Category Archives: Immigrants

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Dispelling Myths About Migration — my quest blog

16 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by in Immigrants, United States

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With thousands of migrants from Central America currently stranded just south of the US border in Mexico, it’s time to ignore the political rhetoric coming from Washington for a few minutes and focus on the reasons so many choose to leave country, culture and family behind and walk 2,500 miles (4,000 kms) to an unknown […]

via Dispelling Myths About Migration — my quest blog

This Christmas, I find no reason for celebration. My thoughts are with the desperate mothers and fathers from Guatemala and other Central American countries who seek only a secure life for their children. If we, the world’s largest economy, cannot provide them with refuge, who will?

Learn about Henry Lewis, my guest blogger.

 

Happy National Caribbean American Heritage Month

10 Sunday Jun 2018

Posted by in Immigrants

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Celebrate National Caribbean American Heritage Month

 

June is National Caribbean American Heritage Month – a time for celebrating the legacy of Caribbean immigrants and their descendants in American history and culture. Given the silence in the mainstream media, no one seems to care.

In her June 7th article, “It’s a Month to Celebrate Caribbean Immigrants but Who Really Cares?” Felicia J. Persaud – a New York-based, Guyana-born journalist and media entrepreneur – observes that the silence on NCAHM goes beyond media outlets. Not a word, she says, from the many Caribbean-American federal and state officials from across the country. Not even from celebrities like Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Jason Derulo, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Shaggy, and others. Persaud’s list goes on.

I understand Persaud’s concern that “if as Caribbean immigrants we show we don’t care about our own month, then no one else will.” Yet, I can appreciate the silence. We are not living in normal times, especially for immigrants from what our President denigrates as “shithole” countries. US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are on the prowl for undocumented immigrants deemed animals, drug dealers, murderers, rapists, and terrorists. When one is targeted for verbal and physical abuse, incarceration, and deportation, one doesn’t go about waving a flag or twerking in a celebratory street carnival.

Our white American brothers and sisters in towns and cities devastated by the flight of American manufacturers are suffering. While the hopeless are killing themselves with opiate use, others are voicing their anger. They know not that we are all victims of a capitalist system that cannibalizes human and non-human life. A system that discards the useless and worthless. They know not how the free flow of capital and production sweeps across our once secure lives, leaving us struggling for footing and air.

In a recent interview with Karl Marlin of Truthout, Henry A. Giroux, an American and Canadian scholar and cultural critic, notes:

When selected elements of history are suppressed and historical consciousness and memory no longer provide insights into the workings of repression, exploitation and resistance, people are easily trapped in forms of historical and social amnesia that limit their sense of perspective, their understanding of how power works and the ways in which the elements of fascism sustain themselves in different practices.

As a Caribbean immigrant and writer in America, I plod forward in building bridges, however narrow or rickety. We all share the same humanity. As a fellow blogger and poet, Miriam Ivarsam, expresses so eloquently in her poem “Per Universum,”

Through universe we flow
and It through us.
Ever increasing harmony.

Happy NCAHM to my fellow Caribbean immigrants and Caribbean-Americans across this land that we love and call home!

“Immigrant Song” – Poem by Korean-American Poet Sun Yung Shin

02 Sunday Jul 2017

Posted by in Immigrants, Poetry, United States

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Happy Fourth of July America

My Poetry Corner July 2017 features the poem “Immigrant Song” by Sun Yung Shin, a Korean-American poet, writer, and educator. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she was one year old when an American couple adopted her. Raised in Chicago, she later moved to Minneapolis where she earned a BA in English from Macalester College and a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of St. Thomas. She teaches at Macalester College and lives with her husband and their two children. 

When asked about her relationship with the English language in an interview with Lightsey Darst for Minnesota Artists (January 2016), Sun Yung Shin said that strangers often question her ability to speak English without a “foreign” accent. Her fluency and sense of belonging as an Asian American offend them.

Shin’s opening verses in “Immigrant Song” from her poetry collection, Skirt Full of Black (winner of the 2007 Asian American Literary Award for Poetry), express the restraints she faces to achieve her full potential as a human being. Continue reading →

“Destination” – Poem by Guyanese-Canadian Poet Janet Naidu

01 Monday May 2017

Posted by in Guyana, Immigrants, Poetry

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East Indian Indentured Laborers

In commemoration of the centennial of the abolition of Indian Indentureship on March 12, 1917, my Poetry Corner May 2017 features the poem “Destination” by Janet Naidu, a Guyanese-born poet, writer, social activist, and life-skills coach. She migrated to Canada in 1975, at the age of twenty-two, where she obtained a BA in Political Science and Caribbean Studies from the University of Toronto and, later in life, an LLB from the University of London (UK).

With the abolition of slavery in 1834 and the end of the apprenticeship scheme in 1838, the mass exodus of ex-slaves from plantations across the British Empire created a dire need for a regular and reliable supply of labor. On May 5, 1838, the first group of about 400 Indian indentured laborers, on a five-year contract, arrived in British Guiana on the sailing ships, Whitby and Hesperus. By 1917, their numbers totaled over 238,000 Indians, comprising 42 percent of the colony’s population. Only 65,538 returned to India on terminating their contract. Janet Naidu’s grandparents from Tamil Nadu were among those who arrived on the SS Ganges on November 8, 1915.

Sailships Whitby and Hesperus arriving at Port Georgetown - British Guiana - May 5, 1838

Born in the village of Covent Garden, East Bank Demerara, Naidu was the seventh of eight children. Like his parents, her father was a cane cutter. Her mother sold home-grown, green vegetables in the market.

In “Destination” from her poetry collection, Rainwater (2005), Naidu conjures the immigrants’ fearsome voyage across the ocean for an unknown destination. Continue reading →

Making America Great Again?

30 Sunday Aug 2015

Posted by in Immigrants, United States

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USA Map showing Poverty Rate for Total Population by County 2013

Map of USA showing Poverty Rate for Total Population by County 2013
Source: The Washington Post

Here in the United States, there is a presidential candidate, a businessman-turned-politician, who is leading the polls for his political party. I prefer not to name him; he feeds on media coverage, good or bad. I’ll call him PC. The slogan of his campaign is “Make America Great Again.”

PC promises to resolve the problem of illegal immigrants living in the USA. In his estimation, most of the illegal immigrants from Mexico are criminals. For readers who don’t already know, his solution is to build a wall along our border with Mexico and have the Mexican government pay for it, because they are making lots of money doing business with the U.S. Will building a wall to shut us in from Mexico and the rest of Central America make us great again? Continue reading →

Nell Vera Lowe Williams: A “Fierce” Caribbean Woman

16 Sunday Aug 2015

Posted by in Family Life, Immigrants, People, Relationships

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Nell Vera Lowe Williams - Jamaica - 1940s

Nell Vera Lowe Williams (1918-2006)
Jamaica – 1940s
Photo Credit: Finding Samuel Lowe

On August 1, 2015, I met author and entrepreneur Paula Williams Madison at the Leimert Park Book Fair in Los Angeles. What a surprise to learn that our grandfathers were both Hakka Chinese immigrants to the Caribbean!

Born in Harlem, New York, to Jamaican immigrants, Madison is the youngest of three siblings. Her memoir, Finding Samuel Lowe: China, Jamaica, Harlem, recounts her quest to find her maternal Chinese grandfather. At the heart of her riveting journey is her mother, Nell Vera Lowe Williams.

My connection with Nell Vera Lowe was immediate and intense. I saw the multitude of Caribbean women who fight against all odds for their place in the sun, raising their children to become achievers. I saw my mother. I saw myself. Continue reading →

Celebrating Caribbean American Heritage

14 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by in Immigrants, United States

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Map CARICOM Member States

Map of CARICOM Member States
Source: Your US-Brazil Trade Assist

Since 2006 by annual presidential proclamation, June is National Caribbean American Heritage Month in recognition of the significance of Caribbean people and their descendants to the history and culture of the United States. As President Obama said in his Proclamation on May 29, 2015:

Caribbean Americans have shaped the course of our country since the earliest chapters of our history, and they continue to drive our Nation to realize the promise of our founding.  During National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, we honor the courage and perseverance of the Caribbean-American community, and we rededicate ourselves to building opportunity and protecting human rights for all our citizens. Continue reading →

When will we learn?

27 Sunday Jul 2014

Posted by in Human Behavior, Immigrants, Save Our Children, United States

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American Protesters in Murrieta

Illegal Immigration or a Humanitarian Crisis?
American Protesters against influx of Central American Refugees
Murrieta – California – July 2014
Photo Credit: Politicus USA

 

Our choices, our behavior, our actions have consequences. Some good. Some bad. Some consequences take more than a lifetime for manifestation. That’s why it’s important to study history. History that distorts the truth is useless and harmful for learning.

In high school, I hated studying history. I saw no connection to my life. I finally get it. Everything that’s assailing us today has its roots in the distant and recent past. Not only have America’s foreign policies supported dictatorship governments that heap hardships upon their citizens, but we also have trade policies that affect local economies and peoples’ livelihood.

Consider the current overwhelming number of unaccompanied refugee children arriving at America’s southwest borders. The majority of them are fleeing gang and state violence in their homelands in Central America: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. These three developing countries are part of the six-nation CAFTA-DR Free Trade Agreement with the United States, fully implemented in 2006.

Inconsequential? Coincidental?

The world we live in is of our own making. We set the course decades ago. Securing our borders with more troops will not resolve the humanitarian crisis we helped to spawn. Continue reading →

The Dream Act: Freeing Undocumented Youth to Contribute to US Economic Growth – Part 2

29 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in Immigrants, United States

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Source: eduinreview.com

The Dream Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) was first introduced in the US Senate in 2001. Under this Act, only immigrants who entered the United States at ages 15 and under, and have completed elementary and secondary education in the US will qualify for citizenship. But it is no give-away of Green Cards.

Under the rigorous provisions of the Dream Act, qualifying undocumented youth would be eligible for a 6 year long conditional path to citizenship that requires completion of a college degree or two years of military service (dreamact.info).

Moreover, the Dream Act does not require states to provide any benefits to undocumented students, nor does it make these students eligible for federal financial aid (naca.net.org).

In a December 2010 Report, the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation calculated that approval of the Dream Act would reduce US deficits by about $1.4 billion over the period 2011-2020 and increase government revenues by $2.3 billion over the next 10 years (cbo.gov).

Legalizing workers increases income tax revenues. Also, incomes generally increase for college-degree workers, thereby increasing tax revenues. Yet, when re-introduced in May 2011, the bill failed to pass.

So why is there gridlock on passing this legislation? Mostly fear as far as I can see:

  • Fear that more people will illegally invade the United States.
  • Fear that rampant fraud will infiltrate the application process for citizenship.
  • Fear that competition will increase for limited places in public universities and community colleges.
  • Fear that illegal parents of qualifying minors will gain “backdoor amnesty.”

Perhaps, there is also another fear, not publicized:

  • Fear that cheap, undocumented workers willing to break their backs and work long hours on our farms and in our factories will evaporate.

I do not know the answer to our immigration conundrum. In the hands of our politicians, it becomes a sword and a palm leaf. My fears about migrating to Brazil, and later to the United States, can fill this page. The majority of those fears did not materialize.

As a former international trade professional, I know that while our trade practices benefit American corporations, they impoverish small farmers and producers. Evidence abound that our NAFTA and CAFTA free trade agreements have increased poverty in Mexico and Central America.

People facing starvation and, in some cases, death under dictatorship governments supported by giant corporations will penetrate national borders.

I applaud California Governor Jerry Brown in taking the first positive step of dealing with the needs of our undocumented immigrant youth. The California Dream Act, signed in October 2011 and effective on 1 January 2013, will qualify them for state-funded financial aid for college. To take advantage of these benefits, they must prove they are in the process of legalizing their immigration status.

At last, there is hope for Antonio and thousands like him who live among us. I would like to think that some day, as a mathematics teacher, Antonio will inspire his students to achieve great things for America.

The Dream Act: Freeing Undocumented Youth to Contribute to US Economic Growth

22 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in Immigrants, United States

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Source: ColorLines.com

When my husband and I left Guyana to start a new life in Brazil, our sons had no say in our decision. They were only two and four years old. Fleeing our oppressive government, my husband and I sought a more secure environment for them.

Millions of parents make a similar decision for their children’s well-being. Wars, famines, natural disasters, drug violence, ethnic or religious persecution, and other life-threatening situations force adults to migrate with or without their children to other countries.

The United States, still the planet’s top economy and world power, was built by immigrants. That this nation continues to attract more immigrants attests to its greatness and promise of liberty and law.

My family and I were blessed to be living in Brazil when President Sarney passed the Amnesty Decree-Law, allowing illegal and other immigrants with irregular status to apply for permanent residence. How different our lives would have been if we had continued to live in the shadows! Today, I would not be in a position to share my experience and knowledge of the Brazil market. To make a difference, however small, in another person’s life is of great importance. For this we are born: to contribute our talents and skills for the betterment of our community, our nation, and our planet. This gives meaning and purpose to our lives.

Two years ago at the Los Angeles Festival of Books, I met a Guatemalan man in his early twenties. I will call him Antonio. While Antonio and I sat next to each other waiting for an author presentation, we chatted about our writing interests and about our origins. While I am often mistaken for a Latino, my accent gives away my Caribbean origin. Antonio said I sounded like one of his friends from Belize. I hear that a lot.

Antonio is a poet and essayist with a fascination for mathematics. He was attending a writing course as well as classes in advance mathematics. Having successfully completed high school, he dreamed of going to college to become a mathematics high school teacher.

“What’s preventing you from pursuing your dream?” I asked.

“I don’t have documents,” Antonio said in a low voice.

“How did you go to high school without documents?”

As my sons had already completed high school in Brazil, I have little knowledge of the US education system in relation to immigrants. Antonio explained that while undocumented students can attend elementary and secondary schools, they need documents to attend college.

“We are fighting to get the Dream Act passed by Congress,” Antonio said. “It’s the only way we can further our education and get good jobs.”

Like my sons, Antonio had left his country of birth at a very young age. He had had no say in his parents’ decision to illegally enter the United States. According to the Dream Act Portal (dreamact.info), about 65,000 young people share Antonio’s fate. They see themselves as Americans and want to be recognized as such.

To be continued next week…