Empowerment & Migration

Respecting the migrant as a citizen of the world

Topics

Citizenship

Louées soient les immigrantes ! le 7 June 2010, by Caroline Mackenzie

Distributed by bhe collectif, 2008
Louées soient les immigrantes ! (Praise the migrant women!)
First the men came. From Europe. From Africa. From Asia. But one day, the women came too. And then everything changed.
In order to go deeper into the stories told in "Le vent vivant des peuples", Michel Séonnet takes up his discussions with four migrant women, followed by his son Elie’s camera. Four women who were born far beyond the frontier, who arrived one day and now are settled for good (...)

Domingo: Wounds from war and from life le 22 January 2010, by Michel Séonnet

Published in Le vent vivant des peuples (Créaphis, 2006)
During the two years spent fighting in Guinea-Bissau, he acquired a tattoo on his arm and a scar on his thigh. Hard months. Never going home once. He had always had a contract with the rebels, many bodies lying around him. He got out. Repatriated because he was wounded. When he returned to civilian life, months later, he started working as a builder in Braga. He got married. And decided to leave for France for a better life. He had a (...)

Marino: Do you have to be poor to remain a Catholic? le 22 January 2010, by Michel Séonnet

Published in Le vent vivant des peuples (Créaphis, 2006)
The company that recruited him came looking for him in his village in Sardinia. It happened very quickly. A man arrived. He said he needed so many workers. More than fifty men lined up. A medical check-up before the selections. A few days later – by boat and by train – they leave for France. Moselle, they told them. OK, so it’s Moselle. When they arrived, they were placed in a hostel where there were already Spanish workers.
The (...)

Abdul: To speak perfect French le 22 January 2010, by Michel Séonnet

Published in Le vent vivant des peuples (Créaphis, 2006)
Everything changed when the Red Army invaded Afghanistan. He was 18. His mother was a teacher in Kabul. His father worked in the administration. He was studying at the Faculty. He wanted to become an engineer. Like most students, he took part in the demonstrations against the Soviet presence and the new Afghan government that it had set up. During a demonstration, he was arrested. Imprisonment. Interrogations. Assassinations. (...)

Jan: Professional Satisfaction le 22 January 2010, by Michel Séonnet

Published in Le vent vivant des peuples (Créaphis, 2006)
Once he had his medical degree, he had to decide where he wanted to specialize. He hesitated. Gynaecology. Gastroenterology. In Romania, there were few posts, salaries were very low. He heard that there was an examination for 30 positions in various French-speaking countries. In psychiatry. Whatever, he sat the exam anyway. And passed it. And was given a position at the Reims Hospital where he had to continue his training. In the (...)

Sharira: Thank heavens for libraries le 22 January 2010, by Michel Séonnet

Published in Le vent vivant des peuples (Créaphis, 2006)
The first days she spent in France, she was sleeping in the street. With her husband. Two nephews. They had Colombo after the cinema run by her husband had been burnt down. They had a good life. She didn’t have to work. He came from the north, he was a Tamil, the police said that he was a “Tiger” (the Tamil rebels). So, someone burned down their cinema. That was why they left, secretly, using a smuggler. And it was because the smuggler (...)

Lee: Migration is a two-way process le 22 January 2010, by Michel Séonnet

Published in Le vent vivant des peuples (Créaphis, 2006)
For a long time, he didn’t see himself as a immigrant. His father was a diplomat representing Cambodia at UNESCO in Paris, and lived that rather strange life as a ‘expatriate’ in secondary school, high school, at Arts School later, but always feeling that he wasn’t settled, waiting for the time to go home. Except that when the time came to go hom, the tickets already bought, luggage packed, the radio said that the Airport at Phnom Penh had (...)

Irina: The only difference? freedom le 22 January 2010, by Michel Séonnet

Published in Le vent vivant des peuples (Créaphis, 2006)
It took a long time before she decided with her husband to leave. Life was becoming harder and harder in Georgia. There was a possibility of civil war. They didn’t feel safe. They left. First Kharkov, where they went into hiding in the house of Russian friends. Then a smuggler. The bus. Days and days in the bus, but they couldn’t sleep because the children didn’t understand what was happening to them. The older child was 5. And the (...)

Fatima: Family Hotel le 22 January 2010, by Michel Séonnet

Published in Le vent vivant des peuples (Créaphis, 2006)
She would have like to have come earlier, after her father was killed in a shoot-out between MNA and FLN. But at the time, it was impossible to leave Kabylie. Because of the war. She had to wait. Then she married a man who had lived in France since he was 2 years old and now she had arrived to move into the hotel-bar that the father managed at Sedan. With Algerian clients.
At that time, it was well known as a meeting place for the (...)

Amina: Women mediators le 22 January 2010, by Michel Séonnet

Published in Le vent venant des peuples (Créaphis, 2006)
She had always said that France would be a good place for her to do her studies. That if she wanted to get a good degree, she would have to go there. So, when at 19, she married a man who had been living in France for several years, she thought that destiny was smiling on her. That she would be able to continue the business studies course she had begun in Dakar. Especially as she had no difficulty coming over because she was born (...)

Lulu

Interview by Vanessa Molina, California State University, Dominguez Hills
I was born in Mascota , Jalisco, but today I reside in the city of Bellflower, California. In the first journey I took to come to the United States of America, I came with a passport as a visitor. That was in 1981, and I was only 13 years old. The second time I came to United States of America I actually went through quite the journey I didn’t have to experience. I was young, and I wanted to experience what all (...)

Working Single Mother: Teresa

Interview by Termikerlyn Black, California State University Dominguez Hills
I interviewed a co-worker, Teresa Linares, who has been living in the United States for a little over 25 years. She is a single mother of five children (two of whom are now adults), currently lives in Carson, California, and works as a hotel housekeeper. Teresa was born in Cuyultitan, El Salvador. The country of El Salvador experienced great political and economic unrest when Teresa was growing up. Teresa lives her (...)

Sabrina

Interview by a student from California State University Dominguez Hills
I interviewed Sabrina, a friend of mine who comes from Orte, a town in the Province of Viterbo, in the Italian region Latium Lazio, located about 60 km north of Rome. She moved to the United States in 2001 and since then she has been living in San Diego, CA. In August 1998, she met Francesco, who is now her husband. Francesco was a friend of her neighbor’s boyfriend, and they met through them. After a few months of (...)

Raul

Interviewed by Kellie Butler, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Raul Alavez immigrated to the United States when he was six years old from Mexico City, Mexico. His journey began when he was around four years old when his father decided to immigrate to the United States. His father moved to the United States first without his family in hopes of getting settled in the country. Mr. Alavez did cross the border illegally and from there, stayed with family members in El Segundo, CA. (...)

Lost Opportunity: Saul V

Interview by Josephine Moreno, California State University, Dominguez Hills
I am from the metropolis, Mexico City Districto Federal. Now I live everywhere, currently I stay at First Day Whittier Shelter, last year at the Salvation Army, and sometimes under a freeway bridge.
My journey began in late 1981 when I decided to come to California on a student Visa. I had a choice to receive instruction in my country as I had been accepted to La Universidad Autonoma Nacional, pursuing a degree (...)

"It Was All a Dream": Maria

Interview by Vanessa Sanchez, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Maria was born on April 4, 1965 in Puebla, Mexico. She migrated to the United States when she was 20-years old on November 23, 1985. Maria’s reason for migrating to the Unites States was to provide her family with a better life. Maria had children at a young age, first a daughter and then twins. The father took her daughter to the United States. Maria had no option but to try and get her daughter back. Despite all (...)

Determination to Succeed: Janette

Interview by Ines Mendoza, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Janette was born in Michoacan, Mexico in 1989. When she turned seven-years old her father made the decision of bringing her and Jay’s mother to Los Angeles, California. One stormy Monday morning in 1996, they took a taxi to the airport in Guadalajara, and from there they caught a plane to Tijuana, Mexico. Janette was nervous when they arrived in Tijuana because she did not have documents to cross the border. Her mother (...)

The Farewell: Janette

Interview by Daisy Castillo, California State University, Dominguez Hills
There are events in a person’s life that have the potential to change that person’s life forever. The event that has impacted my life the most has been to leave my country, my family, my childhood, and my beautiful memories. I had to leave all of it behind to immigrate to the United States of America at the tender age of twelve. This shocking event made me mature, made me the person I am today, but most important it has (...)

Irma

Interview by Alicyn Baldwin, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Irma was 18 years old, married, and mother to one child when her journey from San Pedro Sula, Honduras to Central California began. It was 1998. Irma lived in the city considered the industrial center of Honduras. When her mother-in-law married a Mexican man, Irma moved with her new family to Tijuana, Mexico. Once in Mexico, Irma’s husband got a job at a casino in Alpine, California. He would cross the border into the (...)

The Road of Liz Mena

Interview by Chris Carroll, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Liz Mena was born in Santa Clara, Cuba in the [then] province of Las Villas. Las Villas was one of the seven provinces of Cuba in 1964. Since the country has been split into over 20 provinces Liz’s home town now resides in the province of Villa Clara. Santa Clara was not a rural area, yet the town was too small have a hospital. Liz’s grandfather owned a grocery store and also had some land with some cattle, and her (...)

Rosa Elena

Interview by Barbara Rodriguez, California State University, Dominguez Hills
My name is Rosa Elena Saldana, and I am 50 years old. I was born in Chiclayo, Peru. I realized I wanted to live in America when I was 17 years old. It was always my dream to come to America and this is how I did it.
At the time, the economy in Peru was bad. The president was ruled by the military, and a civil government was going to start. At age 27 I studied at Ricardo Palma University in Lima Peru as a (...)

Jose

Interview by Nelida Juarez, California State University, Dominguez Hills
On Friday, October 23, 2009, I interviewed a friend from my parent’s hometown. I asked him about his journey from Mexico to the United States and if he would share his experience with me. He said he would share his story but would like to remain anonymous. I am going to call him Jose. His story seemed very interesting to me because he is ill but unless he tells you, you would not notice. We also have very similar (...)

Karen

Interview by Claudia Valencia, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Karen was born in the municipality of Nuevo Casas Grandes in Chihuahua, Mexico. However, at the age of four she and her mother immigrated to the United States. Upon her arrival she lived in the city of Huntington Park, California in a one bedroom house with her mother and grandmother. She then moved to Cudahy where she currently resides with her mother, stepfather, and younger sister.
Karen was only four years (...)

The Journey of Alilali George Mehale

Interview by Sarah Summerfelt, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Alilali George Mehale was born on April 6, 1954 in a small village in Pietersburg, South Africa. Growing up as a young boy was not easy for him as he experienced a great deal of poverty and sadness. In his small village he did not have electricity, water, television or a telephone. He also had to walk two miles every day to school and back and grew up living in a house without his mother and father. When Alilali was (...)

A New Journey: Maria

Interview by Amber Dill, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Many immigrants in America’s history have come in search of a dream. They have come because of persecution in their homeland or political and economic instabilities. Immigrants have braved the journey to the United States in search of a new life for their families. The interview I conducted was with a young immigrant from Brazil, and her experience was one that was quite different from the normal immigrant stories we have (...)

Samina

Interview by Erika Perez, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Her name is Samina Arain; she is from Hyderabad, Pakistan, a small town approximately 100 miles from the international city of Karachi. Pakistan is an Islamic Republic, located in the Asian continent. Samina was born and raised in Pakistan until the age of twenty-three. During this time, Pakistan was an unstable country; there was lots of fighting between people because of the military government. In March of 1987 she (...)

The Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back: Lorena

Interview by Carla Vanessa Vázquez, California State University, Dominguez Hills
My mother’s best friend, Lorena, is 62 years old and she currently resides in South Gate, CA, with her mother, husband, son, and two grown daughters. Prior to coming to the United States, she lived in Managua, Nicaragua. She had a long arduous journey that almost ended with her untimely death, but the United States was not the first place she stayed when she left Nicaragua. Her story has inspired me to strive for (...)

Hrysavghi

Interview by Alicia Navia, California State University, Domínguez Hills
I had the privileged of interviewing the mother of my co-worker. I have always thought that Greece is a country that is full of rich history and interesting people. Her name is Hrysavghi (which she translates to Chris) Notis, and she was born in Kato Skafidoti, Greece. While she was in Greece she lived in Corinth, which is where she lived last before her and her husband decided to move to the United States. She (...)

Horacio

Interview by Victor Ruvalcaba, California State University, Dominguez Hills
The United States is sometimes referred to as “the land of the free.” On the Statue of Liberty it reads, “Give me you’re tired, you’re poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me; I lift the lamp beside the golden door.” This statue stands as a symbol of the very diversity of the United States. Many people come here from all (...)

Hildabertha

Interview by Rosalie Delgado, California State University, Dominguez Hills
I never really knew the struggles and hardships of the immigrant community until I decided to interview my best friend’s mother, Hildabertha. Hildabertha was born and raised in a small town in Guanajuato, Mexico named Pueblo Nuevo. She was born in 1952 and was raised by her mother and father and had 6 brothers and one sister. Two of her brothers died when they were children: one of them died at the age of two, and the (...)

Gail

Interview by Kathleen Campbell, California State University, Dominguez Hills
My name is Gail R. Visagie. I was born in Cape Town, South Africa. I now reside in West Hills, California. My journey began in 1984 when I fell in love with my husband of 24 years. He was a singer in one of the most popular gospel groups in South Africa. We got married on September 10, 1985. We were married for one week when he had to leave again to the United States on the invitation of many churches and to (...)

Neither Polska Kielbasa, Nor American Hamburger: David

Interview by Marina Biggs, California State University, Dominguez Hills
David was born in 1974 in Wrocław, Poland – the south-western part of Poland and its fourth largest city – where he also grew up. He came to the United States 2 weeks before his 11th birthday. Now he lives in Huntington Beach, and he is my neighbor and a friend.
David’s father, Jozef, was a part of the Solidarity movement in Poland (Independent Self-governing Trade Union "Solidarity" – first non-communist trade union and (...)

Cathy

Interview by Ingrid Tyson, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Cathy came from Cambodia in the province of Kandal. It is a province near the capital of Phnom Penh. Cambodia is a small, beautiful country in Southeast Asia located South of Thailand and Laos and southwest of Vietnam. Cambodia has a large temple “Angkor Wat,” which is the largest religious monument in the world. Cathy’s life has been through many obstacles because her country had a civil war and allied with the (...)

Gloria: A proposal

Interview by a student from California State University, Dominguez Hills
Gloria Ferrero is from Zapotiltic, Jalisco, Mexico, and her journey to America is an interesting story. She has been here for twenty years, and although it was difficult at first, she has adjusted very well and is enjoying her life in Watts, California.
Gloria comes from an upper-middle class family in Mexico that valued education. Since her mother was a school teacher and her father a principal, it seemed inevitable (...)

Life in Germany and the United States: Anna

Interview by Melina Murillo, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Reflecting on her time away from her home in Germany, Anna Franzisky has decided she has had wonderful experiences living in California. Born on June 25, 1986 in the small town of Mönchzell, Germany, Anna was the eldest of three children in the Franzisky family. Leaving her home filled her with excitement as she looked forward to finally living in sunny San Diego, California, where she could not wait to visit the (...)

Carlos

Interview by Tony Casillas, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Carlos and I met in my neighborhood, where he previously lived two houses away from me. Carlos was born in Ixtlan Del Rio De Nayarit on June 3, 1970. Nayarit is a state in Mexico, which is located inland off the Pacific coast of Mexico. He lived in a small pueblo with his single mother and three older sisters. Carlos family’s only means of financial support was farming. He grew up very poor but with a mentality and (...)

Beck

Interview by Stephanie Sudman, California State University, Dominguez Hills
A boy of twelve, with freshly pulled teeth, hopped on a plane from Thailand bound for California. His travel companion was his father and no one else. Why was he traveling so far? He was going so far for a better life promised to him by his aunt and uncle, who where waiting for him in sunny California.
In 2000, twelve-year-old Beck Sirinthep was given the opportunity of a life time. He moved to the United States to (...)

Running eyes wide shut: Brenda

Interview by Sade Stigger, California State University, Dominguez Hills
The idea of running away with no perception of where or why can be a terrifying situation for a six-year old. “I was asked if I wanted to see my dad. The answer of course was, YES,” said Brenda. Brenda migrated from Mexico to the United States with her mother twenty-one years ago. Her father had already begun to establish himself in California when he sent for his girls. She recalls it being a “terrifying time” for her. (...)

A Dance of Dreams: Ernesto

Interview by Fernando Perez, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Throughout my life I have searched for an identity that can draw me back to my roots and at the same time allow me to assimilate into a culture that was not my own as a youth. In route to my immigration to the United States, I have faced many hardships that have created several setbacks in my search for an identity that feels genuine and fulfilling. Despite these hardships, I have come to appreciate the American (...)

My grandmother

Interview by Andrew Rivera, California State University Dominguez Hills
I chose to interview two immigrants: my friend from work who has been here for approximately twenty years, and my grandmother who has been here for almost forty years. The stories I heard were fascinating and unforgettable. I will particularly share the experiences of my grandmother. From the time she left her home country, she has encountered emotional ups and downs she claims.
She originally is from Germany. She (...)

Elsa

Interview by Corinne Valle, California State University Dominguez Hills
I had the pleasure of interviewing a very close family friend by the name of Elsa. Elsa was born on May 6, 1948 in Chota, Peru located in South America. Elsa is married to Juan and has two children, Jose and Christina, all of whom currently reside in Los Angeles, California. Although Elsa has been in the United States for the past 22 years, the struggles that she endured to bring her family to the states is something (...)

Luis

Interview by Laura, California State University Dominguez Hills
Luis Miguel Herrera was born on September 29, 1953 in Guadalajara, Jalisco. Luis came from hardworking parents who were determined to build a better life for their children and themselves. Unfortunately his father lost all his money, and Luis was forced to work at a young age. He finished high school but couldn’t keep going to college because he had to work to help his parents. Following these circumstances he decided to migrate (...)

Celia

Interview by Hazel Vázquez, California State University, Dominguez Hills
My neighbor Celia migrated to this country illegally in the year 1972. She currently lives in South Gate, California with two daughters and her retired husband. Celia came to this country at the young age of 19 and has lived in this country for the past 37 years.
Celia migrated from her home country in hopes to prosper with the “American dream.” In the city of Chihuahua, Mexico, Celia lived a very comfortable life with (...)

A better life for Javier

Interview by Ian Salas, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Javier Diaz was born in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. As a professor at the University of Mexicali, Javier had a comfortable life with his wife and children. Though his employment allowed him to have a nice house and car he knew he could provide for his family with more in the United States. Now Javier lives in Inglewood, California with one of his sons.
When Javier came to the United States he moved to Bullhead, (...)

Angel

Interview by Evelyn Guillen, California State University, Dominguez Hills
I interviewed my boyfriend, Angel. Angel is a college student currently attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. He lives near the campus in Goleta, California; however, he lived and was raised in the El Monte, California since he imigrated from Mexico. Angel was born on November 21, 1985, in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. He was the first of four children to his parents.
Angel’s father was from (...)

Mohammad A.

Interview by Maribel Mena, California State University, Dominguez Hills
I interviewed Dr. Mohammad Ajmal who resides in Torrance, California. Dr. Ajmal is an immigrant from Pakistan. He is also a former Cal State Dominguez Hills professor and a current Cal State Long Beach professor teaching in the nursing program. I met Dr. Ajmal through the preschool program, Torrance Tykes, that I currently work and teach in. Both his daughter and son have attended my class, and I have known the (...)

Alfredo

Interview by a student from California State University, Dominguez Hills
At the age of 19, Alfredo has had quite a journey throughout his life. He was born in Zacatecas, Mexico to a single teen mother of two. When he turned 7 he decided it was time to meet his father and allowed him to be a part of his life. When Alfredo turned 10 his father wanted to bring him to the United Stated and enroll him in school. For his mother it a hard choice, yet she decided it was best for her son to take (...)

Anonymous

Interview by Delmy Monterrosa, California State University, Dominguez Hills
I was born on May 14, 1971 in Narayit, Mexico. When I was 1-years old my father was involved in a car collision. The other man involved in the accident, for reasons that I’m not fully aware of, threatened to send my father to jail. My father being very humble and naïve was frightened of the possibility of him going to jail, so he decided to move to Tijuana, Mexico. In 1972 my parents, three brothers, and one sister (...)

A Phenomenal Woman: Maria Placencia

Interview by Kathleen François, California State University, Dominguez Hills
The phenomenal woman that was interviewed name is Maria Placencia. Maria’s first language spoken is Spanish. During the interview I sat with her and her son Ernesto. He helped translate when she couldn’t translate herself. Maria and her boyfriend at the time, who is now her husband, migrated from the state of Sonora, Mexico. She is now 46 years of age and arrived here in Los Angeles at the age of 16. Her husband at (...)

A Journey of Dreams: Miguel Sandoval

Interview by Adriana Godoy, California State University, Dominguez Hills
“It was very difficult once it came down to leave my family behind, especially mi mom,” said Miguel Sandoval talking about how he felt as he was leaving to the U.S. Miguel Sandoval is a family friend from Guanajuato, Mexico who came to California in 2000 at the age of 16. Financial hardships and lack of opportunity were the two main reasons for Miguel’s decision to come to the U.S.
Miguel comes from a humble family who (...)

Ingrid’s Story

Interview by Carol Long, California State University Dominguez Hills
Ingrid was born on the island of Trinidad. Trinidad and Tobago are twin islands and located in the Caribbean Sea off the northeast coast of Venezuela. Trinidad is the larger of the two islands and is mainly flat and is surrounded by mountains on the north. When Trinidad was explored by Columbus in 1498, it was inhabited by the Arawak Indians, and Carib Indians inhabited Tobago. Trinidad was colonized by Spain and remained (...)

My Journey to the United States: Elsa

Interview by Vanessa Hernandez, California State University, Domínguez Hills
Elsa was very independent ever since she was a young girl. She started working at the early age of 14 as a babysitter, and continued working throughout her life. At the age of 17, she went to school to become a secretary and accomplished it. She worked as a successful secretary for a few years and decided that she wanted to make a difference in people’s lives, so she decided to study first aid. At the age of 21, (...)

Journey from the Philippines: Ivan

Interview by James Encelan, California State University, Dominguez Hills
I am from Manila, Philippines. I currently live in northern California in the Bay Area. I was born in a Manila hospital on Sept. 1987 and lived in the Philippines for the first 4 years of my life. A year after my birth, my mother and grandfather moved to the United States to New Jersey before they moved to California after about a year. While they were there, I lived with my father in a district of Manila called (...)

Deborah S.

Interview by Mike Castania, California State University Dominquez Hills
I decided to interview a fellow co-worker of mine, Deborah Siriwardene. She was born in the east end of London, England in 1971 to Cecil and Glenys Siriwardene. Her father, Cecil, is originally from Sri-Lanka and her mother, Glenys, is from England. At the age of 10-months old, her family moved back to Sri-Lanka. For the next 12 years, Deborah would call Sri-Lanka home. She attended Ladies College, an all-girls (...)

Teaching From Experience: Julie Kim

Interview by Erika Franco, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Julie Kim is an English teacher at Foshay Learning Center in the city of Los Angeles. I have had the pleasure of working with her for several months and have learned to admire her greatly for her strong work ethic, immense passion for teaching, and most importantly, her unwavering conviction for what is right for her students and others in their community. The goals for California’s curricula for public schools are to (...)

Rodrigue

I come from Abomey in Benin, in the centre of the country. In African countries, the tribes are important, and I am a Fon. I have many brothers and sisters, some are in the United States, some here in France with me and others are in Benin.
In 2000, I went to Germany, Berlin, for intellectual reasons. I had studied German literature, language and civilisation in Benin and I wanted to go further with my studies. When you leans a foreign language, it is a good idea to go to that country (...)

An American journey: Aqil

Interview by Muhammad Rafi, California State University, Dominguez Hills
I interviewed Aqil Husain. He is originally from the country of India. To be more specific, Aqil was born in U.P., (United Province) India. This was during the British colonial period in India. It is now known as Utter Pradesh, which means northern Province. He is currently living in Long Beach, CA. He has been living in the greater Long Beach area since 1979.
Aqil started his journey in India. He finished what is (...)

Through the eyes of A.C.

Interview by Robin Alexander, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Close your eyes and imagine a husband and wife spending hundreds of dollars just to get a ride, walking in the blistering sun for hours, and praying that every step they took got them closer to that line that separates from one country to another. This courageous journey was taken by my co-worker’s mother and father to ensure that she had safe passage from Mexico to the United States. For my immigrant interview I (...)

Ivania

Interview by Abigail Cruz, California State University, Dominguez Hills
When I was six years old I remember a woman and her young son moving in with us. At that time we lived in a small, two-bedroom apartment. I had never met her before, and it seemed strange to me that she did not bring any luggage or furniture. She and her son seemed scared and did not speak very much. Her name was Ivania. Ivania and my mother had been friends back home in Nicaragua. My parents had helped her migrate (...)

Marisela

Interview by Karen Gonzalez, California State University, Dominguez Hills
I interviewed my co-worker, Marisela Bazalar, who was born in Lima, Peru in 1977. She grew up in Calleo, which she compared to our regional, Watts, Los Angeles. It was an area many were afraid to encounter. Apparently, the closer one lived to the beach and the port, the less expensive and more destitute it became. This was nothing like the town, Trujillo, where her mother and grandmother were raised. This, she said, (...)

Tikva

Interview by Helena Ramirez-Watson, California State University Dominguez Hills
In 1979, at the age of 33, Tikva Kazsas stepped off a plane at La Guardia Airport in New York City to start her new life in America. Born and raised in Haifa, Israel, Tikva had few opportunities to fulfill her true passion, teaching Special Education. Soon after her thirtieth birthday, she decided to leave all she knew and loved for a new life in the United States. After years of trials and tribulations, she (...)

Kirita

Interview by Carmen Monroy, California State University, Dominguez Hills
I was reluctant to interview my friend Kirita Walker because she is constantly and efficiently working in her assignments as the principal’s secretary and head officer’s manager at Clinton Elementary School in Compton, California; however after perceiving her talents for many years, I thought it would be an interesting and a good learning experience to do so. Kirita arrived from Samoa in the late seventies when she was (...)

Nancy B

Interview by Dora Garcia, California State University Dominguez Hills
Nancy is from Caracas, Venezuela. After moving from place to place, she decided to stay in Los Angeles. Nancy left Caracas on March 30th, 2001 and went to Miami, Florida. She had family there that helped her cope with her homesickness. Her travel to the U.S. was not as hard as she thought because she came when there were a lot of students coming back from Spring Break vacations, and she blended in.
She was (...)

Sophia’s Journey

Interview by Anabel Romero, California State University, Dominguez Hills
“Compared to other immigrant stories my story is simple,” said Sophia Jimenez. She is my mother-in-law’s neighbor and a family friend. Sophia was born and raised in a town, known to its inhabitants as “Jalos.” The town has 50,000 inhabitants; its full name is Jalostotitlan, and it is located in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. Sophia grew up in a well-to-do middle class family, where she was able to go to high school. In (...)

Naz

Interview by Shantell Greenaway, California State University, Dominguez Hills
For my immigrant interview I wanted to interview someone I knew. The person I interviewed is someone I work with. I interviewed them because I knew they had a story to tell, and I also felt it was a way for us to establish a relationship, seeing as we are co-workers. My immigrant interviewee is Naz Ali. She is an immigrant from Karachi, Pakistan. Karachi is the capital of the providence of the city, Sindh. Naz (...)

Clifford

Interview by Gloria Arzu, California State University, Dominguez Hills
An immigrant, as defined by Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, is “a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence” or “becomes established in an area where it was previously unknown.” This is the case for many people who take up residence here in the US.
Clifford Mejia is such a person. He migrated here from his beloved country of Belize. He came here two years ago in pursuit of a better life after (...)

Gloria

Interview by Karen Glenn-Dunnigan, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Gloria Arzu is from Dangriga (formerly known as Stann Creek), Belize in Central America. At the present time Gloria lives in South Los Angeles, California. Gloria migrated in 1975 to California at the age of six to be with her mother, who came to California before the rest of the family. Gloria’s uncle drove her and her two other siblings through the back roads of Belize at the north end, which is Honduras and (...)

Martha

Interview by Dominique Dorsey, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Where are you originally from? I was born in Acapulco, Mexico
Where do you now reside? I moved to South Los Angeles in 1959. At the time I was fifteen years old and moving here with my mother and father and two sisters.
Tell us about your journey? Well as I stated before I moved here from Acapulco, Mexico at the age of fifteen. My father was a cook in a small restaurant in Acapulco and made only the bare minimum (...)

Evelyn

Interview by Kimberly Nguyen, California State University, Dominguez Hills
At age fifteen, Evelyn Bota migrated to the United States from Romania’s largest city and capitol, Bucharest, located in Southern Romania. Her journey describes her accomplishments and motivations to endure the fast life of a young teenager becoming a young adult in Los Angeles California.
Evelyn was raised in Bucharest, Romania by her maternal grandparents. Evelyn and her twin brother were born on October 26, 1984. (...)

Fontino’s journey

Interview by Laura N. Celis, California State University, Dominguez Hills
My name is Fortino Gonzalez, and I was born in a small but beautiful city by the name of Cuernavaca, Morelos in Mexico. However, I was raised in Jalisco. My parents did a lot of moving around when I was growing up, looking for a better place to live with superior jobs. Today I live in California, but I have been around. When I first got to this state I lived in Los Angeles, and now I live in Inglewood.
My journey (...)

Nancy A

Interview by Marilyn Villatoro, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Nancy is from Mexico. She is a twenty three-year-old female. She immigrated to the United States in 2007, and she now lives in the city of Los Angeles. Nancy decided to journey out of Mexico into the United States because her older sister had immigrated a year before. Nancy and her sister had a great relationship, so when her sister immigrated to the United States she missed her dearly. She recalls that she would (...)

Margaret

Interview by Leonora Pratt, California State University Dominiguez Hills
Margaret is a former colleague from when we both taught at West Angeles Christian Academy in Los Angeles, CA. Margaret was born on May 15 and hails from the small southern town of Punta Gorda in Belize, Central America. She migrated with her husband, Roy, and daughters, Tamara and Kimberly, to the United States in 1984. They have lived in this country for twenty-five years. Margaret’s trip in 1984 was her first time (...)

Behind the name of Chris

Interview by Lucia Cortez, California State University, Dominguez Hills
My husband has a friend at work named Chris. Since my parents migrated from Mexico, I was curious about Chris’ migration to California from Taiwan. Chris was born and raised in Hyaline, Taiwan. She happily lived in Taiwan with her mother and siblings. One day Chris met Michael, and shortly after that they got married and her journey as an immigrant to the United States began.
After Chris and Michael got married, (...)

Dorothea

Interview by Celso D. Jaquez, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Where are you from? I am originally from Whilhelmsburg, Germany. That is the home of my father, Dietrich Von Klenner. My mother, Kerstin, was from the town of Ismaning, just north of Munich. My father was a northerner and a very stoic man, who lived on strict rules of discipline and order. He loved my mom and us kids but was not disposed to showing affection regularly. My mother, on the other hand, was from (...)

Trinidad

Interview by Jessica Echeverria, California State University Dominguez Hills
Trinidad Lopez was born in Jalisco, Mexico. Now she lives in the state of California in the city of Los Angeles. Trinidad came to Los Angeles at the age of fourteen. Trinidad crossed the border by contracting a coyote. A coyote is a person who gets paid by the immigrant because the immigrant wants to cross the border. Well Trinidad paid the coyote and in hours, she said, she was in Los Angeles with her older (...)

Nudia

Interview by Melissa Rios, California State University Dominguez Hills
In 1971 we had a new member of our community enter the United States. Her name is Nudia Villalobos. She came from Costa Rica, from a small town called San Jose. Costa Rica is in Central America, which is between Panama and Nicaragua.
She came to live here with her aunt in Los Angeles. Her aunt told her that getting into medical school would be easy. Nudia had always wanted to be a nurse. That painted story did not (...)

Life of Brian

Interview by Shana Anaya, California State University, Dominguez Hills
On Wednesday April 18, 2009, I interviewed a fellow classmate and friend from CSUDH. I asked him about his journey from Mexico to the United States, and if he would mind sharing his experiences with me. His story seemed interesting to me because Brian was born here in the United States. Then, while still an infant, Brian moved back to Jalisco, Mexico and was raised mainly by his grandmother. By the time high school (...)

Margarito

Interview by Juan Gutierrez, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Margarito Espain was born in 1983 in a small town in Jalisco, Mexico. He lived the first thirteen years of his life in Mexico working alongside his brothers in order to bring food to the table. His father had passed away when he was very young, and it was only up to him and his brothers to take care of their family of four. In Mexico, Margarito was unfortunate enough to have lived days and nights without food (...)

Talha

Interview by Eneyda Herrera, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Mohammed Talha Siddiqui was born in Karachi, Pakistan. He came to the United States in 2005. His family decided to come to the United States for him to have a better education and therefore a better, successful future.
As of today Talha Siddiqui lives in Lomita, California. He has been living there for the past four years, and he lives with two other males who are cousins of his. However, he is attending Arizona (...)

Reina

Interview by Griselda Orozco, California State University, Dominguez Hills
My name is Reina Casilla De Campo. I came from Guadalajara, Mexico. I currently live in southern California in a city by the name of Lawndale; it is 15 minutes away from Redondo Beach. My journey to the U.S began ten years ago. I came on an airplane to the U.S. I was nervous when I got on the airplane, but my fears and doubts subsided once the airplane left the airport and Mexico. I enjoyed the ride and the service (...)

Renuka

Interview by Lucina Isidoro Ortiz, California State University Dominguez Hills
My name is Renuka Pitanatchi Perera, and I was born and raised in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is an island next to India. My family and I lived in the city of Moratuwa, a couple of miles from Colombo where my husband worked. I was a public school teacher. I now live in Palos Verdes, California. In 2003, I, my husband, daughter, and son were approved to get visas and migrated to the United States of America. With our (...)

Life goes on for Mean Mum

Interview by Sonya Uy, California State University, Dominguez Hills
I interviewed my fiancé’s grandmother-in-law who was born in Cambodia and raised in Cambodia in the city of Phnom Phen for 30 years. She now resides in Long Beach, California going on for 28 years. Life for Mean Mum was tough and she survived through a long journey of discrimination, hatred, abuse, and hard work. Mean Mum lived an unfortunate life in her country but was fortunate to have come to America where she was saved (...)

Veronica

Interview by Conessia Gipson, California State University of California, Dominguez Hills
Veronica’s land of origin is Dangriga Town, Belize. She immigrated to Los Angeles, California when she was twelve years old. Veronica came to America with a friend of her mother’s, her brother and sister. Her journey to America began on a three-day bus trip from Belize to a border somewhere in Mexico. She does not remember the exact area where she crossed the boarder. She does remember having her (...)

Beatriz

Interview by Margarita Reyes, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Beatriz Leon is thirty years old and an emigrant from the Northern state of Mexico, Sinaloa. In July of 2001 she made her first move to Tijuana and from there later to California. She now lives in the city of Compton with her older brother. Betty, as her friend’s call her, like many other immigrants, came to the U.S in search of a better life for herself and her family. In Mexico she says, the economy constantly goes (...)

Alberto R.: A Journey to America

Interview by Jessica Alvarez, California State University, Dominguez Hills
We are a country of immigrants. For Alberto Ramos, it is a struggle. He came to America with the help of a “coyote” six years ago. He was born in Colima, Mexico. He is thirty-five years old and currently resides in South Gate, California. He lives with an aunt and an uncle, who are managers of apartments in the area. His occupation is as a construction worker for a company named “El Dorado Lofts” in downtown Los (...)

Alma B.

Interview by Beatriz Hernandez, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Alma B. spoke to me of her trip to the United States, her feelings upon first arriving here, and why she decided to go back. This is her story as told to me.
My name is Alma B., I am 20 years-old and I was born in Valparaiso, Zacatecas in Mexico. Like the rest of my family, I kept cattle and worked on a farm. I had family that lived in the United States, but I never thought that I would be able to join them (...)

The Journey of David Sandoval

Interview by Angelica Gonzalez, California State University, Dominguez Hills
David Carranco Sandoval was born on February 21, 1930 in Morelia, Michoacán. David came from hardworking parents who were determined to build a better life for their children and themselves. David pursued his studies in Leon, Guanajuato and specialized in music. After completing his studies in Leon, David attended the Universidad de Guanajuato. At the University, he studied to become a music instructor and was a (...)

Ton

Interview by Ryan McLeod, California State University, Dominguez Hills
I conducted my interview with a Cambodian-American man named Ton. We spent about an hour discussing parts of his life and his ideas on the Cambodian community in Long Beach. Ton is twenty-eight now, but he came to the United States at the age of one. He currently resides in Paramount, California. Ton came to Long Beach, California with his family in 1981. They were a few of the many Cambodians fleeing suppression (...)

Carole

Interview by Gloria Osorio, California State University Dominguez Hills
Carole said “I wanted to be bilingual in English” and with this dream in mind, she was motivated to migrate to the United States. She was born in Evry, a city that is about 20 miles away from Paris, France. When she first came to the United States, she lived in Northridge, California; Carole lived in this city for almost 12 years. She is currently living in Long Beach and has a six-year old daughter, who was born in the (...)

Gizela

Interview by Christopher Michelback, California State University Dominquez Hills
I decided to interview my brother’s wife’s mother, Gizela Sulic. Gizela was born in Osijek, Croatia during 1960. Gizela’s husband Ivan was the first to arrive in the United States. Ivan had to arrange all the paperwork for Gizela and their one-year-old daughter. Even though neither of them spoke English, Ivan was still able to arrange for their immigration. Gizela and her daughter immigrated to California (...)

Lesley

Interview by Zenithia Walker, California State University Dominguez Hills
I met my dear friend Lesley ten years ago at a mutual friend’s wedding reception. Lesley was born on the Caribbean Island of Trinidad & Tobago on February 24, 1974. She arrived in Los Angeles, California in 1995 on a visitor’s visa pass with the intentions of eventually attending college. Shortly after arriving to the United States, she had her visa pass changed from visitor to student.
Lesley had always wanted to (...)

Maria

Interview by Martha Heredia, California State University Dominguez Hills
Maria Meza is from Mexicali Mexico. She first decided she wanted to come to the United States when she became pregnant with her daughter Guadalupe at twenty years of age. She wanted to give her daughter the opportunity she did not have in Mexico. Her aunt helped her get a hold of a coyote to get to the United States. Her journey began twenty four years ago in August of 1986. She enters illegally by jumping the fence (...)

Nacho

Interview by Alejandra Velasco, California State University Dominguez Hills
Ignacio Lopez Espana was born in Manuel Lopez Cotilla, Jalisco, Mexico. It is a small town in the city of Guadalajara. He was born and raised there with his 12 brothers and sisters and parents.
Ignacio, or Nacho as he is called now, lives in Carson, California. Nacho first decided to come to the United States at the age of 18. He decided to come to the U.S. with plans to work and make money because he had plans of (...)

Rufina W: God Bless America

Interview by Chastity Sanders, California State University, Dominguez Hills
This is the story of a woman now known as Rufina W. Rufina has decided against disclosing her previously used name. She was born in the City of Lagos, Nigeria in the continent of West Africa. Rufina now resides in Sacramento, California with her husband and beautiful baby girl. Her journey started from Lagos, which is one of the biggest cities in West Africa and has one of the largest international airports. (...)

Jhovanna: Her Hard Choices le 23 May 2009, by Laura Talamante

Interview by Laura Talamante, Professor, California State University Dominguez Hills

Maria Q.

Interview by Jazmin Rodriguez, California State University Dominguez Hills
Maria was born in Puebla, Mexico on December 31, 1965. Maria is the third of all her siblings; she has two older sisters and two younger brothers. Maria grew in a country filled with poverty which led her to emigrate into the United States for a change. Maria never thought about leaving her family, but the poverty, the laughs, humiliations, and put-downs forced her to leave her native country. Maria surpassed her (...)

Ayo Tunde

Interview by Jasmine Thames, California State University Dominguez Hills
On April 12, 1989 Ayo Tunde was born in Ibandan, Nigeria. She lived in a newly suburban gated community only for a short period before traveling across the world. However, she still remembers her first birthday party in her hometown. At the end of 1990, Ayo’s mother soon decided to visit family in Texas. It took at least two months for them to get a visa to fly to America. Finally, after arriving in America, Ayo’s (...)

Anonymous

Interview by Roselynn Rios, California State University Dominguez Hills
Where are you from? I am from a small Caribbean island named Barbados. I came to this country when I was 12 years old.
Where do you live now? As time passed, I wanted to experience more of America and the rest of the world. Shortly after my twenty-fourth birthday, I joined the U.S Navy. Upon graduating from boot camp, I was stationed in Long Beach, California. After leaving the Navy, I decided to make Long Beach my (...)

Immigrant Stories and Art le 23 April 2009, by Laura Talamante

The CSUDH History Department, the History Club, the Center for Service Learning, Internships, & Civic Engagement and Toro Productions
Present:
Citizenship and Migration A Bilingual Collection of Immigrant Stories
Because of their unique geographic locations, Marseilles, France and Los Angeles, California share a rich immigrant history. Inspired by the immigrant struggles for justice, a bi-national art project was conceived in order to highlight the voices of newcomer communities and (...)

Teldja

Interview by her daughter, Manuelle Diya BARAHONA
My name is Teldja, which means ‘snow’. I was born in Sétif, and I grew up and went to school in Algiers. After passing the baccalaureate in science, I studied English at university in order to become a translator. My parents were educated and broad-minded. They often offered to send me to France to continue my studies, but I did not really want to leave my country.
After I graduated, I worked in a bank and took advantage of my youth to travel (...)

Mouna’s mother

Interview by Samia Tarik
I was born in Oran, Algeria.
In 1992, my husband came to France for medical reasons, because of his health. Afterwards, he had to visit the doctors in Paris every 2 weeks. Our departure was not really planned, but because of these health and practical reasons, we decided to settle in France. In 2005, my husband, my daughter Mouna and our eldest son came and settled in Marseilles. And the rest of the family arrived in February 2006.
Our country was in a better (...)

Nadia

Interview by Fatma Benchoudar
There are millions of immigrants in France and I am going to tell you the story of a very kind lady, Nadia, an Algerian who fled her country because of the poverty and thanks to a man she fell in love with.
Nadia, now 41 years old, lived in Algeria until she was 15, when she met a man called Farid, a young Frenchman, son of immigrants, who was 20 at the time. Farid came regularly to Algeria to visit his family who lived in the same neighbourhood as Nadia.
As (...)

Mim’s mother

Interview by Prawadee Mim Onrua
My mother was pregnant with me at the time of her departure, but she had prepared for it very simply and normally …
In fact, the reason why my mother left her country of origin was that she had married a European in order to come to France, an arranged marriage …
As Thailand is a very poor country …
My mother told me that she thought that going to France would be better for her since it was a country where things were easier and there were better opportunities (...)

Citizenship & Migration: Exhibition in Marseille le 4 December 2008, by Caroline Mackenzie

Throughout the day on 17 November 2008, the students at the Lycée Jean-Baptiste Brochier helped the exhibition organizers, Caroline Mackenzie (E&M Coordinator), Mathieu Do-Duc and Geneviève Chillio (Lycée teachers) and Jamie Watson (Exhibition Coordinator US and Marseille) with the preparation of the exhibits and of the school’s Atrium for visitors.
At the opening cocktail, teachers, students and visitors were welcomed by the Lycée’s Headmaster, Mr Caravano, and Ms Mackenzie. Everyone took (...)

Mohamed El Baroudi

Cahiers du Fil Rouge 7/8, Special issue celebrating the life and work of a militant migrant

CHIRLA le 16 February 2008, by Xiomara Corpeño

Led by Xiomara Corpeño, Project Director, CHIRLA
We are working with photographer Jaime Watson, on a photography class where participants learn to tell their migration story and definition of citizenship using photography as a medium. Participants will learn about photography as a medium, the angle of view, how to edit their photos (photoshop), how to present their work, as well as work on their individual projects through the end of the class.
Beginning on 4 February 2008, the class will (...)

A United People can Never be Divided le 14 June 2007, by Gustavo Marín

The recent World Social Forum on Migrations was electrified by an unexpected event: for the first time, two major groups of migrants from Latin-America and North Africa met and realized that they had the same goals. The Mediterranean and the Mexico-USA border both lie across the path of the great migratory flows of the 21st century. Spurred by many and varied difficult situations, people have criss-crossed the planet since the dawn of time and today African countries and China see millions (...)

Forum Social des Quartiers Populaires - Neighbourhoods Social Forum

This is how the organizers present the Forum:
"The Neighbourhoods Social Forum is just the first stage, a place for activists from the housing estates and other areas to meet. A place for resistance against the oppression that threatens us. A place where the various movements working in the housing project areas can talk about their projects. A place for a no-holds-barred debate with social activist organizations and trade unions since they have moved away from, but now want to come back (...)