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 »
Don Long came to the United States as a refugee from Vietnam when he was a child. In reflecting on his journey prior to coming to this country, he talks about images from a refugee camp that was very crowded with over 30,000 individuals in a limited space that restricted their freedom. Although ... Read More »
Farah Barnia was born in Iran and immigrated to the United States by herself in May of 1978 at the age of sixteen. In her homeland, she lived with her parents and five siblings until the age of five, when her mom passed away. Her father considered himself a nationalist whose main goal was to make his country better. For ... Read More »
I am a fifth generation Japanese-Hawaiian child with not so many connections to my past. I had asked my mother who my family was and to my surprise, she told me about the history of both her side and my father’s side of my family. Like myself, she didn’t have any knowledge ... Read More »
The first thing I noticed when starting the interview was that It was kind of awkward. My dad and I haven’t talked deeply about his experience in coming to America, although I was excited to see where we would end up and how far back time would take us. I started ... Read More »
I began by asking what was life in Mexico before coming to the states. She said “life was okay, I married your grandpa young and when I got married my mother told me I had to go live with him and to not come back” I asked her why she married young and ... Read More »
What was life like for you in Vietnam? I was around 4 years old, so life was pretty easy. I played and went from our little shack to my grandparents with my cousin Cammie. There was a hammock in front of grandparents’ house that we would sleep in and take naps in. I had to take care of my younger ... Read More »
What was your life like in South Korea? My life centered around my role as a mother of two children, and a secondary science teacher at public middle schools. I taught over 11 yrs. When and why did you decide to leave? After I earned my master’s degree in 2013, I was debating between whether to further my doctoral program ... Read More »
What was life like in Vietnam? My mother and uncle ran a home-owned restaurant while I was in school as a 12 year old. Life was a struggle due to the poor economy. It was also extremely strict and we were not able to voice our opinions. We were forced to obey the government. Weather was hot and a lot ... Read More »
I sat on the edge of the bed waiting for Mama to settle herself in the room. She sat down with her cup of green tea in her hands which she drinks at least twice a day. Her bedroom was quite small and crowded, but we had no other place but here to have a conversation without our guests and ... Read More »