When my father turned 21, he left India with his older brother and friends to find work abroad. During this journey, he travelled to Jordan, Switzerland, Germany, England, and finally the United States. He was amazed at how large the world actually is. Continue reading Journey From India
Category Archives: Asia
Taiwan
My family moved around a lot during the first decade of my life, which is to be expected I suppose for my parents themselves, have made several migratory journeys themselves during their own lifetime. Continue reading Taiwan
Filipino Parties
Both of my parents came to America from the Philippines, but that fact has never been a topic of conversation in my family. Whenever we talk about the Philippines in our household, usually it’s only about family that currently live there or about the various things my father did as a child. I like to imagine my parents coming here, to America, when they were young. Continue reading Filipino Parties
Immigration Narrative
My parents’ journey to America has been a story that has been told in my household a countless number of times but every time I find the tale more interesting than the last. My parents were both brought up in rural Bangladesh during a time of political turmoil. Bangladesh was fighting for its independence against their mother country of Pakistan and this revolution affected every citizen of the small country of Bangladesh in one-way or another. Tanks would roam the streets ready to put down any revolutionary sentiment. Continue reading Immigration Narrative
Immigration and Ideals
“Call your uncle. He’s our Christopher Columbus,” my father told me.
After immediate family, my uncle was the first relative I told of my decision to enroll in the BA/MD and Macaulay Honors Programs at Brooklyn College. My parents were very happy with both my acceptance and enrollment, and they knew that my uncle would be incredibly proud. He had always wanted a doctor in the family. After I told my uncle, my father took the phone to speak to the man who had been the first of our family to come to America. He and his wife, my aunt by blood, had then proceeded to sponsor my other aunt and my father as well as their families. Continue reading Immigration and Ideals
