The Life of Being an Immigrant
When reading “Life is No Disneyland,” Yunuen’s story discussed similar issues that immigrants that are a part of Canal Alliance have experienced and still experience in their day to day lives living in the United States. Like Yunuen, coming to the states undocumented and as a minor, and having no options open for legalizing her immigration status has made it fairly difficult to be living here as an American. Just like Yunuen struggling to fit in and make a life here in the States, immigrants that live in the Canal and are a part of Canal Alliance, have been struggling to make a living and feel welcomed here because of what the stereotype of immigrants and hispanic people are; that they are lazy, don’t work hard, will never be good enough, and just come to the States to take peoples jobs, which causes them to feel oppressed, when in reality they are just trying to do better for themselves and their family. It’s not really an “I want to come to the States and leave my family behind,” it’s more of an “I need to come to the States, take the risk in hope for a better life, because I need to support my family.” Yunuen discusses how her father decided to go to the U.S., leaving her, her siblings and mother back home in their small plot of land basically living in a big cardboard box, with no shower, and how later on her parents sold the land and used the money to pay a coyote to bring them to the U.S. (101).
In reading her story, and even going on service trips to Nogales and Tijuana and seeing how people are living and getting to speak with immigrants, I realize how it really takes a lot of sacrifice. When I went on my service trip, it amazed me how these people had little to nothing, yet they were so happy just to be surrounded by family because that’s really all they have. It’s not an easy, simple decision for these people to make, to risk their lives, not knowing if they will ever see their children or families again if they embark on this journey and get caught or not make it. And for the lucky ones that do make it across after trying many times or being caught, just like Yunuen, just because you arrive here, doesn’t mean its automatically easy and that all your worries are left behind. There is a lot of trauma and negative emotions that are felt and as much as they may want to forget their past and start “new,” their past is always going to be something they won’t forget.
Like I’ve been stating, “Starting a new life in the US is hard. Deciding to migrate may be the hardest decision many people ever have to make. Starting over from nothing in a new place where they may not know anyone, may not speak the language, and do not understand the local ways represents a tremendous challenge. And if people are undocumented, their vulnerability to workplace exploitation, discrimination and human rights violations is heightened considerably”(105). It’s heartbreaking to hear stories of what these women, men and children have gone through and how much they have suffered, especially for children who are so young and can’t really decide for themselves if they want to migrate and then have to face consequences while living here. It is not an easy transition and I am aware of it even more when I am in the classroom assisiting immigrants in learning how to speak English. Yunuen mentions how the hardest part for her moving, was adpating to a new school system, in a new language and how it took her nearly two years to learn English. I understand how hard it must be to be somewhere new and want to succeed but not know how or where to start because of the language barrier and other obstacles they face due to that. I see their struggle in class but I also see how hard they work and how they dedicate their time after they get off of work to come to class and learn because they want to succeed and simply be able to have conversations with people, which can also lead to more opportunites and a better life. It also makes it easier when you have support from others because it helps one stay on track and I’m glad I can be someone that these students are able to go to. Although it’s hard to strive and push when you know people are against you and don’t want you to succeed, it does makes you feel like you aren’t capable of achieving great things, but what helped Yunuen in achieving her degree and becoming somebody more than just an immigrant was, the fact that some other people understood what she was going through and that really helped her (107).
Getting to speak to immigrants on my trips and being in the classroom, I’ve heard that being an immigrant in the United States is challenging and frightening, and there are so many obstacles that they have to overcome by living here. Yunuen says, “Every day is a battle. I’ve gotten to a point where I’m happy with myself for what I’ve accomplished but it’s been really hard”(108). Some people fear leaving their home, afraid that they will get caught and be deported. Everything they go through and have experienced on their journey, has caused a great deal of psychological distress and trauma in their lives, but they continue to push through because they know they don’t have it easy and have to work hard for what they want, whether that be a better education, a better job, homelife, and to be able to heal from all of the trauma they have experienced.
For my research, I will be researching the trauma and struggles immigrants have faced and have to deal with by coming to the United States, and how their trauma has had a great impact on how they live their daily lives. A research study conducted by Kaltman and Green in 2010, discusses how trauma exposure is frequently overlooked as a risk factor for psychiatric morbidity. The study examines the relationships among trauma history, immigration-related factors, and mental health status among Latina immigrants, where 75% of immigrants in the study reported trauma exposure. It also discusses how fewers years in the U.S. and being single was associated with worse mental health status such as depression and PTSD, which was caused by high-impact interpersonal traumatic events such as rape, childhood physical abuse, and adult physical violence.
Kaltman, Stacey, et al. “Trauma, Depression, and Comorbid PTSD/Depression in a Community Sample of Latina Immigrants.” Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, vol. 2, no. 1, 2010, pp. 31–39., doi:10.1037/a0018952.
