t realize is that as long as they’re citizens and have working papers and some money to start with, they can be whatever want. It’s not uncommon for migrant families to have their own business because they do have a lot to bring to society and our economy.

The article, Immigration Must Be Considered An Opportunity For America Not A Problem by Steve Case says, “Countries are either open and growing — absorbing new ideas, people and ways of doing things — or they are closed and falling behind, trying to defend the status quo, exclude outsiders and shut out new thinking.” This quote relates to my topic of opportunities because if countries continue to evolve and let the idea of immigration become normalized then people won’t have to come here both illegally and legally just to worry about getting deported or getting treated as less of a person. It might also the immigration process easier. People wouldn’t have to worry about the types of forms they have and when they might expire, and they wouldn’t need immigration lawyers.

The book that I’m currently reading, Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue, starts off with a guy named Jende, who moved from Cameroon (Central Africa) to America with his wife and daughter, going to a job interview to be a chauffeur. He was able to get his job because a family member talked to the employer and recommended him even though Jende did have to lie about his work permit and driver’s license. A quote from page 17 says, “You think a black man gets a good job in this country by sitting in front of white people and telling the truth? Please, don’t make me laugh. I just didn’t want to tell you beforehand and get you even more nervous.” When moving to somewhere new, people should make sure that they have connections with others so that they can get job opportunities and things that would put them in a comfortable position.

In Exit West, the form of magical realism that the author used was portals for the people that needed it the most. There were numerous people that went through portals to go somewhere safer than where they originally were. Nadia and Saeed needed to leave their home country as soon as possible because of the ongoing violence and lack of resources that were there. In Chapter 6, they were successfully able to pass through a portal that took them to a restroom on the Greek island of Mykonos. I used this example because, without the portals, the refugees in the book would probably still be at wherever they came from.

In conclusion, opportunities are a huge part of migration. Without opportunities, most of us wouldn’t be where we are today.

Citations: “How Does the U.S. Refugee System Work?” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/how-does-us-refugee-system-work.

Case, Steve. “Immigration Must Be Considered an Opportunity for America, Not a Problem.” Vox, Vox, 3 Aug. 2016, https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2016/8/3/12362390/immigration-visa-policy-entrepreneur-immigrant-education-snapdeal-kunal-bahl.

Change is a natural part of life. If happens to everyone. Little do they know this family’s life is about to change forever. The family above is standing with their backs to the camera. The people, a man and a woman with two young children. They are all standing on a marshy landing, with water to the right of them, and the front. There is a young boy maybe aged 3. He is wearing a jumpsuit with a sailor-like flap on the neck. It has a black square with a thick white stripe on the edges. He is gripping the hand of a broad-shouldered man. He [the man] is wearing an all-black suit and a hat. In his other hand is a tattered briefcase. Next to him stands a woman wearing a dark-colored dress and a hat, she has a jacket draped on her arm. Next to her is a wicker basket with leather handles. Next to her is a boy around 10 years old. He is wearing a tailored jacket and a hat. They are all staring out across the water. They see buildings and cloudy sky. The buildings are tall and short wide, and thin. It is the New York City skyline. The immigrant hub of the 20th century. The family will now have to learn how to adapt to this new and strange American world.

Immigration has changed so much over the past 100 years. For Central American immigrants, they often have to come here illegally. Many of them are minors. They have to traverse the dangerous journey to America, then they have to learn how to assimilate into American society. They have to learn how to speak English and hide their culture. If they don’t if, they seem at all like they don’t belong then they could risk deportation. In Sonia Navereo’s book Enrique’s Journey, she says; “For if he were deported a migration saga that began with Enrique’s mother departing from Honduras will begin anew.” This shows the day to day fear undocumented immigrants feel. It shows how many people come for a better life only to be greeted by fear. If we call America the land of opportunities then who are these opportunities for? Since immigrants are not always given the wealth and prosperity the metaphorical immigration brochures promise. She later talks about how Enrique’s undocumented daughter has to learn how to hide behind cars when police are near to prevent deportation. This is crazy; no child should have to live with this fear. Kids, especially undocumented kids should not have to worry about being deported. They should be able to play with friends and go to school. They should not be concerned with being deported. I can’t imagine what it must be like for a child to be living this way, fearing that the only home they have ever known will be taken from them.

This contrasts from immigration at the turn of the century. At this time the country needed workers, so they wanted immigrants. This meant it was way less scary to be undocumented. Citizenship was also different back then in the 1800’s citizenship was tied to your marriage this meant that if someone married a U.S. citizenship they were granted citizenship as well. I know that in my family my father’s great aunt tried to enter this country but was barred because she was a single woman with children; the United States was worried she would be a public charge. Immigration was not anywhere as close to as monitored as it today. The first time there was any moderation was the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. This act prohibited Chinese Immigrants from entering the United States for ten years and prevent those already in America from being naturalized. Before the 1960s there were a lot of restrictions on who could come to this country. These include quotas that stated how many people of each nationality would be allowed in the United States. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 changed this, this act removed the quotas and allowed relatives to sponsor their loved ones’ admission into the U.S.

These two immigration experiences are vastly different from one another. Eastern European Immigrants were and to an extent are still welcomed into the country with open arms. On the other hand, Central American Immigrants who come here now without documentation are greeted with fear and discrimination. A lot of this has to do with how our government treats these people. In 2003 an organization called Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was founded as a response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Its main priority is to remove or deport immigrants living in this country without documentation. Under the Obama administration, their priority was to deport undocumented immigrants who had committed serious crimes. Now under our current administration, they are targeting any undocumented people regardless of criminal status. This instills fear in so many people living here. Some undocumented people came here as young children. America is the only home they know. Under the Obama administration, there was a program called DACA (Deferred Action for Child Arrivals) put in place to protect these people. This prevents them from deportation and gives them a work permit. On September 5, 2017, our president, Donald Trump announced he was going to end DACA this put many undocumented people in fear. As of now those who have DACA can still have it renewed. This leaves the question of; what happens when this program is terminated will it’s beneficiaries be forced to live in the shadows? This is not the only thing this administration has done to hurt immigrants on the campaign trail President Trump threatened and eventually was able to build a physical separation between the United States and Mexico. Even threatening to do this promotes xenophobic ideals. It allows those who feel the same thing to use these ideas to hurt others.

How our country treats immigrants is not okay. Immigrants should not have to live in the shadows. They should be welcomed into our country with open arms. We should be building bridges, not walls. As Emma Lazarus said “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Let’s make this ring true as it did when it was put on a plaque below the Statue of Liberty in 1903.

These two immigration experiences are vastly different from one another. Eastern European Immigrants were and to an extent are still welcomed into the country with open arms. On the other hand, Central American Immigrants who come here now without documentation are greeted with fear and discrimination. A lot of this has to do with how our government treats these people. In 2003 an organization called Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was founded as a response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Its main priority is to remove or deport immigrants living in this country without documentation. Under the Obama administration, their priority was to deport undocumented immigrants who had committed serious crimes. Now under our current administration, they are targeting any undocumented people regardless of criminal status. This instills fear in so many people living here. Some undocumented people came here as young children. America is the only home they know. Under the Obama administration, there was a program called DACA (Deferred Action for Child Arrivals) put in place to protect these people. This prevents them from deportation and gives them a work permit. On September 5, 2017, our president, Donald Trump announced he was going to end DACA this put many undocumented people in fear. As of now those who have DACA can still have it renewed. This leaves the question of; what happens when this program is terminated will it’s beneficiaries be forced to live in the shadows? This is not the only thing this administration has done to hurt immigrants on the campaign trail President Trump threatened and eventually was able to build a physical separation between the United States and Mexico. Even threatening to do this promotes xenophobic ideals. It allows those who feel the same thing to use these ideas to hurt others. How our country treats immigrants is not okay. Immigrants should not have to live in the shadows. They should be welcomed into our country with open arms. We should be building bridges, not walls. As Emma Lazarus said “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Let’s make this ring true as it did when it was put on a plaque below the Statue of Liberty in 1903.

Works Cited Nixon, R., & Qiu, L. (2018, July 3). What Is ICE and Why Do Critics Want to Abolish It? Retrieved January 10, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/us/politics/fact-check-ice-immigration-abolish.html.

Nazario, S. (2014). Enriques journey. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks.

                Introduction

My goals for my paper was having enough evidence making sure my writing has some kind of flow, have a way to ease into my essay, and no grammar errors. Something that I am proud of with my writing is that I actually accomplished all of my goals that I had when I wrote my paper. I would like my readers to notice my analysis and how I tried to relate real life people when talking about change.

                Environment Changes 

If all places were the same, people would stay where they are, instead of exploring other options. In different areas of the world, there are always different things going on. The main differences are people, culture, and opportunities.. Human migration usually happens when there is something going on that shouldn’t be or just looking for a better life. When coming to a new environment, change plays a big part in adapting.

Something that is common in certain places is refugee crisis. By having refugee crisis, it makes people want to get out of wherever they are to keep themselves and family as safe as possible. With this, they have to leave where they came from and start a new life. For example, in the book Exit West, Nadia and Saeed had to adapt to all the places they went to, so that they can be safe. When Saeed and Nadia arrived to a specific house, after going through a magical door, Nadia immediately made herself at home. She did this by immediately washing her clothes and taking a hot shower to get herself and her clothes clean. Saeed was shocked by how fast Nadia was adapting to where she was, but at the same time, Nadia knew she had to adapt sooner than later. From this example, this shows that since this is a new change, you have to learn how to be comfortable, because everywhere you go isn’t always going to be what you want it to be.

Another example is when Darling first came to America in the book We Need New Names. One of the first things she had to adapt to in America was the seasonal weather. At this time, it was winter, and Darling has never experience the outside being as cold as it was, because in Africa, it’s usually always warm. By Darling feeling something new, it shows that each day she will have to adapt to something, until she’s used to it.

Once you are used to the environment you are in, that’s when the change within yourself really starts. For example, in the book We Need New Names, one of the things that Darling starts to change is her appearance. When she used to live in Paradise, she didn’t like getting dressed up or taking showers. The only time that she got dressed up and clean was when she had to go to church, but once she arrived to the United States, that changed. On page 169, it says, “I finish putting on my lip gloss, smack my lips together like I’ve seen Aunt Fostalina do.” This specific quote shocked me, because back in Paradise, Darling barely even wanted to take showers. Now that she is in America, she is being exposed to different things. With her being in America, she can be herself and most importantly, focus on what she wants to be in the future without being judged by others. Darling trying new things also shows that she is growing up in a way. Usually when girls wear makeup around her age, it shows that she is starting to mature and interested. Appearance is something that changes in lots of girls as they get older. It’s a preference that every girl has and it’s something that frequently changes.

Another way that Darling has changed in the book We Need New Names, is her way with communication. The day that Darling was leaving to come to the United States, she promised her friends that she would call and send letters to them, but that changed once she settled in. On page 212, it says, “One part is yearning for my friends; the other doesn’t know how to connect with them anymore, as if they are people I’ve never met.” This quote explains that there’s one part of Darling that feels like she will always miss her friends and misses the things they used to do together, but she also feels like she can’t connect with them anymore. This has a lot to do with coming to America, of course. Since her friends are back in Africa, they don’t know what it feels like to live in America. By Darling living in America, she is starting to adjust, and the girl she was back in Africa is slowly fading. Change can sometimes be a good thing and others times it can be a bad thing. The good and the bad part about it is that it can either make you a better or worse person. There is conflict that comes with this change. By deciding how you want to handle change, there are other people that will like or dislike the person you’ve become.

Something similar to this is Exit west, it says, “While they wished to look out for each other, and to keep tabs on each other, staying in touch took a toll on them, serving as an unsettling reminder of a life not lived, and also they grew less worried each for the other, less worried that the other would need them to be happy, and eventually a month went by without any contact, and then a year, and then a lifetime.” This quote shows that relationships is another thing that doesn’t always work out. The feelings that people can have towards each other can change by the changes people make with themselves. Changes in friendships and relationships are always going to happen. You might not see who a specific person for who they really are, until later on. By having a different perspective of someone makes you not know how to connect with them anymore.

In conclusion, change can happen in multiple forms. Change can happen with your appearance, communication, and your connection towards people. These types of changes aren’t something that is made by force; it is made normally as you are processing as a person. Some people may or may not like the new changes you make within yourself. The more people are exposed to new things and new people, changes within the self’s mind start to change as well.

Citations:

Quotes from We Need New Names and Exit West

“Exit West Quotes by Mohsin Hamid.” Goodreads, Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/51234185-exit-west.