From The Peopling of New York City

Olga Gindi Mizrahi

Born in Syria in 1921, Olga Mizrahi thought Syria was beautiful. “It was my childhood! Of course it was beautiful!” She didn’t see or understand the hardships that her family faced making a living and being unable to work. In 1929 when her family was finally able to secure visas to leave to America, after working hard for nearly ten years, they left aboard a Greek ship. She reminisces how she didn’t know enough to appreciate the Statue of Liberty.

Upon their arrival on Ellis Island, she and her family were detained and forced to remain there for two weeks because of an unidentifiable watermark on one of Olga’s sisters. For Olga, Ellis Island was a child’s dream come true. They had organized games that they never had in Syria and she tasted new foods. For her parents Ellis Island was torture. They didn’t know if they were finally going to make it into the land of golden opportunities or if they were going to be deported back to Syria.

Arriving in America, Olga reminisces how she forgot her brand new coat that her mother had sewn on Ellis Island. Living in the time of the Depression and the stock market crash her family had no money to buy her a new coat. There were more important things to do with the little bit of money they had. They had to dig deep into their savings to buy the necessary staples for life, like food. Olga stressed how difficult times were; it was impossible for a new immigrant to get a job especially when they couldn’t work on the Jewish Sabbath.

In Syria, only a select few girls went to school. Olga was one of the lucky ones who were able to go to French school. Having many younger siblings, her parents didn’t have time to have her home and until the age of nine she was in and out of school. In America she was shocked to actually be enrolled in school. She felt special being able to go to school with the boys. She was demeaned and placed in first grade. She quickly advanced to her grade level and graduated close to the top of her class.

The importance of family life was inherent in Olga’s family. After school she came home to take care of her siblings. She took off time in school in order to help her mother when she was giving birth. While people around her didn’t necessarily understand this, to her it was expected.

Life in America was hard but here she was able to have the life her parents dreamed of for her.