An Immigrant: A Short Story

When I was deliberating topics for my case study ethnography report I was inspired to examine some one very close to me who is "undocumented", someone whose experience I have seen first hand, some one who has affected my life and understanding of immigrants with his situation; my partner, Mario. This class has exposed us to many writings on the subjects of migration, immigration and emigration. I began to compare the concepts and information in the readings to Mario’s personal situation. I was curious if his answer would be "In search of a better life" when asked, "Why did you come here?"

Hello reader, I’m about to tell you a story of some of my life. I am not normally one to volunteer details about myself, which I’ll remain somewhat reserved or completely leave some events out of this autobiography. Nonetheless, I believe I can still make my story interesting for the reader. I was born 1979, in Tampa, Florida; which, is also the same day my biological father decided to leave my mother and I. My mother isn’t a native Floridian, but had moved there with her family when she was still an infant, and had spent most of her life growing up in Florida. Needless to say, my father leaving was not an exciting time for my mother and I. Although she was employed Jimmy Cater was president and had taken the nation into

“Mom, will I ever be treated as a regular person? When will I be like the others without people look at me in a strange way and make fun of me, when mom? When?” Those were the questions I did to my mom almost every day after getting home from school. Fourteen years ago that my parents brought me to this country offering a better life with better opportunities than where I was born. I was seven years old when came to the United States, but I still remember the happiness I felt when I first step in this country. Throughout the years, I have realize that not everything is easy and simple as I imagined. My parents worked in the fields because of the lack of a social security and not knowing how to speak English. Many Americans do not know how hard it is the life of an immigrant, they should have a consideration for us and not just blame us for the deviance of the United States.

I was born on january/31/1919 in Vietnam and immigrated to France. In 1942 I was studying at the university in Nice, where I met a fellow student, Jadwiga Alfabet, a Jewish refugee from Poland. In the summer of 1942 the French police began arresting Jews with foreign nationality. In September 1943 the Germans occupied Nice and all the Italian controlled zones and we were in danger of deportation. I decided to hide not only my wife, but also her relatives. In November 1943 I took a train with a few of my wife's relatives to get them in touch with a smuggler who could take them to Switzerland, I made this trip several

Humanity is ever so much more complicated than one could have ever imagined. Humans can thrive on change, but ultimately look for something to declare as home. In search of this home people travel long distances and risk everything they have. When an American contemplates the word immigrant, one imagines the countless people from Mexico crossing into our country or the refugees that hope to make this country their home. What eludes most of us, however, is the reality that most people were, at one point, immigrants to this country and that our forefathers came here exactly the same as refugees come today. What is brought to mind when I hear the word immigrant is hope and perseverance. I remember the countless people who have traveled here

     It started like any other day up on the hills of Rhein, but that day had the scent of freedom floating in the air. The journey ahead of me had been teasing me for weeks, I was just so anxious to get away and start all over again. I had made certain arrangements before I left, our family dog was not allowed on the ship that we were going to be arriving in America, so I had my parents take care of the dog for us. It was a hard thing to do seeing that the dog had become more than just a pet to the children and I, for we almost would recognize him as a family member. Most of our possessions we were able to keep with us, but we had to keep the load light since it was going to be a tight stay in the steerage. I

Looking back to the past, before I was born, I never really knew where my ancestors came from or why they even came here in the first place. It was never made a big deal in my family to talk about our history and the reasons why they came to American. So, I decided to do a little research and find out a little bit about myself, my culture, and my communication styles. I asked for a little bit of help from my grandmothers from each side of my family. I got an abundance of information that opened my eyes to a new past that I didn’t even know about.

Today, I witnessed a young woman with her little daughter dropped multiple hundred bills in the parking lot prior to getting in her car. An associate saw the woman dropped her money and tried to get her attention, but was successful, so he puts the money in his pocket. I instantly approached the woman and briefly told her what I just witnessed. She asked me to go back to the store with her to vouch for her to the store manager. I agreed. Once we informed the store manager and confronted the associate who put the money inside his pocket instead of reporting it to security or his manger. She was able to procure her money back. Then, she told me I was a life saver. The woman explained to me she just got laid and really needed the money to support

I’m juror number eleven I immigrated from Europe to the US I work as a watchmaker.I believe in the justice system in America and will see that it gets carried out fairly and properly. I’m quite, polite, honest, educated, and I’m observant to all the facts, I will take everything into consideration before making a decision on a verdict.As I said before Im quiet and poliet I keep to myself untill I am asked to speak or when details need to be remembered and I treat everyone one with respect. At first I believed that the defendant was guilty but as we deliberated I came to see that there was a reasonable doubt that the defendant was innocent.

My dad teaching me how to drive is a dream. Seeing him come home every night from work is a dream. His attendance at my graduation later this year is a dream.

When my mom told me to pack some clothes I asked her why she told me because we aren't we are going to Wisconsin to be with your family and ice cream with my brother when she told us it will happen in my room and she told us I was reading a book when it started my mom came in you don't me pack some clothes in your back she told me why where are we going mom I told her my mom told me to tell my brother Alex to come inside my room and said Wisconsin and said we're going to Wisconsin to see your dad's family oh yeah going to see my baby cousins next thing that happened we were in the gas station putting gas on the car and getting some chips and sandwiches then we were on the road and we were in Arkansas City my dad told us we were asleep during

When the lands check out and take the crops with it the whole family living off of it was not only out of a job but also a way of life. I can relate to this though my father losing his job and my view on virtually everything being shattered or distorted in some way. When the land dried up and killed the crop is representative of the breadwinner losing their job though some circumstance. I connected this to when the recession was in full swing my father unfortunately was laid off and my mother was left to support our whole family on her retail job. Both the Joads and my family were left down stream without a paddle by some form of unforeseen circumstance. Before my father lost his job i had a view similar to almost every kid that their parents

Fear. It’s something each and every person must learn to deal with and conquer in their own way. In the yesterday aspect of my life, I had to live in fear of my mom being taken away from me, at a helplessly young age. I am the daughter of an immigrant; my mom does not have a license, nor can she legally get a “real job.” I have been raised by my single mother all my life, my father went to jail and was deported back to Colombia when I was two and I have had no contact with him ever since. She sacrificed everything for me. Each time she put her foot on the pedal, whether it was to drive to work, to make sure I had a meal every day or even to drive me to my dance studio just for my enjoyment, she put herself at risk. She has always worked selflessly

Another thing that was very detailed in this chapter was the immigrants overall journey and experience while traveling. Due to the many attempts they go through because they are caught and deported various times along the way they eventually learn tricks and shortcuts in the streets and on the trains. Enrique and many of the other immigrants have an idea of which paths to take and they know where they’ll find bandits, gangs, and police and therefore they try to avoid them at all costs. They are also aware of the residents in the towns and whether they’d be more sympathetic towards them and help them out or whether they will send them away with nothing to eat. The immigrants also know that if they ask for food by themselves rather than in groups

“Freedom isn’t free,” William said. “Freedom and individual responsibility require hard work. Some people are willing to give up their freedom in exchange for nanny state liberalism. That’s where this nation was once heading before we turned things around. Here in this barn right now you have people exercising their freedom to choose to be a part of a community. In Canada, the government makes that choice for you. So, you have to ask yourself, would you rather live free, or supplicate yourself to a system that places no value on the