Experiences of Immigration to the U.S.
Caka, Bardha
Summary: Marygrove College student Tracee Anderson
interviews Bardha Caka (Barbara) about her experiences
moving to the United States from Albania. Barbara talks
about the lottery and how she came to America. Ms. Caka goes
on to speak about Communism in Albania, her journey to the
United States, and how she learned English by watching
television.
Chou, Pao-yu
Summary: Dr. Pao Yu Ching Chou was born in Beijing, China,
the oldest of three children. Though of royal descent (Qing
dynasty), her father grew up an impoverished orphan; her
mother was a very wealthy member of the Han majority. Dr.
Chou's early life was influenced by the 1911 and 1949
revolutions in China, by the tension over finances between
her parents, and by the rise of communism. After graduating
first in her class with an economics degree, she received a
scholarship to attend graduate school at Bryn Mawr. There
she was struck by the gap between her expectations of the
United States (as an ideal, democratic country of equality)
and the realities exposed by the civil rights movement. Dr.
Chou married, and continued to work while completing her PhD
dissertation on inequities in milk production and government
subsidies. For a long period, China's importance in her life
was minimal, but now China and the rest of the world have
become a major interest. She says, "I think I’ve become a
Marxist. I have to throw away everything I learned in
graduate school...The hardest thing is to clean up bourgeois
economics. Clean it up and relearn."
Echevaria,
Mercedes
Summary: Marygrove College professor Dena Scher interviews
Mercedes Echevaria about her experiences coming to the
United States from Cuba. Mercedes came to the United States
via Mexico in 1968 when she was around ten years old with
her mother and siblings. Mercedes' father came to the United
States a few years before to find work earn enough money to
bring his family.
Khapoya, Izzat
Summary: Izzat Khapoya was born in Tanzania and raised in
Mombasa, Kenya. She was the seventh of eight children born
of Indian parents who were members of a small Muslim sect
called Ismailis. She enjoyed a privileged childhood thanks
to her father's successful scrap metal business. In 1965, a
few years after Kenya gained independence, Ms. Khapoya's
father moved the family to London. From there she enrolled
at Foothill College in Los Altos, California, and then
Oregon State University. She met her future husband Vincent
at Oregon State. Because her husband was African he was not
accepted by everyone in her family; her father was
especially opposed to the marriage. She and Vincent
eventually moved to Detroit so he could take a job at
Oakland University; it was from OU that Ms. Khapoya earned
her clinical psychology degree.
Khapoya, Vincent
Summary: Dr. Khapoya talks about his early schooling and
initiation rites when he was a 14 year old boy in Kenya. In
the interview, he recounts his father's dedication to
achieving an education for his children, including his
sister who was not his sister, but his cousin. The
continuity of tradition is noted in Dr. Khapoya's building a
house for his mother, which is not his mother's house but
his own house.
Lerebours, Nulca
Summary: Marygrove College professor Dena Scher interviews
Nulca Lerebours about her experiences coming to the United
States from Haiti. Nulca came to the United States in 1968
at age 26 with her husband. Nulca speaks about her journey
from New York to Florida with her children, her involvement
with the church and community, and how Haitians are living
in Florida.
Okezie,
Chuckwunyere
Marygrove College professor Dr. Chukwunyere Okezie was one
of 10 siblings in his family's compound in Nigeria. After
Zaira University in Nigeria was closed, he moved at the age
of 22 to the United States to earn his undergraduate and
Ph.D. degrees. Dr. Okezie married in 2001 and describes his
growing family and academic life at Marygrove College.
Perez, Cosmae
Summary: Marygrove College professor Dena Scher interviews
Cosmae Perez about his experiences working the United States
as a migrant. Cosmae was born in Mexico from Mexican
American parents. After he quit school at the age of
sixteen, Cosmae began to work - first locally and then as a
migrant worker.
Perez, Esperanza
Summary: Marygrove College professor Dena Scher interviews
Esperanza Perez about her experiences coming to the United
States from Mexico. Esperanza's mother crossed into Texas
while pregnant and gave birth so that Esperanza would be
registered as an American citizen. Esperanza lived in Mexico
and immigrated to the Unites States when she was nine.
Esperanza talks about migrant work and how she met her
husband, Cosmae, and their family.
Rodriguez,
Freddie
Summary: Marygrove College professor Dena Scher interviews
Freddie Rodriguez about his experiences coming to the United
States from El Salvador. Freddie came to the United States
in 1995 when he was seven years old with his siblings.
Rodriguez's parents came illegally to the United States a
few years before. In his first years in Florida, Freddie and
his brothers were set apart by their language barrier, but
they eventually overcame that obstacle.
Shakarnah, Mahar
Summary: Mr. Shakarnah was born in Bethlehem in the West
Bank. He started to cook at an early age and was working as
a chef in the Middle East. Mahar came to the United Stated
for a visit in 1997. He traveled the country and eventually
settled in Michigan to continue working as a chef.
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