The Journey
<--Why did I make that my symbol?
Author
/ Artist
Akshay Ganesh
Akshay Ganesh
| How
you gonna get there? (aaah...immigrants) The Journey <--Why did I make that my symbol? |
Author
/ Artist Akshay Ganesh |
I interviewed my
grandfather, Chittur Chandra. He is 73 years old. He says that the first person
of our family to come to America is my uncle, Ravi. He is obviously also from
India, as he is my mother's brother. He was a student before he came here, and
was looking for a job. He landed here in 1982 by himself. The reasons he came
to live here were for a higher education and, as mentioned before, better job
opportunities. He actually didn't live in the city when he came here. He lived
in Ossining, NY which is upstate. The reason he lived there is because IBM offered
him a job in Yorktown Heights, an area close to Ossining. Life here was very different
for him. He had to get used to new food, new weather (it's never cold where we
come from) and new people of other cultures. We think living in NYC is good because
we are exposed to all kinds of different people and cultures. I think I would
like to remain here in the city because I have been here for most of my life and
I have really gotten used to it. I can imagine leaving NYC, but I really don't
want to.
I asked my grandfather these questions that I made up.
If
you had to leave India again like you did many years ago, would you?
No,
because the problems of leaving outweigh the advantages of staying.
Some questions I asked him that weren't on the list
Do you want to leave America?
Yes. I would like to go back to India because my brothers, sisters, and many other
relatives are all there.
How do you think the government can make
life easier for immigrants?
It can make more people aware of the contributions
of immigrants to society.
