Immigration Stories

12/11/2017

America is a great big nation composed of immigrants, and each of our ancestors left their home countries for America for a myriad of reasons. As an African American, my story is obviously a bit different. My ancestors arrived to the Americas by way of "forced" immigration. For this reason, I never really knew exactly where my people came from. Until now. I recently had my DNA tested and have discovered that my ancestors mainly descended from Africa. No surprise there. Prior to submitting my DNA for analysis, as far as I knew, my mother’s family came from the Cape Verde Islands and my dad’s family came from Jamaica and the Prince Edward’s Islands. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was 72% African when my actual test results were returned. As we are studying Immigration, I would like to know your family’s unique immigration experience. Ask your parents, or another elder in your family, where your ancestors came from. Also, ask what the push and pull factors were for leaving their homelands and settling in America. Ask when they arrived to America, and what their early experiences were like. Did they work? What types of work did they do? Once you have all these questions answered, start blogging. I want to know all. Also, make sure to reply to at least one classmates post, and don’t forget the rules and etiquette of our blogosphere. Use your full first name and last initial (no pseudonyms), and don’t be mean.

64 Comments

Noah S.

12/11/2017 05:43:29 pm

The past in my family has been pretty vague, and most of our history got lost before World War 2. Essentially, I come from Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Austria, and probably other Europian countries. The push factor of most of my family is, suprise suprise, the Holocaust. After the Nazis decided to kill the jews, there were two types of jewish people in reaction. Either they would doubt that they would be affected, or they would get scared and immigrate to one of the Allies(United States, Canada, Russia, Britain, etc.). Those of my family who were in the latter group came to America, in the late 1930's to early 1940's. For reference, my grandparents were very young or soon to be born at this time. Many of my family who immigrated were on the brink of death when they came, and a few died within the first year in America. Those who survived took up low level jobs, doing things like selling things on the street, or joined the Military. After that they worked up in society like anyone else(becoming less poor was something people did back then), and made me, along with a few other kids.

James N.

12/11/2017 06:36:15 pm

It kind of seems that the main reason for a lot of people to come here is because it was a lot worse someplace else.

Also, it's this kind of statement that makes you realize just how many people the Holocaust affected, and how many it continues to affect. Really, it seems that humans themselves have more capacity for evil than whatever wild fantasies we dream up.

Aiden M.

12/11/2017 08:36:20 pm

I second that completely. No matter how hard we try we will always find as you said "more capacity for evil than whatever wild fantasies we dream up.". Well said both Noah and James

Tako P.

12/11/2017 08:21:33 pm

I agree with Julian. The conditions were so horrible that people just wanted to get out of those parts for fear of being killed. Its crazy.

Luke K.

12/11/2017 08:26:48 pm

It seems that most push factors for immigration was a threat to the life style or bad living conditions. It is terrible that because of the holocaust thousands even millions of people had to move and restart their lives.

Natalie C.

12/11/2017 06:11:49 pm

My ancestors were brought over to America from the slave trade, so they didn't really arrive because they wanted to. They were basically stolen, and brought over without any warning. Because of this, there is no push or pull factor for leaving their homeland and settling into America.

Since my ancestors were slaves, they had to work for their owners, mostly working outside farming or blacksmithing. Women did get raped, which is the reason for me having some lighter-skinned family members. There isn't really much to say about my ancestors, since they were mostly slaves.

Some of my ancestors were Polynesian as well. Apparently, I'm related to a Polynesian princess who was kidnapped and brought to the U.S., but I don't know anything else about that. I believe that I have some European ancestors, but once again, I never heard any stories about any other ancestors than the ones from Africa.

Yoeslyn A.

12/11/2017 07:11:05 pm

Its pretty sad how a lot of people don't know their full history all because white people were selfish and did not want to do work. Also upsetting how the women were raped, as you mentioned.

Yet, I did enjoy reading how you're related to a Polynesian princess. Even though her coming to America wasn't the best, that's pretty cool how you share the same blood as her!

James N.

12/11/2017 06:31:40 pm

My family's history is somewhat vague-- however, it's pretty clear that, for the most part, my bloodline originates in England, and its surrounding countries. Sometime in the 1800s, my ancestors found their way here, and have dwelled here ever since. Most of my relatives are in fact of English and Irish descent (although my grandfather on my father's side has a good bit of German in him). In more recent years, my grandfather (on my mother's side) immigrated from England with the intent of starting a new life with my grandmother. Although he had many difficulties getting here (the most notable being the several times he was detained and deported), he has indeed become a U.S. citizen. Aside from that, there's not much else to say, other than the fact that we came here and we live here. Although my circumstances may be very different than others, I believe that sums up all of our stories.

Julian G.

12/11/2017 08:24:52 pm

I agree with you in that everyone's story is similar. It seems that the Land of Opportunity had much more of a pull factor than many other places' push factor, and that many of our ancestors were simply looking for a better life.

Yoeslyn A.

12/11/2017 06:57:27 pm

My ancestors came from the Dominican Republic and Spain. My grandfather Justo Cepeda lived in the United States with his brother and petitioned my grandmother and her daughters ( my aunts and my mom ) to come to the U.S. He came for better economics and a better life, since he came from a very poor family. He wanted to give his kids a better life. A pull factor was how it provided a better environment and provided more opportunities for his family, as well as better education for the kids.
My mom arrived on October of 1974 in New York City. My mom came to the United States when she was 7 years old. On the plane, my mom was scared of the plane, and the United States. Mainly because none of it was known to her. She was happy, however, because she could finally see her father after he settled. My mom got her shots in Dominican Republic, but she did get a few immunization shots here. When she was getting checked at the customs immigration area of the airport, it was a long line and the waiting time was very inconvenient. Especially for my grandmother, with four little girls. She waited about an hour to get fully checked. A laughing moment was when she was afraid to go down the escalator when she was leaving the airport. Her father had to come up and get her.
Some struggles my mom had was the language barrier, and same goes for my father. My mom lived with her uncle when she first came, and had to share bedrooms with her cousins until my grandmother rented an apartment. My mom did get made fun of for her pronunciation and her accent as a child. At the beginning, my mom and my aunts were upset, since they left their home and friends at such a young age. My mom was young, she didn’t have a job. However, her father worked as a janitor in Stoney Brook College in Port Jefferson, Long Island. My grandma was a stay at home mom at the time.

Aryana S.

12/11/2017 07:28:21 pm

It must have been very difficult to go to a whole new country, especially at such a young age. Reading this I could relate because my father also came to America at a younger age, not as young, but still in the teens. I could never imagine moving at 7 years old to a new country. Even at 13, I can't imagine going somewhere foreign where I do not know the language. In my opinion, immigrants, especially younger ones like Yoeslyn's mother, are very very brave people.

Jaden H.

12/11/2017 07:50:27 pm

My mom had somewhat of a similar story to your mom's. She also had trouble with learning the language and adapting to that as
well.

Jaileen V.

12/11/2017 08:49:14 pm

I believe that it is always a very difficult trip to a country you don't really know the slightest about. But it always feels like fun when you have family or friends around you.

Nia H.

12/11/2017 07:18:43 pm

On my father's side, my family is from Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Europe West, Ivory Coast, Senegal, etc.
Because of the slave trade, most of them migrated to Virginia and other Southern States so there wasn't a push or pull factor. In slavery, they worked under their master like all of the others. Since most woman were raped, my father, my nana, and my skin are light. That is all I know so I would have to guess that that part of my family eventually moved down south and had my nana and her other siblings before my great grandfather went off to war.

On my mother's side, I am from Cape Verde and different parts of Africa. My grandmother's, her family migrated from Cape Verde to Canada to start a new life. In their situation, there was more of a push factor because they were struggling were they were at so they had to make a decision to leave and create a new life for the family. After living in Canada for a while, they decided to move to Rhode Island just because. In Rhode Island, my grandmother met my mother's biological father when she was 15(two years before having my mother)
My mother's other half is from Portugal. Just like my grandmother's family, they moved away to start a new life but they came directly to Rhode Island

Natalie C.

12/11/2017 08:51:51 pm

I also have family members who's skin color is lighter because women who were slaves were raped. It really is sad to think about how those slaves had to go through that, and weren't able to do anything about it.

I am also curious as to why your grandmother's family chose to go to Rhode Island out of all of the other states that they could've moved to?

Julian G.

12/11/2017 07:27:08 pm

My family comes from many places. My mom's side of the family has been in the Americas for hundreds of years, we think having come here as indentured servants from somewhere in Europe, or coming for the better opportunities here, just like many others did in those years. These were clearly some pull factors, and her family quickly took positions as poor coal miners along the "border states."
My dad's side of the family has a bit more of a story. His dad lived in Austria and throughout Eastern Europe, before being sent away (during the Holocaust) to Ugoslavia, in modern-day Croatia, an interesting choice. His mom lived in Ugoslavia too, in modern-day Serbia. My father was born in Israel, where his parents had moved for obvious reasons, being forward minded Jews, because Israel was a sanctuary, a homeland, and a place of their own after years of moving around. My father was born to them, and lived his life in a film studio, for this was the work that both of his parents did together. In his early twenties, after the required years of military service, he left for Britain, simply to travel and see the world. Then, after a year and a half, he went to America, for several reasons. In the first place, he was following his sister, who had moved there with her husband and two children, for a reason that I don't quite know. Secondly, he loved knowledge and photography, and traveled to Boston to attend college. Overall, he came to America for college, and to follow his family.
Overall, my family came from different places, in search of a better life, each side in different ways and with different struggles, but I think that everyone succeeded.

Tako P.

12/11/2017 08:17:49 pm

I think the holocaust was an overall huge push factor for many people. Still seeing after effects today.

Josh. B

12/11/2017 07:35:57 pm

Ancestors on my fathers side came from Canada, more specifically Quebec. They came to America for employment opportunities. His grandfather, my great grandfather, worked for a company called, Electric Boat in Connecticut, where he worked and retired for his whole life. He worked at Electric Boat for over 25 years. At Electric Boat workers would build submarines. My father's grandmother, my great Grandmother, worked on a farm in Warwick. She lived there during the week taking care of an elderly lady, and arrived back home during the weekends. In other words she was a living- care taker. My great great grandparents parents on my fathers side arrived roughly in the 1800's. The push factor was seeking work related opportunities. The pull factor was work with higher pay, and cheaper expenses, in other words housing affordability and job employment.

My mother's family is from the Dominican Republic. My great grandma from my mothers side came from DR to the United States in 1951. My great grandfather never came to the U.S. because he didn't want to come. My great grandmother came to the U.S. because her sister was having a baby, and she wanted to get to know her nephew. My grandfather on my mother's side died in 1983, while my grandmother came to the U.S. because the rest of her family was here. Like My great great grandfather, my grandfather also did not want to come to the U.S.

Jaden H.

12/11/2017 07:47:53 pm

My ancestors came from the Dominican Republic. My mom arrived here on March 22, 2002. She came here at the age of 20. My grandmother brought my mother here from the Dominican Republic. The push factors that my mother told me was that she saw that here in the United States there are lot of more opportunities for things like jobs and education. The pull factor was that my mother started thinking into the future and about the education that her children would be getting and how our lives would be better if we were born here in the United States. When my mother first got here she did work. My mother assembled motherboards and she put together computer pieces for the computers that were being built in the factory. Some of the struggles and challenges that she faced when coming here was speaking English and communicating with others here. Also something else that was a struggle was adapting to the weather here since in DR it is really warm.

Karime L.

12/11/2017 08:21:45 pm

My grandma's experience is similar. She also came to the U.S because there were better job opportunities here. My mom and grandma also struggled communicating because they didn't know how to speak English.

Benjamin M.

12/11/2017 09:14:19 pm

I agree with what you said about how there are more opportunities here for jobs and educations. I can relate to you since my dad's side came here since my grandfather was offered a greater opportunity for a textile industry and for a better life consisting of better jobs and education. Good job.

Erica

12/11/2017 10:40:12 pm

My mother like yours, really struggled with learning a whole new language. My father was able to learn the language pretty well before he came over whereas my mother struggled with it.

Sam H

12/11/2017 07:50:44 pm

My dad's ancestors immigrated from Ireland around the start of the 1800s. They came for a shot at a better life. However, little is known about them.

My mom's ancestors came from Germany later in the 1800s, for the same reasons. My family knows much more about them than they do my dad's ancestors. Supposedly, a family of four (my mom's ancestors) traveled on a ship to America. On the voyage, their father died, leaving a mother and two children. Their business was knivemaking- they had brought a box of their best knives to sell. Unfortunately, that got stolen, leaving them with little opportunities to make a living. They did not speak English at the time that they arrived in America, making it hard to find any jobs. To make matters worse, the son- the only boy- was kidnapped at around the age of 15. Because of the way society was, women usually didn't make the money, men did. As a result, they were very poor. However, they managed to scrape by, and here I am today.

Max. J

12/11/2017 08:02:51 pm

My family history is fairly vague on my grandfathers side, but I know that my great grandfather on my mom's side immigrated from Wales around the 1920's. (He became a carpenter.) Now, my great- great grandparents immigrated to America in the late 1800's from Poland. They had my great grandmother, who was a factory worker in New York. They eventually had my grandfather in 1934. My great great grandmother (Catherine McCool) came from County Donegale Ireland. It is believed that she might have been and indentured servant, but we do not know for sure. She came in 1897, and settled in Lowell, but then moved to New York. In 1850, my great great great great grandfather came from County Cork Ireland around 1850. He settled into upstate New York as a dairy farmer. This dairy farming tradition continued through through the mid 1900's, as my grandmother grew up on a dairy farm in the same area. Anyways, back to the story. Catherine McCool ended up marrying an ancestor of Alexander, who was the great great great great grandfather. They were all dairy farmers. This was my mom's side of the family.
They all came over for a better opportunities here in the U.S, and with that came the challenges of the immigrants from that time.

Tako P.

12/11/2017 08:13:47 pm

The Immigration story of my father's family is quite simple. My grandmother randomly just got tired of being a teacher in Jamaica, and then got on a plane and moved to New York where she met my grandfather, a drunk diabetic in Harlem. (My father's words not mine.) A big push factor for my grandma would be that Jamaica is sorta not the best place to live. It is a very religious and poor country. She was an educated woman and provided for her whole family despite being a dirt poor immigrant.

On my mother's side it is a whole different story. Apparently my great grandmother was Polish. She was born in the US though.

My great grandfather was a Russian-Jew. My mom said that he was persecuted because of his religion. He decided to come to the US. Not that this was glamorous to him. He worked many jobs. He worked as a shoeshiner and dropped out of high school. He later became an alcohol bootlegger (not the first or the last in my family line). A big pull factor to come to the US for him would be that it is safer here and we have laws protecting our religious rights. A push factor to go away from Russia is that if he stayed there he would've been killed.

Sam H

12/11/2017 08:41:23 pm

It's interesting that though your parents had very different stories and backgrounds, they both came for the same reason- better opportunities, whether for jobs or religious freedom. Indeed, I believe most people immigrated for such reasons.

Karime L.

12/11/2017 08:14:19 pm

As far as my mom is aware, we are from Dominican Republic. When she was just 9 years old, her father died of a heart attack. My grandfather was the one who provided the income for the family, while my abuela stayed at home and took care of her 5 daughters. Since there were less job opportunities in D.R and more money could be gained here, my grandma planned on coming to the U.S. My grandma's brother had already come here. So when she came, she stayed with him. However, my mom and her four sisters stayed in D.R, with their aunt. My mom and her sisters waited there until my grandma had enough money to bring all of them here, to the U.S, and reunite their family.

My mom came from D.R to the U.S when she was 27 years old. She described her experience as very difficult. It was a difficult time because it was a new land with different laws and she had also never learned the language. Not only that, but the cultures are quite different, she didn't have a job, and also did not know how to drive. My mom's first job in the U.S was working in a jewelry factory when she was 28. However, the factory closed and she had to find some other way of gaining money. She went to CCRI and did a training. She graduated from CCRI and got her associate degree in liberal arts. During this time, my mom was working as a teacher assistant at Nathaniel Greene. She works there currently and has been a worker there for 17 years.

Kellin. E

12/11/2017 10:54:21 pm

The story of your mom's immigration is kind of the same as mine. At first, my mom didn't know how to speak English or drive and worked in a jewelry factory like yours.

Aryana S.

12/11/2017 08:17:52 pm

My ancestors came from North and West of Iran. My mother came from North while my father came from the West. At the age of 17 my father arrived to America from Iran. The push was that my dad had to flee the country so he didn't have to serve as a soldier when he turned 18. This was the time of the Iranian Revolution. If he hadn't left he would have to serve for his country. For this reason he left for America. The trip to America was a very difficult and long trip. He explained that the whole trip was daylight because of time differences. By the time he got to New York, it was finally night time, but he had no where to go. However, on the airplane he met another Iranian boy about his age, and he was invited to stay with him for the night. The next night, an educator from a boarding school in Vermont came to pick him up. That is when he traveled to Vermont. When he got to Vermont, the next day he got to class immediately. It was difficult for him to understand what the instructor was saying. He finished the last year of High School in Vermont. This was his goal when he came to America. The pull was to have a better life, and to finish school without having to become a soldier in Iran. His first job was in a kitchen where he was a waiter. After a long time, my dad moved to Rhode Island (he was no longer in Vermont when he moved) and my grandparents came to visit my dad for the first time. They stayed for two years in Bristol. That's how my dad ended up in Rhode Island. He was actually about to go to California, but he ended up staying. Then my mother came to America because of my dad. I ended up being the first generation in my whole entire family to be born in America.

Keanu.P

12/11/2017 09:03:39 pm

This story is unlike many others because your father came here to go against the government which is very brave . I think that him coming here to finish school is very common because as I read I feel like that has come up many times.

Jenelvis R.

12/11/2017 10:20:46 pm

This story is incredible and mesmerizing. When I read this it really showed me how education can make you want so much in life . I really enjoyed how when your father was arriving to America that he met another Iranian boy. That just shows how small this world is because someone right next to you could be going through the same or worst situation.

Ela H.

12/11/2017 08:26:43 pm

My personal ancestors have always been a touchy subject. Theres no one I can personally go to about myself and where I am from. Being adopted is very different from living with your biological family. But over the years I have learn to memorized stories of my parents and brother hoping if I ever find my true story it would be similar.
My father was born in Manchester, England in 1943.His great-grand father came from Ireland to England. He considers him self British. He says that gets around explaining his ancestory. He came to America to work in 1968. He studied biology and interned with different people. He has been working here ever since.
My mother was born in Holland, Michigan in 1961. Her ancestors were dutch. They came from Germany and the Netherland to around 1848-1906. They went straight to Holland, Michigan. They all worked hard. they all worked on farms till about 1920s maybe a little later. Now my grandfather is a carpenter.

Shawn Z.

12/11/2017 08:35:43 pm

My family came from China. It was unclear why they had come over, since my mom had been kind of young when she came with her family. When they came, she finished school, and went to find a job. Again, not to clear what she did, I think she didn't want to provide to much information.

Aiden M.

12/11/2017 08:40:26 pm

Just goes to show that when the story is told through the eyes of someone who was young at the point, it makes it much harder to know what reasons there was behind everything due to the differences between the way children and adults think.

Keanu.P

12/11/2017 08:48:32 pm

My mother is an immigrant from the Cape Verde islands. She came to the USA in 1987 at the age of 12. She was sent here because her parents wanted her to have a good education and a better life. While her parents stayed in Cape Verde my mom lived here with her two older brothers and her older sister. One of her most memorable experiences was going to watch Whitney Houston at the Civic Center.
My mom didn't get payed to work but after school she would go help her siblings at their jobs cleaning a bank and channel 10 in Providence.

Jaychele-Nicole S.

12/11/2017 09:38:53 pm

Keanu, my story in a sense relates to yours. My family had also came from Cape Verde in search for a better life. It seems as if both of our families were in search of something better, which is no surprise because it seemed to be passed down to the both of us.

Benjamin M.

12/11/2017 09:01:34 pm

On my father's side of his family, my grandfather used to work in the fields and used to crop. He worked in the agriculture industry. They were from Andes, Antoquia, Colombia. On my Dad's side, my grandmothers ancestors are from Spain. My grandfather then got married to my grandmother and moved to Medellin, Colombia. My grandfather worked in the textile industry. My grandfather was then offered the opportunity to go to the Dominican Republic, to work in the textile industry. When his contract ended he traveled to Central Falls, RI, US, in the year of 1981. My father volunteered to come to the US with my grandfather to help him save money so that their entire family could come to the US. He was the only one of his eight siblings who came along to help. They worked very hard, and he looked for greater opportunities and a better life for his very large family of nine children. My grandfather, with his family were established in Central Falls, and worked in the textile industry which at that time attracted many Colombians to this area. My grandfather was one of the first Colombian immigrants to come to this area. My cousins, siblings, and myself are the first born generation from the US, in my family.

Chris D. link

12/11/2017 09:27:57 pm

I like how your family really worked hard to bring the family together, and how they weren't afraid to put in work if it meant they could live better lives.

David R

12/11/2017 09:58:45 pm

Keep grinding fella

Aiden M.

12/11/2017 09:05:37 pm

So the only immigrant that actually has a story to tell is my grandmother on my mom's side. The first members of her family to come here was her father who worked as a textile mechanic. Her father brought her oldest brother to come with him to help work. After five years they had saved enough money to buy visas for the res of her family allowing them to come to America. My grandmother originally came in second grade and was entered into a bilingual classroom/program and in fifth grade was taken out of the program and put into a standard teaching program for the time. Obviously she didn't get a job since she was in school but her older siblings who had already graduated high school did get jobs at Hasbro then went there separate ways. One of the pull factors was that in America school was free and mandated, where in Columbia 'free' school wasn't actually free. This made it so if you were poor in Columbia you didn't have much of a chance to survive. Another was that in America if you did have to pay for school then you got a higher chance of financial aid in America then in Columbia.

Luke K.

12/11/2017 09:07:21 pm

When my dad was younger, he and his family moved to America from Poland. One of the push factors for my dad was that there was heavy oppression in the government, no freedom of speech, freedom of religion, or freedom of travel. Pull factors from America were a chance at a better life, and freedom. The biggest pull him was he has a heart condition, and he needed a surgery which he would not be able to get in Poland, that was the biggest pull factor for his family. My dad arrived in America in 1985, some of his experiences were the emotion of amazement. Amazement at the fully stocked grocery shelves. Being able to express his opinion of the government or any other issues, an ability not given in Poland. He was also very hot, since he had moved from Poland to Texas. He remembers being 13 at a grocery store and being in the candy isle. He thought "I have never seen so much candy in my life". Since he was 13 my dad did not work, but my grandfather did as a tool maker, fixing power tools. He was able to afford an apartment, car, and enough food, something that he did not have in Poland. Most parents in Poland needed 3 or 4 jobs to support a family, unlike in America. Those are the reasons of where and why my father and his family came from. My moms family has been here for a very long time so it will get pretty confusing. My great-grandmother came over from Italy another one of my great grandmothers was born in Canada. One of my great-grand fathers was born in Portugal. Yet another 2 were born in Ireland. Many generation back, one of my grandfathers from Italy married an woman who was an orphan also from Italy. Confusing enough for you? It is for me. That is my family's immigration history.

Chris D. link

12/11/2017 09:10:53 pm

My mom was the first of her family to come to America from Ecuador, traveling over 3000 miles to get to New England( by plane of course). Coming to the U.S. was very difficult she says, because she missed many important family events, such as the marriage of her cousin, who was like a sister to her, or the death of her grandmother.
She had decided to come to America for the opportunity to make a living while pursuing specialty training. A push factor for my mom is that in ecuador, women are not seen as independent of men, and in general don’t make it very far, especially when you are the first in your family to practice a field. My mother had no legacy to lean on, and in a country where connections are invaluable, this makes it almost impossible to climb the ranks of medicine.
She had decided to become a doctor, a psychiatrist, but even after going to medical school for seven years, she still had to pass her Boards, an exam to get a medical license. It was split into two 12 hour parts, which in turn were split into two six hour sections. After taking this 24 hour test, she entered the residency program, where she earned enough money to get by, and between her and my dad, they were able to support their growing family.
After five years as a resident in a hospital, learning real life procedures, skills, and overall gaining experience, she got her first job as a psychiatrist. Her first impression of Americans was that they were very open and welcoming externally, but their friendship didn’t mean as much. In Ecuador, friendship means that what is mine is yours, and the doors of my house are always open to you. “In ecuador, you don’t smile or wave, you keep your head down, grab your purse and avoid eye contact.” You can’t be sure of the people around you, and the crime rate is much higher than in the United States. However, friends are like family, and those bonds stand the test of time.

Stephanie

12/11/2017 09:12:34 pm

Well, My family just migrated from America about seven eight ago. Obviously I migrated from china. I'm not to sure why we did migrate to America. But I'm pretty sure it's for the better job, and the better environment. My dad was the first instep to actually arrive in America. My mom and I later followed.

The early experience are extremely harsh, and hard. Not only was the fact that I had no English literacy skills, we had no money (we had money but not enough to make a living and buy a house). Out first house was not even ours, it was of our aunt and uncles. They had came to America one year before my dad did. Also because I was five or six, that's when you start first grade. If going to a school that speeks a language that you hardly understand, was easy, then I don't know what is hard. Well, I was enrolled I ESL (English second language). And that was complete torture. So...

I was in ESL till 5th grade. Because private school doesent take ESL i had to advance that program. It was annoying ( I remember it clearly)

And that's all

Tyler Gomes

12/11/2017 10:05:06 pm

Based on the way you speak about your experiences I can tell that it was really rough to go through all of that. Especially the fact that you can still remember pretty vividly even though you were so young, to me that shows how truly harsh it must have been. Coming to a new country and leaving your home country would seem to be hard enough, but having to learn a completely new language on top of that is crazy. This really gave me a hint of what people have to go through when fleeing their countries.

Jaileen V.

12/11/2017 09:26:38 pm

For me it was pretty hard to dig up information because my family is divorced and my mother's parents died when she was young, so she really doesn't remember much. But what I did get from her that my great grandfather on my mother's side was from France. And both my parents' parents had ancestors from Spain. My grandmother on my father's side however did tell me about herself. She came here from Dominican Rebulic when she was 35. She did this because her hsuband camd here as well and she wanted to be with him. When she came here she worked in factories with many other Hispanic people. She doesn't really remember what it was like working in the factories, but she said it was hard and grueling. She sometimes even had to do the work of others beacuse she was newer. She wasn't treated as well as others obviously because she couldn't speak English as well. And because she couldn't even learn English from how poor they were. My mother had a somewhat similar story. She came here from Dominican Republic after my father. They got married and had me in the same year that they came, so my mother didn't really have to work. For both of them their pull factor was to be with their husbands not really much else. My mom always tells me that she would have been much happier back in Dominican Republic, because she honestly had job opportunities there as much as she does here. The only pull factor was that she could get married and have a child more easily in America.

Jaychele-Nicole S.

12/11/2017 09:35:24 pm

My family is also from the Cape Verde islands. My mother’s side of my family is mostly unknown. My mom believes she is cape verdean along with some other unknown things, which is pushing us to get our DNA tested as well. Since third grade, where my school had us do an ancestory project which lead me to my current conclusions, l have known my DNA is probably all over the world. l know from my father’s side my great-grandpa traveled from Cape Verde on a banana boat with a few of his cousins. From the stories passed down, he came looking for jobs and trying to get out of poverty.

Ra'Nyah DC

12/11/2017 09:48:20 pm

When I asked my mother she said that my great great grandfather was Jamaican and my great great grandmother was Cape Verdean. My mother never met her great grandfather so I don't know what happened and all of that stuff but she met her great grandmother but she was only a little girl when she met her and then she passed away so I do not know what happened to them and how they came here and their experiences.

David R

12/11/2017 09:56:13 pm

My ancestors are from the Dominican Republic and France. Most of them are dominican, but my great grand father was pure french but decided to immigrate to DR due to what my grandfather believes was the purpose of finding a lover, and the fact that there was french language anyway due to the hatians. My great grandfather found a lover in DR and eventually had kids. My mother was born into a family of 4 brothers and 3 sisters, not all being from the same father. My mother went to college in DR, was able to meet my father during their younger years. My father had the juice, and was in several relationships in his teen years. He was born into a family of 9, but his mother died when he was too and his father could not take care of the family alone, so he was raised by someone else that we know very well. My father was also well educated and even taught algebra in the dominican republic. The pull factor for him immigrating to the US was to go with a well known ex of his to be married and take advantage of the opportunities in the US. His first job was in a factory and was married. He later on divorced his pull factor due to complications, and communicated with my mother about coming to the US and marrying him, as they knew each other well, and had since early teen years. So my father helped my mother immigrate and eventually married her. That was my mothers pull factor. They conceived me a year or two after being married and that's where I came to be. So I am mostly Dominican and some French. Yes pure french, not hatian like many think.

David

12/11/2017 09:59:30 pm

His mother died when he was *two*

Tyler Gomes

12/11/2017 09:59:02 pm

After asking my mom a few questions this is what I found. My grandmother, her mom, was born in the Azores islands off of Portugal. More specifically, she grew up on an island called Sao Miguel. My grandmother's dad a;ready had family in America, and she and her family came seeking a better life and more opportunities. When she came she worked in factories and at some point also worked with my grandfather in his company. My grandfather, my mom's dad, was born and raised in Dominican Republic. Specifically a place called La Vega. he came here on his own because he knew of the opportunities that America had to offer, and wanted to make something of himself. When he came, he made his own company. He made epoxy paint and costume jewelry and sun catchers.. I wasn't able ask my father questions about this, but I do know some information form that side of my family. My dad was actually born in the Azores. He was born on an island called Faial. I'm not entirely sure why, but when my grandparents on my father's side, along with my father and his siblings, came to America, they were supposed to end up going to California, but never did. I am also not sure where my grandparents on my dad's side worked. Basically most of my family came from islands in the Azores, and a portion of them came from La Vega, Dominican Republic.

Adrian M

12/11/2017 10:11:21 pm

My family came from Santiago, Dominican Republic. My mom's aunt was the first to be in the United States in 1972. Slowly she brought people from our family like my great grandma and grandpa. My mom was born in 1976 and when my grandma came to the U.S it was 1982. Two years later, my mom came with my grandma to live in Rhode Island.

The reason they wanted to come to the U.S was because of the jobs and more opportunities for woman rights. Usually, the women in the family would end up as house wives but it all kinda changed when my mom's aunt moved. More family were encouraged to come after the amount of jobs they were able to find. They also wanted better education and to learn more languages.

The struggle about this happening is that they had to cram into one little apartment. Another struggle they faced was not speaking the correct language, therefore making it hard to communicate with other people.

Jannessa Y.

12/11/2017 10:59:25 pm

I like how one of the reasons your family came was for the women's rights. That in itself is important. Many families seems to come for better opportunities such as education, which is great.

Jenelvis R.

12/11/2017 10:12:24 pm

I asked my mother to explain to me my family's unique immigration experience. She personally did not know exactly every single part of the experience, but she had an idea of my family's history. My mother's side of the family are all from the Dominican Republic. I was very surprise because I believe that they were a mix of cultures such as European and more . There is a good possibility we are , but for a good eight generations all my family have been from the Dominican Republic. My mother tells me that the reason for my family migrating to the United States was because of poverty and wanting a new opportunity to succeed in this world. My family was practically dying in the Dominican Republic, trying to scrap up any money they possibly could. They eventually made it to the United States but faced many challenges. Some challenges they faced was to become a legal immigrant in America. They wanted to have documentation in this country because they really wanted to a make a living for themselves and the future of the Villalona family. Although they were succeeding in their new way of life, they still had family back home. It was extremely difficult for them to stay in contact with one another. Along with that, many of my family wanted to come to the United States. However only a few could. My family found work quickly in the United States. For example, my grandfather Fausto Villalona worked as a longshoremen. He was the key for the majority of my family 's success. He helped his nieces and nephews through their education by providing for them, such as sending money back home. My mother said her father always taught her to never forget where she came from and that family is above all no matter what.

Annie S.

12/11/2017 10:30:58 pm

My family comes from many European countries. The greatest percentage of my ancestors came from Ireland. I am also Scottish, English, Welsh, French, and German. Although I don't know much about when my family came here or when they did, two of my great grandmothers worked in factories. My great grandfathers worked as a bartender, a toolmaker, a supervisor in a factor, and a lawyer.

Erica

12/11/2017 10:33:35 pm

As far as my father knows, most of his ancestors originate from Ghana. When he was in his early 20’s he decided to make his way to the states. He wanted to endure as many opportunities so he could be able to provide a life for his future family in the United States. “There wasn’t anything wrong with my country. I wasn’t farming, I didn’t have a knife to my back, I came on my own.”

He lived with my grandfather for a little while before he got his first job, as a worker in a factory called Texas Instruments. He was apart of an assembly line, it was a hard job but he did what he had to do to keep his life in the states afloat. Since he had the job he was able to rent an apartment in providence. After 5 years of hard work and dedication he was able to finally bring both my sister and mother to the United States.

Wilder R.

12/11/2017 10:39:02 pm

On My Mother’s side they come from both Spain and Guatemala . They have lived in Guatemala for years now . She was born in Guatemala and she was the oldest . She had to take care of her siblings because her mom was sick and my grandpa couldn’t do anything because he had just migrated to America . It was a very hard time for them but she says that he came to America (pull factors) because he wanted them his children and his descendants to have a better life by coming here so he then brought his oldest daughter (my mom) and he had also come because the country was and still is very poor and they don’t have great jobs and she has said that a family would get about 500 dollars a month . He needed a better job so his family would turn out to have a great future . Even though my mom didn’t really have a chance to get a good education since she had to dropout at because she had to help out her family but she then got back because of her dad getting almost all the money he had just so she could have education since it wasn’t fair that she was the only one without education out of her siblings . Especially her mom since In Guatemala they say that the women should help out the mom around the house and the men do the heavy work so she would help out my grandma but she would also help out her dad so they can earn more money but it wasn’t that big of a difference she says . My mom said that we would’ve stayed in guatemala since obviously as i said before it was a poor country so it was extremely hard for my grandpa to make it to America but once he did he started working in landscaping . She says that he was always being made fun of since he just came so he didn’t understand that much . He had a hard time working so they didn’t pay him that much . He didn’t have his own house . He had to share it with his friends until he actually could afford renting a house for him and his daughter (my mom) . A push factor was that in Guatemala the education wasn’t great and you would’ve had to pay lots of money because you have to buy uniform , and textbooks, etc... He was a selfless Man and always thought about other people and not him . He especially cared about his children . He wasn’t that kind of man who they would say and stereotype that he doesn’t cook or clean . He is the opposite. He would take a day off just to be with his children and take care of my grandma because he was so caring and a great guy. My mom says that he would always be there especially in the hard times when my mom came to the U.S 28 years ago and It was such a hard time for her since she was just a teenager. My mom when she was old enough to work here in the U.S she started by doing cleaning like at places like stores and it would be for 6 hours from 2 of the morning to 8 so that she finished once the store would open . She would then come home and would start taking care of children from 8 to 5 p.m. then she would work in this company which was cleaning fish to eat and that was from 6 to around 10. She would come home and basically take a nap for less than 3 hours . This was almost every day for a very long time .She had to learn English because everyone would talk to her in English and all they knew what to say was “si” and “poquito espanol” but literally they just know two statements. She then got better throughout the years and she now enjoys what she does , she understands what my sister and I talk about and she is a great women and she is just like her dad who thinks about other people first even if she was struggling. I really respect her and my grandparents so much because of what they have done so we could have the best life possible and i am rich and have the best life just because I got to have them as family.

Karena P.

12/11/2017 10:57:06 pm

My Family/ancestors lived sort of the same life since they were from the same country. My father had said that people had been getting killed a lot so it’s a dangerous and poor country like you had said. So it’s kind of nice to hear that our ancestors lived the same way. Although it was a hard life that they have lived. But I liked what you have written and I think that your grandparents made a good decision

Karena P.

12/11/2017 10:43:43 pm

My mother was born in Thailand but is Cambodian. My mother’s family had moved a lot throughout the young ages from Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia. Her father was born in Cambodia. He was involved in the Vietnam war around the age of 60. My mother had moved to the US at a young age. She can not remember why but if I were to guess why I would think it was because the family could have been in danger. My grandmother was born in Cambodia too, she has done lots of housework. So when my mother moved to the US she had to work at home. She cleaned the house a lot. In Cambodia and Thailand some people are forced to get married so that was what had happened to my grandparents. They live happily now. My Grandmother came to the US learned more English at an old age. My mother had went to school and went to CCRI years later. This experience was hard to for them to come to the US and find a school to learn English before going to regular schools. So that was part of the experience of my mother and grandparents.

My Father's side of the family is Guatemalan. My Father was born in Guatemala City. My Father doesn’t know much about his experience of moving to the US because he was very young too but I think it was pretty tough at the end. His Father (my grandfather) was born in Guatemala as well. Same with my Grandmother. They have grown up speaking Spanish so when moving to the US they had to learn English. My Father went to school in Guatemala as well. My grandfather was the first to move to the US from his Family, then later on my Father moved to the US. I do not know much about my Grandmother because she did not want to move to the US. I do not want to share too much personal info but this was really tough for my Father. He had to live with his dad alone. My father then started to go to school to learn more English and start to learn things like everyone else. My grandfather got the job of a firefight. He had loved it a lot that he told us (his grandkids) that he would like to see one of us to become a firefighter before he dies. He is still a live now so I would like to see his wish come true.

Wilder R.

12/11/2017 10:47:27 pm

Same with my grandparents. It was really tough for them since they have lived with just spanish for so long that is sounds like a made up Language to them . I feel really bad and I wish that I could just give them half of my education or give them the chance to learn English instead of just like learning it randomly basically

Karena P.

12/11/2017 10:50:05 pm

To add on to my stuff.

My parents were born in a very poor place so it was hard for them. My dads country (Guatemala) is very poor so when he was a child he had a hard time. So my grandfather thought it was best to live in the US. But my Grandmother did not want to. Not sure why, she does not live in the US nor speaks English so I do not really talk to her. But I think she didn’t want to leave the majority of her family so she stayed. (My father forgot exactly why because he was young)

Karena P.

12/11/2017 11:09:01 pm

When I talked about my grandfather from Cambodia, I meant that he had fought in the Vietnam War at the age of 19. Sorry wrong age.

Jannessa Y.

12/11/2017 10:48:38 pm

My parents don't know much about our ancestry. Everything is pretty vague and goes really far back. My mother and father have many similarities in their stories, but also some differences.

My dad's family migrated from China and has been in Cambodia for a long time, back when there were dynasties. His parents are both educated, which became a risk when the Khmer Rouge began. The Khmer Rouge was a genocide to basically get kill anyone that was educated so that whoever was leading the genocide could oppress those who didn’t know any better. The Khmer Rouge was the main push factor for many people living in Cambodia at the time. It was the push factor for both of my parents and their families. The pull factor for my dad’s family was that they knew more about America and there were better opportunities advertised. The pull factor for my mom’s family was that her uncle was sponsoring them to come here.

My dad was living in Phnom Penh, the capital, with his parents and two sisters. He is the middle child. My mom was living in Battambong, a rural province, with her parents, three sisters, and four brothers. She is the second youngest out of seven.

My dad arrived in July 1981 after spending half of his 11 years running, hiding, and spending his time in refugee camps. He was able to come with his family of 5 by plane. They settled down in Rhode Island because there was a strong Asian community here and have lived here ever since. His family was lucky; since both of his parents were educated, they were able to secure good jobs. My grandpa founded an agency called the Cambodian Society to help support the oncoming refugees. He later worked in communications with the Providence Police Department before retiring. My grandma works as a social worker in the Department for Human Services. My dad went to school and finished college.

My mom’s family came here in the summer of 1981 as well. My mom was only about 6 years old. Her family had a similar experience of moving from refugee camp to refugee camp, which was harsh. As I said before, her uncle sponsored her entire family to come to the United States since he was already here. They came to live in San Diego, California. Then her mom, my grandmother, moved to Rhode Island to be close to her mom, my great grandmother, in Montreal. One by one, each sibling moved to Rhode Island until there was only two or three aunts left in California. My mom came to Rhode Island in the summer of 1989. All three of her brothers and my mom then lived with their parents in Rhode Island. My grandmother worked in jewelry. My grandfather wasn’t able to work. It was difficult to support a large family, but they pulled through.

For both of my parents, there was a huge culture shock. Everything was different: the food, the language, the people. It was hard to adapt, especially when no one accepts you because you are different. Both of my parents were bullied and teased. My mom didn’t experience as much bullying as my dad, or she doesn’t want to tell me about it. My dad, on the other hand, has many stories about being bullied, teased, threatened, and beat up. But my dad, being himself, fought back. There were many Asians back then at his school, and they supported and stood by each other. Life was hard for my parents, but they were able to adjust.

Kellin. E

12/11/2017 10:49:28 pm

My ancestors came from Guatemala. Both from my mom's side and dad's side. My mother came to the United States on June13th, 1997 at the age of 21. My father also came to the United States on June 13th, 1997 at the age of 21 as well. She came to the United States for a better life for her and her future kids. One pull factor for my parents were the opportunities that were given here and not in Guatemala. One push factor was that Guatemala was not a wealthy place and was filled with violence. There was poor labor and the economy overall was wrecked. At first, my mother had a horrible time adjusting to her new life and wanted to return to Guatemala. She didn't understand the language that was spoken here and felt like an outsider. She worked in factories at first packing jewelry and other things.

Aliyah

1/12/2018 09:54:57 am

My mom was born here and so was my dad. But my grandfather, on my moms side, was born in Nigeria. He moved here when he was about 17 18 ish. He moved because he wanted a better education. When he moved, he said that a lot of people asked him how he was so good at English, and he simply replied, "because I spoke English before." He also figured out how to finish college in three years instead of four.
My grandmother, on my moms side, is Native American Indian and was born here.
My dad's family doesn't know where they were from. Or at least, my dad doesn't.

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