Channel: MsHistoryDocumentary w
Bridget Michalko
8/20/2014 Reflection 5
Children of Immigrants
There is a lot of talk going around about immigrants and immigrants who are children. But what ever happened to the children of the immigrants that came earlier? Even if they were born in the U.S., surely their lives would be different because of who their parents were and used to be? How do the children of immigrants look at the world? In the documentary called Children of Immigrants, a few people are interviewed about how they live as a child of an immigrant.
Being an immigrant is always hard. Rarely can immigrants easily assimilate a new place and culture. It takes time and a lot of patience. Learning a new language, following new rules, understanding new cultures. Everything is different. Immigrants will often struggle to make a good life for themselves when they first migrate into a new country. They have to figure out how to live life in a different place than they are used to. Then, on top of that, they will usually try to make a family or help their family in this new situation. Not only is it hard to take care of themselves, they have to try to work for their loved ones as well. For the immigrants that were able to live successfully in a new country, such as the U.S., they made families and thrived in their new life. Having children that were born in the U.S. can be helpful. Because the child was born in the U.S., it doesn't have to go through so many trials like their parents had to. They would be a United States citizen and their lives would hopefully be easier. Even with all of these advantages, simply being the child of an immigrant can change how a person lives their life. Someone who looks different or is taught to act different from a young age can't help but feel like they themselves are different? The children of immigrants are often times easily recognized (though not always) and can end up living a life as if they were an immigrant themselves. But how do people handle this?
In the story The Distance Between Us, Reyna Grande was not a child of an immigrant. Instead, she was an immigrant herself. Although she had siblings that were technically children of immigrants, it was a different situation than many of the children of immigrants today. While her mother was an immigrant, when she had children in the U.S., they were not immigrants. Reyna's children when she grew older would also be considered children of an immigrant. Even though they were all in the same family, there were children of immigrants in different generations of the family, even though a lot of the migrating occurred at the same time.
In the story The Distance Between Us, Reyna Grande was not a child of an immigrant. Instead, she was an immigrant herself. Although she had siblings that were technically children of immigrants, it was a different situation than many of the children of immigrants today. While her mother was an immigrant, when she had children in the U.S., they were not immigrants. Reyna's children when she grew older would also be considered children of an immigrant. Even though they were all in the same family, there were children of immigrants in different generations of the family, even though a lot of the migrating occurred at the same time.
One person that was interviewed in the documentary was a woman named Martha. Martha was always aware that her parents were immigrants and would often watch and learn about how they felt about that. She noticed that her father would feel ashamed that he was polish, and would try to erase that part of himself sometimes. Other times, he would feel like being an immigrant wasn't good enough and he would be unhappy about it. When Martha was younger, she didn't understand why he felt this way. Why was he ashamed of where he'd come from? Wasn't Poland a good place? Why was it so bad? She didn't understand that it wasn't always the fact that he was Polish that upset him. It was more the fact that he was Polish, and no longer in Poland. Being an immigrant can make people treat others differently, see others differently. Because of this, her father didn't feel like he was a man. He felt belittled and powerless. Unfortunately, it took Martha until she was much older to realize this. She herself was always proud of her heritage and history. Instead of being weighed down by it like her father was, she was curious about it and wanted to learn more. She wanted to learn more about how her ancestors lived their lives and how they saw the world. She wanted to find out what kind of place her ancestors lived in compared to what kind of place she lived in. She would be curious as to why her parents migrated, and if they felt like they made the right decision. Even though her life was slightly different that those that weren't children of immigrants, Martha chose to look at that fact optimistically and make it a chance of opportunity.
On the other hand, a woman named Margaret was the child of Korean immigrants. She would see how her parents treated her and the people around them because they were immigrants. She would recall how her mother would meet other people that weren't immigrants and push her to the front and claim that she was "American". While Martha was curious about her parents' past, Margaret simply saw it as an opportunity for something else. She took all of her "immigrant memories" and made them into comedy sketches. She is currently a very well liked comedian that uses her status as a child of an immigrant to her advantage. She recalls how people treat her different because she looks different. How people would go to her for body modifications, or nail art just because she was Asian or Korean. Or she would recall how people made stereotypes about her for being Korean, even though she was born in the United States. All of this took a lot of getting used to when she was younger, but she only looked at it as an opportunity to tell her story and make people laugh.
Throughout the U.S. there are many people who are children of immigrants. Just like immigrants, they are treated differently, but that isn't always looked down upon. Some immigrants are proud to be immigrants, while others try their hardest to hide that fact. Their children are the same. Even though there is a difference in the generations, the fact that being different causes others to treat them differently doesn't change. It's simply a matter of how that is handled. Many children of immigrants may not enjoy being treated differently, but that doesn't stop them. Most children of immigrants aren't ashamed of that fact, but look at it through new eyes. Even though their parents may not like the fact that they are immigrants, their children don't always follow in their parents' footsteps on how they view their status.
When I watched this documentary, it did stir up a question or two. Not for the people in the documentary or the people that made the documentary, but to everyone else. Each of the people that were interviewed recalled people treating them differently because of their parents' status in the country. Immigrant or not, because they looked different, they were treated differently. Why do people really do that? They are American citizens, aren't they? If they were treated differently because of their parents' status, would telling them that they were born in the U.S. immediately make them stop? Martha's family was Polish. People from Poland happen to look a lot like American born people. Why? Because almost everyone in the U.S. is from some place in Europe. Besides the accent, why bother treating them different if they don't even look different? On the other hand, Margaret definitely looks different, but she's really no different from Martha. This is a confusing question because Martha may have been treated differently because of her or her parents' accents. But no one would have known she was the child of an immigrant by her looks. That would mean that looks don't matter, and behavior is what triggers people into thinking that someone is an immigrant or the relative of an immigrant. All the while, Margaret didn't have an accent or anything, but she looked Korean. That would mean that looks do matter and that accents didn't have anything to do with it. Anyone that looks different is treated differently, but if you're different, doesn't that always mean you're most likely an immigrant or the child of one? So, in the end, the two do have a connection somehow, don't they? Unfortunately, watching this video only made this question all the more confusing. Technically, I would be considered an immigrant as well because I was born in China and adopted and brought into the U.S. by my adopted parents. But there are some people that are completely American and they simply look Asian (etc.). I always feel like deep down, treating people because they are from a different place has something to do with how people are taught about immigrants, but I haven't quite reached an answer yet. This question simply remains confusing for me.
When I watched this documentary, it did stir up a question or two. Not for the people in the documentary or the people that made the documentary, but to everyone else. Each of the people that were interviewed recalled people treating them differently because of their parents' status in the country. Immigrant or not, because they looked different, they were treated differently. Why do people really do that? They are American citizens, aren't they? If they were treated differently because of their parents' status, would telling them that they were born in the U.S. immediately make them stop? Martha's family was Polish. People from Poland happen to look a lot like American born people. Why? Because almost everyone in the U.S. is from some place in Europe. Besides the accent, why bother treating them different if they don't even look different? On the other hand, Margaret definitely looks different, but she's really no different from Martha. This is a confusing question because Martha may have been treated differently because of her or her parents' accents. But no one would have known she was the child of an immigrant by her looks. That would mean that looks don't matter, and behavior is what triggers people into thinking that someone is an immigrant or the relative of an immigrant. All the while, Margaret didn't have an accent or anything, but she looked Korean. That would mean that looks do matter and that accents didn't have anything to do with it. Anyone that looks different is treated differently, but if you're different, doesn't that always mean you're most likely an immigrant or the child of one? So, in the end, the two do have a connection somehow, don't they? Unfortunately, watching this video only made this question all the more confusing. Technically, I would be considered an immigrant as well because I was born in China and adopted and brought into the U.S. by my adopted parents. But there are some people that are completely American and they simply look Asian (etc.). I always feel like deep down, treating people because they are from a different place has something to do with how people are taught about immigrants, but I haven't quite reached an answer yet. This question simply remains confusing for me.
I also have seen a lot of talk about children crossing the border.
ReplyDeleteThis was really interesting, I wrote an article about the difference first generation immigrant children and second generation immigrant children. I liked how you clearly stated the difference and the hardships both groups of children had to face.
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