Blog #5

Ligny’s blog was very interesting because she wrote about some of her ancestors. I found it amusing because a lot of people in these days does not care about their ancestors, or do not know anything about them. I also read the article that she posted about the Arizona law. I agree with her, it is a, with all respect, pointless law that won’t benefit anybody. If they keep immigrants off the country, nobody would do the dirty jobs, and the country would be filled with a lot of trash and bacteria.

            I enjoyed Elsa’s Japanese Immigration post because to be honest, I didn’t know anything about Japanese immigrants. Her post was very well written, I understood everything she wrote and I found it very interesting. Who would have thought that the Japanese got along with Americans before the Pearl Harbor incident? I thought that their country was economically stable and they did not have to immigrate, but I was wrong, every country faces a lot of problems, even the powerful ones.

            I liked Yaidy’s immigration journal about an Italian person. She portrayed a lot of emotions through her character and I felt that it was a real story; very well written. I also enjoyed her video about racism. It’s incredible how racist people still can be these days, and make drama of such small situations… just like High School.

            Paulette’s post about her ancestors was really cool. Her paternal and maternal sides are very different, and that’s what makes her so unique. She’s descendant from two different types of European groups! I also enjoyed her video about the Arizona law but I do not agree with her. The United States wasn’t found ten, or twenty years ago, it was founded many centenaries ago. The Europeans invaded a country that clearly wasn’t their own, and they didn’t care. The “founders” of this country came from different places of the World, in other words, THEY ARE ALL IMMIGRANTS. I think the actual Americans are contradicting themselves because basically they are all immigrants, and they are such fools if they think that they OWN the country, not even Barack Obama, the president, owns it. If the country was based on immigration on the first place, why should it stop now?

Blog #4

I am a Puerto Rican and I am proud of my roots, my customs and my people, but I do realize that the living in these days it’s hard on the island. I understand that when people immigrate, is for getting better opportunities. In my family, there are some cases of immigration. My grandfather immigrated to Dominican Republic to find better opportunities. The conditions of that country aren’t better than Puerto Rico’s, but he held a really important job there, and thanks to that he has a lot of money. I know of another aunt that she went to Philadelphia for the same reasons as my grandfather, to find a better job. Because she spoke good English, and was not an illegal immigrant, she was able to find a good job, but she knows of other people that didn’t have the same luck as her. She knows some Mexicans, and they all have small and dirty jobs, smart people, but because their illegal status, they aren’t able to find better positions. I know that my grandfather and my aunt are very proud of being Puerto Rican, they watch sport competitions and beauty pageants, and they still root for Puerto Rico on those things. They read the Puerto Rican newspaper everyday on the internet, and they always keep in touch with the ones they left behind when they decided to leave. I have 100% Puerto Rican blood in my heart and veins, I am, and I will always be proud of being who I am, but in order to succeed, we have to make some decisions. If I leave this country, it will be to find better opportunities, but I would keep all the memories and good moments in my heart.

Blog #3

            I read the article “Oh, You Mean Those Immigrants” written by Kim Antieau. More than an article is her telling her husband’s story. Mario (her husband) is a European, and because he’s second name is Milosevic (the Butcher of the Balkans) he thought that he would not be able to enter to the States; fortunately he did. She narrates how he had to answer some questions, like “Are you planning on overthrowing the government of the United States?” I honestly have to say, what kind of fool would ask that question, and what kind of fool would say “yes” to that question? She then narrates how she have heard people talking bad about Mexican immigrants, but when she says that her husband is also an immigrant, they said “No, not that kind of immigrant”.

            Apparently, some people are not against immigrants after all, they’re against Latin immigrants. They say that “we’re taking their jobs” but they have such a big ego that they won’t accept that they can’t do those dirty jobs because they consider themselves superior. As for the “Are you planning on overthrowing the government of the United States?” question, it was very dumb. A psychopath can be Italian, Mexican, and even American. There can be crazy Americans that are planning to do this, but they won’t noticed because their too busy bothering immigrants. They also have to remember that if they are judging immigrants, they should judge themselves, because the only, TRUE AMERICANS are Native Americans, so those people who judge are also immigrants. Is it really that hard to just share a country like good brothers? IS IT REALLY THAT HARD?

            I enjoyed the article because Kim, who is American, didn’t stayed quiet when people were talking bad about immigrants, she was heard, and even though it did nothing to the issue, she proved that not all Americans are against immigrants.

http://www.sentimentalrefugee.com/thoseimmigrants.html

Blog #2: Journal

March, 1849

   Aye mates, my name is Kaleb O’Connor and I am from Louisburg, Ireland. I am ten years old and I live with my dad, my mum and my twin sister Annika. Things are not doing great here; an Gorta Mór (The Irish Famine) is invading the whole country. Thousands have already died because of the weird diseases and starvation. Last month, our grandparents died, along with three of my cousins and my uncle and aunt. I miss them a lot. Mum told us that the only choice we have to live is to immigrate. The only problem is that they can’t afford four boat tickets; they only can afford mine and Annika’s. They told us that we can go there, because we’re young and strong, and we can stay with my mum’s aunt.  We can work there, so we can bring our parents later. We’re leaving for the place of dreams in two months.

May, 1849

   We are now at the Port. We already said our goodbyes. In tears, mum told us “Be brave my children, we’ll see each other again”, and then we got into the boat. It is indeed a long journey, and not in the best conditions, but we have to survive in order to live a better life. Two weeks and we’re still on the boat, today is our birthday, and some of the other kids got us some candy. We miss our parents so much. A couple of months have already passed and when we were losing our hope, there it is, on the Ellis Island, the big green lady, our freedom, what we came here for.

October, 1849

   Life in New York is really tough. Annika and I got jobs at a factory, and we go to school at the same time. We still do not have a lot of friends, just another girl who is also Irish and a French kid. I don’t know why Americans don’t like us; we have not done anything wrong to them. Yesterday we got a letter from our parents, they’re hoping that we will get the money soon, because things in Ireland are getting worse, more people are dying and they do not know if they will survive. Annika and I decided to drop from school so we can work all day and gain more money. I thought America was the land of dreams, but I was wrong.

February, 1850

   Work is so hard, even for eleven year-old twins. This morning Annika was so tired, that she did not wore her ponytail, and our superiors clearly told us that every girl should at least wear a ponytail for safety reasons. While we were working, a machine grabbed her hair and cut it, along with some parts of her hair. Her painful screams were heard everywhere, and didn’t stopped for hours. I was crying for help, but it was too late, she was not coming back. How I am going to tell mum and dad? I asked myself, as some workers threw her body away. Wait, they are really just throwing her body away? And we are still going to work? These people are animals, they don’t care about us! Why did we ever left Ireland? I got home, and I told my aunt what happened. She was already crying, how did she knew before I got home? Apparently, she was crying for another reason, it was a letter she got early. She lends me the letter, and as I read it, my eyes were tearful again. Dad died three months ago from starvation, and mum got a mortal disease that will end her life soon. I am all alone, all by myself, my whole family is dead, and where is the American Dream?

The End

Irish Immigrants: The Story of this Unique Group!

          

             Immigration has been a controversial topic in the States throughout the nation’s history. This problem did not start a few years ago with Latinos crossing the border illegally; it is much more than that. A lot of people from the Globe immigrate to America, including Irish people. A lot of reasons made the Irish leave their country, including population growth, and since Ireland is a small island, it wasn’t that hard to “fill the whole country”. Another reason was the political subordination and the controversy between different religions.

            For the Irish it was never easy to enter to the States. Many of them left their home because of the great famine that was killing thousands in the country. The journey was long and exhausting, but the worst part was, that their destination was not Heaven at all. Hey came to the country with no capital, no jobs, nothing, it was a new start, from the bottom.

            This group of people, like most of the foreigners in the country, took the harsh jobs, such as builders and peasants, but this trend started to change throughout the years. The city growth demanded more people to work, and the Irish began to take more “important” jobs. They began to work as policemen, firemen, and others.

            I have never cared for the Irish people, whenever I heard about them, I just thought of “St. Patrick’s Day” or the end of the rainbow. Thanks to this project I learn that these people are very special, not only because of the famous “St. Patrick’s Day”, but because they always do what they want to do, without caring about what other people think. They express themselves in a way that nobody else can do; they are, without any doubt, very unique.