In this sequence “Spaces and exchanges”, we focused our attention on immigration through two texts.
The first is an extract from a book entitled A Boy’s Journey written by Seymour Rechtzeit in 2002 ( two thousand two ...not necessary ), which presents the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by a Polish man and his father who immigrated to the USA in 1912.
The second is also an extract from a book entitled Eloy Musquiz, the Chicano written by James Michener, which presents an illegal immigrant who tries to go back to Mexico to bring his children to Texas because they’re alone since his wife’s death.
A hundred years ago people immigrated cause the situation was so difficult in Europe that they were less likely to succeed if they stayed. They left because of potato famine, British domination in Ireland, Napoleonic and revolutionary wars in Germania or extreme poverty in Scandinavia.
They immigrated to America to make their dream come true. They would have such great opportunities abroad that leaving was the best solution, they were more likely to find a job. But the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean was uncomfortable, in the text, the narrator says at the line 23 that they were “one on top of the others”. They must have suffered from a lack of privacy and must have really looked forward to arriving.
Before they arrived in New York, the immigrants landed on Ellis Island where they had to pass a legal examination and to answer a few questions about their plans, their political opinions and their origin.
The authorities wanted to make sure that they wouldn’t be a burden for the society.
Once they had landed in New York, they must have been at a lost what to do. It was the first time they had seen such a wonderful place. It was the promised land where everything may happen for the new immigrants but America was the unknown land and some didn’t find jobs and they starved. Although they were determined to succeed in life, it was difficult for them to adapt in this new world where they had difficulty in communicating because of the different languages. Furthermore, in the text, the families were so poor that they couldn’t afford to pay tickets for the whole family. Seymour’s family would come when he and his father made enough money.
Today, immigration continues, a lot of Mexicans try to immigrate illegally in to the USA. Working in Mexico can’t enable them earn a decent living and making ends meet was all the more difficulty as they had families to feed. If they emigrated to the USA, they would be able to provide their family with money. Their only dream is just to be able to support their family.
The Mexicans cross the border illegally and consequently they take the risk of being sent to jail. Some cross by the Rio Grande, others by the desert, in both cases, they could die.
Although they stream the border in uncounted numbers, few Mexicans arrived in the USA. And once they’ve arrived, they’re rejected by the American society. They’re reproached to show no inclination toward becoming Americanized, adding to that, for the great majority, they’re illiterate and they have difficulty in adapting to a high tech society.
However, being rejected doesn’t prevent them from being needed.
To conclude, in the past same as today, the immigrants intention is to have a better life for himself and for his family. The language barrier is one of the difficulties that the immigrants meet coupled up with the rejection, racism, and the prejudices …
Immigration implies the discovery of a new culture and consequently of a new language, new customs new people … and it’s difficult for the immigrants to adapt. However, people immigrants are more likely to succeed in their new countries.
The immigrants modify the society of the country where they immigrated, they add their culture to that of the country, which is the sign of a globalized world. But in most of the cases, although they’re needed economically speaking, they rejected and they’re exploited, underpaid and overworked.
So, in conclusion we can say that immigration has shaped the current world.
