From the Huffington Post, an article with telling statistics:
"The children of immigrants are now the fastest growing sector of the child population in the United States. More than 80% of the population growth over the next generation will be via migration - the vast majority will be U.S. born children of immigrants."
This is already affecting Americans on so many levels - social, political, etc.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Leon Panetta - Spaghetti Hill
Leon Panetta has told me that the first line of each speech he gives begins with, "I am the son of Italian immigrants."
Panetta grew up in a section of Monterey, California that he says is known today as Spaghetti Hill because that is where so many Italian immigrants lived and worked nearby in the sardine and fishing businesses in the 1940s. He says when he was growing up, Monterey was the sardine capital of the world.
Panetta's parents owned Carmello's Cafe back then. His father was the chef; his mother was the cashier and he says they worked very hard. He also recalls being recruited to wash some dishes at the restaurant when he was about five years old.
Some of the messages Panetta got from his parents were - Work hard. Get a good education. Make us proud.
This son of Italian immigrants, is a lawyer, former congressman, former army officer and former chief of staff to President Clinton, and currently serves as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
He's a proud American who continues to serve his country and he always remembers that he is the son of Italian immigrants.
Panetta grew up in a section of Monterey, California that he says is known today as Spaghetti Hill because that is where so many Italian immigrants lived and worked nearby in the sardine and fishing businesses in the 1940s. He says when he was growing up, Monterey was the sardine capital of the world.
Panetta's parents owned Carmello's Cafe back then. His father was the chef; his mother was the cashier and he says they worked very hard. He also recalls being recruited to wash some dishes at the restaurant when he was about five years old.
Some of the messages Panetta got from his parents were - Work hard. Get a good education. Make us proud.
This son of Italian immigrants, is a lawyer, former congressman, former army officer and former chief of staff to President Clinton, and currently serves as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
He's a proud American who continues to serve his country and he always remembers that he is the son of Italian immigrants.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Tony and Laos
He was born in Fresno, California and his parents and some older siblings were born in Laos.
Tony Xi0ng* is one of ten children, some of whom are gang members, and he tells me he"d like to become a police officer. That's quite a dream for someone who remembers frequent, unannounced visits by police and probation officers to the family's two-bedroom apartment throughout his childhood. LeeSai tells me that not one of the officers was Hmong and not everyone in his family spoke or understood the English the officers spoke.
Now, a college student majoring in Criminal Justice, Xiong wants to go into law enforcement so that he can be of service to his community and help young people make choices on the right side of the law.
His story is one of the most interesting I have heard so far. Resisting gang membership, having some brothers who are in gangs, living in a two-bedroom apartment with 11 other family members, speaking English at school but not at home, hungry for food and for guidance in the American culture, having a father who was a shaman, and on and on it goes. Xiong confesses that he still has trouble "fitting in" with white America and that his friends don't always run in the best of circles, so to speak.
I watched Gran Torino after interviewing Xiong and have done some research on the Hmong culture following the interview. As with all of the stories, I am provoked to learn more about others with whom I share this country and have a greater appreciation of the challenges they have faced and the successes they have earned.
*Tony Xiong is an alias this interviewee requested to protect his identity.
Tony Xi0ng* is one of ten children, some of whom are gang members, and he tells me he"d like to become a police officer. That's quite a dream for someone who remembers frequent, unannounced visits by police and probation officers to the family's two-bedroom apartment throughout his childhood. LeeSai tells me that not one of the officers was Hmong and not everyone in his family spoke or understood the English the officers spoke.
Now, a college student majoring in Criminal Justice, Xiong wants to go into law enforcement so that he can be of service to his community and help young people make choices on the right side of the law.
His story is one of the most interesting I have heard so far. Resisting gang membership, having some brothers who are in gangs, living in a two-bedroom apartment with 11 other family members, speaking English at school but not at home, hungry for food and for guidance in the American culture, having a father who was a shaman, and on and on it goes. Xiong confesses that he still has trouble "fitting in" with white America and that his friends don't always run in the best of circles, so to speak.
I watched Gran Torino after interviewing Xiong and have done some research on the Hmong culture following the interview. As with all of the stories, I am provoked to learn more about others with whom I share this country and have a greater appreciation of the challenges they have faced and the successes they have earned.
*Tony Xiong is an alias this interviewee requested to protect his identity.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Mother's Day 2010
Many random thoughts this Mother's Day: According to statistics, 750,000 children a year are born to immigrant women. I am sure these mothers have many hopes and dreams for their little ones as they start growing up in America.
Switching gears: I think of my two daughters, Leah and Haley, who have only known one grandparent, my mother, Esther, who was born in Poland and survived the Holocaust by working as an errand girl under a false identity. I wonder what effect and influence she had had on them because we are all "products" of our famlies in one way or another. When Haley visited a concentration camp in Poland and went to Yad Vashem, (the Holocaust Museum,) in Israel, she cried some sadder and deeper tears than her friends because she has witnessed her grandmother's pain and knows of our family's suffering and murders. Both girls have joined me in Holocaust commemoration ceremonies and we have lit memory candles, cried tears and held hands together.
Children of immigrants, grandchildren of immigrants....the family tree branches grow in many directions. All cannot survive without the roots and the trunk - the solid foundation of the beginning and continuation of life.
Blessings to mothers and children on this special day and gratitude for those who came to the United States to start anew!
Switching gears: I think of my two daughters, Leah and Haley, who have only known one grandparent, my mother, Esther, who was born in Poland and survived the Holocaust by working as an errand girl under a false identity. I wonder what effect and influence she had had on them because we are all "products" of our famlies in one way or another. When Haley visited a concentration camp in Poland and went to Yad Vashem, (the Holocaust Museum,) in Israel, she cried some sadder and deeper tears than her friends because she has witnessed her grandmother's pain and knows of our family's suffering and murders. Both girls have joined me in Holocaust commemoration ceremonies and we have lit memory candles, cried tears and held hands together.
Children of immigrants, grandchildren of immigrants....the family tree branches grow in many directions. All cannot survive without the roots and the trunk - the solid foundation of the beginning and continuation of life.
Blessings to mothers and children on this special day and gratitude for those who came to the United States to start anew!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Interviewing a Child of Laotian Immigrants Today
He is one of ten children of immigrant parents from Laos and he wants to be a police officer. This I have learned through the initial questions he has answered via email. Why a police officer? He's familiar with them because some of his older brothers have been in gangs and law enforcement types have visited his home to conduct unannounced searches. None of the officers has been Laotian. He wants to be a positive force in the community by becoming a police officer - maybe steering a few children away from a life of crime and helping families who have children who are in gangs.
His life has been tough growing up in the United States with parents who didn't know English, and the necessity for the children to interpret, figure out transportation and American laws, learn the monetary system, and on and on. Food had been in short supply when he was young, he says, and now he goes to college and works to help support his family.
Wow! I can't wait to learn more from this 21-year old and what an honor it will be!
His life has been tough growing up in the United States with parents who didn't know English, and the necessity for the children to interpret, figure out transportation and American laws, learn the monetary system, and on and on. Food had been in short supply when he was young, he says, and now he goes to college and works to help support his family.
Wow! I can't wait to learn more from this 21-year old and what an honor it will be!
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