Me and my two sisters were born in America, but my parents were born and raised in Taiwan. They moved here in the 1990’s because they graduated top of their class and were able to grant entrance to an American school. (That was the one of the manys ways a Taiwanese citizen could immigrate to America) In the reading, it states that by the 1990’s half a million asian made up 7% of the new york city popluation. Most of the “chinese” who immigranted to American were consisted from either Taiwan or Hong Kong, to flee the communist oppression of China. Most of the Asians that came to New York City resides in mainly Queens which is where i grew up.
American Born Taiwanese
We here to Stay
I identify myself as an American but when ask what am I my answer is always Indian and Caribbean. My great uncle reside in America after working on ships that travel form the Caribbean to Florida in the 1970’s. He soon sent for my grandmother who came to America in the early 1980 after he felt this was a place that they can make something for themselves.. This was a common movement for many Caribbean people who came here for a better life. According to the text many Latin Americans and Caribbean starting coming in American in large numbers in the 1970’s. My grandmother came here so that she can help out her mother, sister, kids and other relatives back home. She soon sent for 5 out of her 9 kids when she was in a more stable position.Having her kids in America help take off some of the stress with just here having to take care of the entire family back home. However my mother and aunts wasn’t able to bring they kids since here was look at a place to work and make money.
My father came to America in the 1980’s also. He was just here with his brother trying to live the American dream. Unlike my mother my father didn’t have any papers when he arrive here so had to work at stores, restaurant asnd soon soon starting driving taxi, a common job for many Indian immigrants. After getting establish he sent for his mother and father so that they too can live a better life. Eastern Indian migartion to America haven’t been something was discuss much in the book. I dont know if the amount wasnt as large as other races.
The immigration process that took place in the 1970’s – now more represent me due to the large number of Caribbean people coming here. Yes I am an American but my culture ties are more Caribbean. Having more and more coming to America to reside has transform many neighborhoods. Now I could walk outside and get real pot food like oxtail, curry goat, jerk chicken, roti, bread and cheese and not just a Spanish dish, pizza or Chinese Food. Having different people moving in my community is starting to mold it into a place that resemble our culture that was left make home. Many Irish came here willing wanting to leave they culture in Ireland but not Caribbean people we are happy of where we come from and try to open shops,restaurants, clubs,and bars so that we can have a feeling of home.
Immigrants are all here for a certain reason adn for many its a better life. America has given us an opportunity that wasnt available to us before.
Posted in admin only: Featured, May 9 Assignment
Tagged Caribbean, Culture, food, Migration
2 Comments
“Our Very Own Island in the City”
Flatbush, Brooklyn - Where most Caribbean people were found.
People from all over the world migrated to New York in an effort to have a better life. They predicted opportunities within the city and jumped in to join those seeking those opportunities. We are told of the numerous ethnicities that make up the New York we have today and how each contributes, by some means, to make New York a phenomenal phenomenon.
According to the Binder and Reimers reading, significant immigration took place within the 1900s. There were people from Europe, Asia, The Caribbean and other areas of the world. People from the Caribbean were known to have taken up residency within Brooklyn, forming restaurants and island resources. Jamaicans were renowned for the advertisements on their native cuisine, including rice, peas, pastries and the best for last, the Spicy Jerk Chicken :). Jamaica was where my family grew up before my mother migrated to Brooklyn, similar to most Caribbean people.
The population of Caribbean people expanded over the years, and are now residing in other areas of the New York including The Bronx and Queens. They have taken their cultures and shared it through their meals and styles, thus adding to the opportunities, diversity and the beauty of the city.
Posted in admin only: Featured, May 11 Assignment
Tagged brooklyn, Caribbean, Jamaicans, New York, population
1 Comment
Hello land of prosperity
In the 1990s, a small part of my family immigrated to the United States from Haiti. At the time, there were many difficulties in finding a job in Haiti, so they were forced to emigrate to seek a better life. All my cousins were born in the United States, and according to their parents, life is better here than it was in their country. When they arrived here, they lived in Brooklyn specifically in Church Avenue. Today many Haitian immigrants leave here. According to the last Census Bureau Data in 2008, there are 546, 000 Haitian immigrants in the United States. Of the 546,000 foreign-born Haitians, 48% percent are naturalized U.S citizens.The top states of Haitian immigrant settlement are: Florida (251,963)
New York (135,836)
New Jersey (43,316)
Massachusetts (36,779)
Georgia (13,287)
Maryland (11,266)
Posted in admin only: Featured, May 11 Assignment
Tagged haitian, immigrants, united states
1 Comment
Variety is the Spice of Life!
Newly arrived in New York City, or “the concrete jungle where dreams are made of” as they like to call it here, one can be completely taken aback by the cultural diversity the city manifests. I was, however, delighted. Coming from a multicultural background and living in a country where people continuously question my race and nationality, an identity crisis has always been a great part of my life. In New York City however, things are different. Everyone is multicultural, from various backgrounds, and has their own unique story.
According to Binders, the latest wave of immigrantion brought about 100,000 immigrants to the city annually in the 1990s where a census showed that nearly “one in three New Yorkers was foreign born.” (Binders 43)The neighbourhood in Queens where i live in is itself a great example: There is a Burmese Bhuddhist temple in the same area as a Catholic Church looks on from exactly the opposite side of the street, and an Indian Hindu temple is a minute’s walk away. Turn left, you see a Korean, turn right, a Hispanic approaches, and look straight ahead you see a Thai and American couple walking by. It is definitely an advantage to have access to all the cultural worlds in one single place-New York City.
Posted in admin only: Featured, May 11 Assignment
Tagged Diversity, Immigration, multicultural
1 Comment
The 7 is a cheaper plane ticket
Living next to a 7 train station, Binder naming the 7 train the “Orient Express” caught my attention. Flushing, today, is inhabited by a majority of Chinese and Korean descent. Due to immigration, the 7 train serves as a link between Manhattan and many neighborhoods. 82nd street is a primarily Latino and Mexican neighborhood. 74th street is home to Little India. 69th street boasts a whole block of Filipino restaurants and stores. A quick transfer to the N or Q train at Queens Plaza takes commuters to Astoria, a primarily Greek neighborhood. The 7 train is a great way to experience a vast amount of ethnicities, varying from stop to stop.
Outside of Chinatown and Flushing, many Chinese people settled in various neighborhoods. Two such neighborhoods are Elmhurst, Queens and, as Binder states, the Sunset Park- Bay Ridge district of Brooklyn. Elmhurst is slowly becoming another Chinese-focused area. Thai, Vietnamese and Korean people live in Elmhurst as well, providing the neighborhood I live in a cultural diffusion and mash-up of various ethnicities and influences.
Posted in admin only: Featured, May 11 Assignment
Tagged Binder, Chinese, Immigration
Comments Off on The 7 is a cheaper plane ticket
Platanos! Platanos! 4 por un dolar!
(plantains! plantains! 4 for a dollar!)
My siblings and I were born in New York, being the only generation of children in my family to be born in the United States. My parents are both from the Dominican Republic, coming in the mid to late 1970s. As the text states, “The largest numbers of post-1970 immigrants came from the Caribbean.” (226). By 1990, Washington Heights was dominated by Dominicans in which was once a very populated German Jewish community. This went in accordance with my parents. They did come to the United States but lived in another state. By 1990, they were settled in into their apartment in the heart of Washington Heights, St. Nicholas Avenue.
“Dominicans and their American-born children numbered over 300,000 in that year, and there were no signs of abating.” (227). In that statistic, my brother and sister were included. We were all born and raised in the Heights, showing that we were significantly influenced by this wave. Although we eventually moved to another borough, as the quote states, Washington Heights is still a center piece of Dominican culture, such as plantains and rice with beans.
-“It’s like a mini DR.”
Posted in admin only: Featured, May 11 Assignment
Tagged Immigration, New York, washington heights
Comments Off on Platanos! Platanos! 4 por un dolar!
A Flock of Immigrants
People from all over the world, even today, are migrating to the United States. From personal experiences, there was a lot I found in common with the Binder and Reimers reading. Some of the basic reasons why many immigrants flocked to the city was because of economic and political reasons. Many were uneducated, nonetheless there was the percentage of highly educated immigrants who lagged behind because of their illiteracy in the English language. According to the excerpt, the Bengali migration to the city occurred around 1980, many of who had won immigrant visa lotteries.
Similarly, my dad came to NY around that time through the lottery process. His goal was to earn enough money so that he could send it to my mom and we would be able to fly to NY. Although we were pretty well off in Bangladesh, our family was in search of better opportunities. It was a great accomplishment back then for anyone who could escape the social and economic deterioration of Bangladesh. It was a struggle at first because we were all mandated to speak English and all my entire family (with the exception of my dad) couldn’t speak English. Then as the years went by our family was able to accumulate enough money to make investments in businesses and improve our financial status. Eventually we grew accustomed to the New York lifestyle. Me, my brother and sister have a better chance of doing better financially than my parents because we are all fully equipped with what we might have thrown to us. Even though me and my brother weren’t born here, were moved to NY at a very young age which allowed us to grow with our surroundings.
Posted in admin only: Featured, May 9 Assignment, Uncategorized
Tagged asian, illegal, new immigrants
1 Comment
Stephen Colbert Opening Statement
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/k1T75jBYeCs" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
Immigration was and sill a major aspect in shaping New York City and elsewhere. However binder highlights immigration from “pull and push pull” effects and its mechanism and how immigrant distribute themselves geographically in the fives borough according either to an economic opportunity or to a family presence. Binder also talked about fluctuation of immigrants, ethnic groups from 1940-1992. For instance the vast majority of city’s immigrant in 1970 was from Europe. And 95% of city’s residents were European. By 1950 90% of city’s Hispanic were Puerto Rican and declined to 50% in 1990. This declined in Puerto Rican replace by other Caribbean immigrant; by 1990 Dominicans had surpassed Italians to become first in population. This fluctuation I immigration waves has shaped the city economically and politically. Most immigrants moved from looking to satisfy their economic needs to form a political influence.
Personally I don’t have any family member In USA but before I came to USA, my attention to explore and enjoy my journey even though I always looking for an opportunity to live here since my high school when we studied the capitalism and the geography of USA. However, I lived in Europe for a while that allow making a difference. The diversity In New York city is much known internationally throughout, mainly, Hollywood’s movies. In addition the opportunities existed in USA and in particular New York is the pull effect form many immigrants to come and share the prosperity of American wellbeing.
And we have seen that immigration issue leads national debate on the election periods and also we have seen recently the measures taken by some states. In the post world war II, the Chinese immigrants were isolated under security measures. And now, in the wake of the devastating event on September 11 certain group of immigrants became vulnerable to a racial stereotype nationally. One issue that Binder referred to as new immigrants try to embrace the American life is a racial issue, even though is not on the surface as it was hundred years ago, but it still one of the factors that lay down the geographic map of new comer around New York city.
Posted in admin only: Featured, May 11 Assignment
Tagged immigartion issues, Immigration in numbers, the immigration growth
Comments Off on Stephen Colbert Opening Statement
Political leaders heated debate on ( IN UK)
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/6ZdQ0kA3ksg" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on Political leaders heated debate on ( IN UK)