My Love Letter To Immigrants #ToImmigrantsWithLove

I wrote this letter based on the campaign hosted at http://www.toimmigrantswithlove.com/

Dear Immigrants,

Thank you.

For introducing my mother to Pan-Afrikanism which lead to her political awakening which led to my non-Nigerian parents imprinting me with my Nigerian name which has led to many curious looks from actual Nigerians and some criticism but mostly awesomeness.

Thank you.

For providing me safe passage thousands of times in my taxis and rideshares as you hustle to make it in America.

Thank you.

For being half of my best friends. You Ghanaian, Congolese, Eritrean, Indian, Trinidadian, Lebanese bunch are amazing. I would be more lonely and would laugh less without you.

Thank you.

For Indian food. Seriously, you should license your food and wedding formats. It’s just better than anything the West has to offer and could provide a solid revenue stream.

Thank you.

For my iPhone. I know I complain a lot about the battery life, and yes I worry about screen addiction and FOMO and surveillance. But at the end of the day, I really love my iPhone, and I know I wouldn’t have one without you.

Thank you.

For bringing your dance moves! I would not be the amazing dancer I am without you. Yes, I’m an amazing dancer. I would be less amazing though, without your contributions.

Thank you.

For showing us other ways to organize family and community, for introducing us to new ways of political action, for serving as both inspiration and warning of what life in this country could be.

Thank you.

For oranges. Oranges are delicious, and they don’t pick themselves. At least not until the nanotechnology gets far more advanced.

Thank you.

For taking care of my friends’ children so they could spend an evening out with me. Parenting is hard. You know this because you do it sometimes twice over.

Thank you.

I take you for granted too often. I forget what you left behind to be here. I’ve only ever had to speak the language I was born into. I’ve only ever had to understand the jokes I was raised to. I’ve only had to drive on the side of the road that was always the normal one. I’ve only ever had to vote in the political system I understood.

You are brave to have left so much behind to be here, and when you got here, you gave more of yourself.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about how much you are taking from this country and how we should limit your number and your role, but most of us don’t see it that way. It is quite the opposite. You’ve had much taken from you, and yet you continue to give. You are not our burden, but instead are one of our most important assets. Without you, we would be worse off. Without you, we cannot get to the place we really need to go. You keep us young and creative and hungry.

And if all this shit blows up, you’re getting us to Mars. It’s a fact that without immigrants, none of us is going to Mars.

So thank you, immigrants.

I love you.

Immigrant and Great American Mawi Asgedom delivers a TEDx talk “How Immigrants Make America Great.”