As a kid, I grew up in North Africa as a Jewish woman. Morocco was owned by France for nearly 40 years and I was born during that timeline. Growing up, all the schools were heavily France-influenced because of their imperialization. Most of the topics we learned about were about France and we even had to learn French. I made ... Read More »
What was your life like in Ethiopia? Saba (name changed) was born in 1982 to loving parents in the capital city of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. The city name, translated from Amharic (the official language of Ethiopia) to English means new flower. The city name is apropos as Saba’s essence reminds me of a new flower by shedding beauty and ... Read More »
In the beginning, I grew up in a family of 11 with only 1 working mother. In order to keep her children healthy and alive, she had split us up to go live with her other family so that she could take care of a portion of us. I was one of the ... Read More »
Editor’s Note: Many African-Americans trace their roots back to slavery, but often the specific family’s early history in America as well as their country of origin has been erased. The story of these families are an integral part of the American story and slavery was a form of forced immigration. We pick up the family story as far back ... Read More »
Interviewee’s name: Stephen Country/place of origin: Nigeria Year of immigration: 2017 City and State where they settled in the United States: Rialto, California What was your motivation for migrating to the United States from Nigeria? The motivation was to have good life( to find greener pastures). Economic motivation: Economic hardship has been a powerful “push” factor for me. Economic hardship ... Read More »
My name is Sylivia, I was born in Bukoba, Tanzania on April 14, 1979. The early days in my hometown Bukoba are still in my fond memories. I grew up with my younger sisters under our loving parents. My father was a businessman, and my mother was a house mom. Our parents worked hard and afforded a decent life for ... Read More »
My great grandma’s name is Paule Lucienne Zahara Kalfon she is from Algeria her and her family were Sephardic Jews and lived there during the holocaust. I interviewed my dad about my great grandma (she goes by nana, it’s what she wanted to be called after I was born). She is my dad’s grandmother. I interviewed my Dad about her ... Read More »
Jacqui can still remember when her brother Mark came home one day in June 1976 and told her parents that South Africa had no future and that the family should leave together. Jacqui was 8 at the time, but Mark was ten years older and had recently entered into the police force due to South Africa’s compulsory military service. It ... Read More »
Ghezae Kidane tells his story to an audience in Palo Alto. He fled his home country of Eritrea when his stint in the national service looked never-ending. He is part of a mass exodus of young Eritreans who have become frustrated with the arbitrary rules of their “President-for-Life.” They risk their lives to escape. AUnited Nations Commission of Inquiry concluded ... Read More »
It was a light winter rain in Ethiopia. I was very angry when I left home that day because of what happened yesterday. I wish life was not so difficult, that my dad was not so strict. I thought this because my dad said that I was not allowed to hang out with my friends, after I arrived home late yesterday. It felt like I could not do ... Read More »