Immigrant Heritage Month – Fernando and Cameron

“The big realization for me when I left my insulated town was that I have no idea what it is like for other people to live.”

Fernando’s story:

I am from El Paso, Texas. I guess I am a first or second-generation immigrant. My grandmother is from a small village outside Chihuahua, Mexico. My dad is from El Paso, Texas. He was raised in Ciudad Juárez, which is on the border.

I was born in Austin, Texas but raised in El Paso. It is very much like Mexico; the population is over 80 percent Mexican. The food, the culture, the family are all very important to us.

How did I end up in Lincoln? Scholarships. It was between here and Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Albuquerque is very similar to El Paso, so I decided to go somewhere different. I had never actually been a minority before coming to Lincoln!

Growing up, I was raised Mexican, but I am sort of the black sheep in my family because I don’t speak Spanish. My mom is the epitome of Tex-Mex. She looks Mexican, her family is all from Mexico, but her Spanish is very broken. I consider myself Mexican, but if I tell that to a Mexican exchange student, for example, they would say I’m not Mexican because I don’t speak the language.

Cameron’s story:

My great grandfather is from Switzerland. He came over sometime after World War II. I’m originally from Scottsbluff, Nebraska, which is closer to Denver. It is a predominantly white area. General education of issues has been a very real challenge for me after having left home. I didn’t even think climate change was real until I got to college. They didn’t teach it in our high school.

The big realization for me when I left my insulated town was that I have no idea what it is like for other people to live. Now I have just become a lot more open to everybody’s perspective and experiences.

June 21, 2016June 21, 2016

Immigrant Heritage Month – David and Jezharela

June is Immigrant Heritage Month. Throughout the month, we’ll be celebrating both our diversity and our shared American heritage by telling the stories of individuals that, together, comprise a uniquely American narrative.

“A lot of people don’t realize what others sacrifice to come here. They don’t always come because they are poor or need a job. Like my dad, he was a professional in Mexico, never worked a day in his life in the fields or in manufacturing. And then he came here and had to work in a bean packing plant, minimum wage, for years. The blow to his pride was immense. But, he was willing to do anything for the success of his family.”

David’s story:

My father is from the Ukraine; he immigrated after World War II to Canada and made his way to a refugee settlement camp. So I was born and raised in Canada, it’s where my mother is from. We had a lot of the same television shows that Americans watch but we also had a lot of homegrown talent that we are proud of. When Brian Adams won some sort of award we would always root for the Canadians, the John Candy’s and Jim Carrey’s of the world.

I went to the University of Toronto for my undergrad and University of Windsor for Law School. I came to the U.S. in 2000. I had met a gal in California. We met at the right time and got engaged. I moved down here to Lincoln and got a new job.

I practice immigration law. I give someone hope and a future here in the United States. I have not yet met anyone who is not excited to become a U.S. citizen. To me, it is a great benefit and exciting opportunity. We do our best to try to work with people who are doing it the right way and at the same time call the government on mistakes that they make. The majority of what we do is business-related, a lot of people from Europe and Canada, entrepreneurs who want to set up shop here. And when they come they don’t want to leave. So that is the next step to try to help them with business visas.

Immigration is a hot button topic in the press but it is one of these issues where you are often taken advantage of if you are undocumented. It is much easier for somebody like me because of the NAFTA agreement and the similar cultural experiences. If my wife and I came from a different culture, if I was Latino or Chinese for example, I would expect to be asked a lot more questions in an interview than I personally received. At times I think there is an institutional bias that people see a certain type of skin color and feel like they have to look out for something.

The funny thing is that when I was a kid I wanted to be Prime Minister of Canada. I was very happy in Canada. The issue with me was that I just hadn’t found the right person, and I happened to find her while on vacation in California. She was in school and really there was not a comparable program in Canada. And here I was studying U.S. immigration law in Canada, and it was a perfect opportunity to make the move. I feel like my opinion is valid now that I’m a U.S. citizen. I can vote and I can have an opinion on what this country does in the world. Before it was always “Well you Americans think this or that.” This is my country now. It feels good, it is a source of pride.

Jezharela’s story:

I was born in Tijuana, Mexico. I got to the United States when I was seven. I have three siblings who are deaf, so my parents wanted to give them a better education — one that we could only get in America. We moved to Nebraska when I was seven. My brothers didn’t understand much of what was going on. We left our dog behind, and I cried when we crossed the border. I never went back. The different culture and language was a big adjustment. I consider the United States my home, but I still feel like a piece is missing. That deep connection I have to some other place is difficult to explain. Here it feels like some place I was brought to and just had to deal with. We have done well, but in the back of my mind I still wonder what would have happened if I had stayed.

I work in immigration today interestingly enough. For professionals there is a way in, for normal people not so much. A lot of people don’t realize what others sacrifice to come here. They don’t always come because they are poor or need a job. Like my dad, he was a professional in Mexico, never worked a day in his life in the fields or in manufacturing. And then he came here and had to work in a bean-packing plant, minimum wage for years. The blow to his pride was immense. But, he was willing to do anything for the success of his family.

My father is a pastor of a Spanish speaking church here in Lincoln. When I graduated from high school with honors, I couldn’t get scholarships. I often wonder if I had gotten them, where I would be now. It feels like this barrier that has been in my life for a very long time. People just do not understand these barriers.

Imagine how much greatness people could contribute not only to the country, but to the world with the proper opportunities. And this is all through no fault of our own by the way. I was brought here, I didn’t choose it. I thought about going back, but I never had a driver’s license, I never had anything there so to the Mexican government I am basically dead.

June 17, 2016June 17, 2016

Immigrant Heritage Month – Sourabh and Madeline

June is Immigrant Heritage Month. Throughout the month, we’ll be celebrating both our diversity and our shared American heritage by telling the stories of individuals that, together, comprise a uniquely American narrative.

“If you tell an Indian person you are going to meet them, it is generally a time of day as opposed to a time on your watch… Over here it is like a four-dimensional coordination of time. I would miss class a lot initially because I didn’t think I had to be there on time… Then I realized that was an expectation here.”

Sourabh’s story:

I grew up in India and came here in the spring of 2006. I got into an engineering college in India, but I didn’t really like it much and I wasn’t happy with the way we were being taught. My brother had already come to Omaha, and I got a scholarship to the University of Nebraska. He helped set things up for me and made some connections for where I could live. So I figured I would come over and try out America. I grew up with HBO and a lot of American films, so this culture was not alien to me. Of course there are a few things that you’re not prepared for. For the first two years, people could not understand what I was saying, but they were very nice and did not coming off as being impatient.

You live in a very different expectation with time in India; things are very different here in that regard. If you tell an Indian person you are going to meet them, it is generally a time of day as opposed to a time on your watch. Organically, these two people will figure out where to meet. Over here, it is like a four-dimensional coordination of time. I would miss class a lot initially because I didn’t think I had to be there on time. I would see other people show up on time, and then I realized that it was an expectation here. But with other Indian students it was all over the place. An email would say, “Let’s meet here in the evening.” And there would be a steady stream of people for two hours before the meeting actually began.

It is hard for my parents now that I’m gone. What is that syndrome called? Leaving the nest? Empty nest! That’s right. I went back home after a year or so, but after that I hadn’t seen them in about nine years. They only recently came to the U.S. to see me and my brother. They stayed at my place for a couple of months. It was really difficult to not see them for so long.

I stay connected through the news and what my friends write and what they post online. I feel the things that my peer group in India is affected by are similar to things Americans are affected by. For instance, how the economy affects your ability to get a job and the issue of upward mobility. I feel my friends here are worried about that just as much as my friends back home. We have similar social outrage. You have (violence in) Ferguson (Missouri) here, and something similar in India. People feel stymied by the government. So there are more similarities than we often think.

Madeline’s story:

I love hanging out with Sourabh because he is passionately and unabashedly weird. We need to encourage that weirdness in a place where palettes can often be bland. I am Scottish and English. There is also some Norwegian in me. I am not very connected to my heritage. My parents have some stories, but they are hesitant to talk about it for some reason, and it is harder now that they are divorced. My parents met in California and moved to Nebraska, but most of my family is from Iowa. I have no ties to Nebraska other than my parents.

June 13, 2016

Immigrant Heritage Month – Peggy and Pepe

“Mom came here all by herself looking for work. She was chasing the American Dream. When she first came over, she learned English by listening to people speaking it in the cotton fields. She would listen to them, go home and watch soap operas to try to better understand.”

Peggy’s story:

My mom’s side of the family is from Ireland and my dad’s side is from Mexico. I moved here in 1983. I moved away from Lincoln for just a few years for grad school, so I have been here a long time. I grew up in Omaha and I was going to college there and was unhappy. So I wanted to come down here and check it out, and I liked it. It is an easy community to live in, an easy place to be able to bike everywhere you want to go and it is really affordable. I knew Pepe was Mexican, and my last name gives away my background even if my physical features don’t. People used to think I was adopted because of my last name, Gomez. But there are so many people like me out there.

My dad was born in Omaha, but his parents are both from Mexico. There are two stories, I don’t know which one is true. The first is that my grandparents came from the same village outside of Guadalajara in Mexico and they knew each other there. They came separately to Omaha and reconnected there and fell in love. The second story, which is more juicy, is that my grandmother was born in a village in Guadalajara and my grandfather was born in Mexico City and he and his brothers took off and went to California and stayed for a while and then went to Omaha for work.

He supposedly told my uncle, “If somebody ever comes knocking on your door saying that I am their father, you should probably believe them.”

Pepe’s story:

I was born here in the United States. My mom’s side of the family is from Chihuahua, Mexico, and my dad’s side is from Texas and Germany. I have been here in Nebraska since 2004. I was looking for work, figured it would be a two month stay. Plans have a way of organically changing when you make them too far in advance.

My parents split up when I was six, and my mom came here to America. I really don’t know much on my father’s side other than he was part German. Mom came here all by herself looking for work. She was chasing the American dream. When she first came over, she learned English by listening to people speaking it in the cotton fields. She would listen to them, go home and watch soap operas to try to better understand. She said she was in complete culture shock when she got here.

June 9, 2016

Immigrant Heritage Month – VJ and Mary

“I kind of like the mystery of my heritage because then there are no ties to the past and I get to think about just moving into the future.”

VJ:

I work at an ice cream store.

Mary:

I work at a coffee shop.

VJ:

We work below the poverty line but we can pay for utilities, pay to get around, and still have time for our art. We found a nice balance of doing what we love and working. We aren’t worried about the struggle and competing like in some other cities. We live in a community here where people want you to share your work, and it makes a big difference, especially in happiness.

Mary:

VJ and I met in 2008. I ended up in Nebraska because of my dad’s job and because my brother played football at the university. My family lived all over the Midwest and West. We lived in Utah for a while, and Colorado. My dad is from Alabama and mom is from Hawaii. I don’t know much other than that. She is Samoan, born in Honolulu, then lived in Samoa and Fiji. My parents met in California, my mom was on a mission trip and my dad was just working out there. I moved here in 2005 in the middle of high school. I don’t speak Samoan or Fijian or Tongan or anything. She does, and I wish she had passed that down a little bit more. Food is a big thing that I learned from her, some traditional Hawaiian meals. After my parents met in California they traveled around a while and then landed in Utah. They’re still together. They currently live in North Dakota. I don’t really know if I have a hometown considering all the moving that I’ve done.

VJ:

I really don’t know where my parents are from. I was adopted so there is not much history about my family. My mother was a drug addict in New York City in the ‘80s. I was adopted at the age of five, lived upstate in New York until I was a freshman in High School, then I was shipped to a boarding school. I really don’t know what my heritage is. Some people say I look like I am from Brazil. Some people say I’m Middle Eastern. I kind of like the mystery of my heritage because then there are no ties to the past and I get to think about just moving into the future. I believe it is all about cutting the negative cords. Being a person of color is a great experience because it forces you to look at yourself outside of what is considered to be the norm.

Mary:

Exactly, because you are already marginalized. So it makes you think “Ok, who am I as an individual?”

America is a great place because there are so many cultures that have converged. People out here in Nebraska are connected to the Earth; this is a historically agricultural community. People have a love for the planet. There is a heritage of farmers out here, a ton of people love to garden and share food. There is an abundance, and when people have that, you are in a good spot.

Mary:

I think in Lincoln there is a great and loving community that is connected to the Earth, who put their creative lives first. The people are progressive about spiritual healing as well. That kind of separates race from the connection you have with other people. You want to know people because of the energy someone is giving off to you above all other descriptors of who they are or their physical appearance.