I interviewed my step-grandfather, Juan Herrera. He came into my family’s life in the mid-90s by marrying my biological grandmother on my mother’s side; however, his journey before joining my family is quite inspiring. He came to the United States in the 1980s as an undocumented immigrant to create a better life for himself and escape the poverty he was ... Read More »
We arrived in lovely Laramie, Wyoming, so my father could obtain his Ph.D. in meteorology. Yes, we stayed there until the completion of his degree, and then we moved to greener pastures. Quite literally there was no green and Laramie. It was either frozen or dirty, thank you very much. Then we moved to Mexico. My father was a ... Read More »
Mylene Madrid is a first-generation immigrant from the Philippines who arrived in the U.S. when she was nine with her mother and two sisters. Her kindness, compassion, and motivation to make the U.S. a safe and welcoming place for communities that are struggling for a new beginning in this country is both inspiring and relatable. Mylene’s father first arrived in ... Read More »
When Lang opened the door to her new home, she found the house fully furnished, the refrigerator and cupboards stocked with Vietnamese food, rice, bowls, even chopsticks! The church would take turns sitting with the kids whenever they went to ESL classes, even giving them a ride to the classes. Back in Vietnam, “we lived a very good life,” said ... Read More »
“After miles of walking and restless nights, we finally came to a stop.” This is the story of how my dad and my mom had to leave their home. Tonga, a place where there is peace and hardly any violence. People would wake up to the sound of singing birds and a beautiful view of the beach and the sun ... Read More »
Quy Lee tells a gripping story of his escape by boat from Viet Nam, along with 264 passengers he took along. Also, time in a Malaysian Refugee Camp, followed by a new life in the USA. Quy was part of a storytelling event called “When Home Won’t Let You Stay: Stories of Escape and Refuge.” It was co-sponsored by the ... Read More »
Rodolfo Vazquez was a kid, in a family of three boys and two girls. He grew up in Sonora, Mexico in the city of Obregon. At the age of 15, he started to work with his dad, helping him building houses near his house. That’s how Rodolfo started to get experience in building structures. At the age of 19, he ... Read More »
By 1920, almost two million Italians immigrated to the United States in search of the American Dream. My great-grandfather, Cecil and his family were five of the thousands coming from Southern Italy. To learn more about my family’s introduction to America, I went to my grandma, Tomasina Flora. She is Cecil’s oldest daughter and has always enjoyed telling all of ... Read More »
“I’m not an immigrant of the United States. I consider myself part of the brain drain, I came here simply for my education, expecting to return home.” My grandmother, Rita Tabourian, grew up in Beirut, Lebanon and attended school at the American University of Beirut. “My mother gave me the same opportunities she gave her son. She raised me to ... Read More »
“We left our house with our small bag to go to the cargo ship knowing that I may never see my house again, and that we could be shot for walking the streets during the curfew.” My uncle Tai was born and grew up in Cholon. Cholon was a district of Saigon which was the capital of old South Vietnam. ... Read More »