Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School: Green Card Youth Voices - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1949523055 ISBN 13: 9781949523058

Publisher: Green Card Voices, 2019

Synopsis

“Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School” is a collection of twenty-one personal essays written by refugee and immigrant students, and one current teacher, from Cross Keys High School, Clarkston High School, and DeKalb International Student Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Each personal essay is accompanied by a full-color portrait and a QR code that links to individual online video narratives that contain deep, personal insight. The young people in this book--including six DACA recipients--come from thirteen different countries and, in their own words, reveal the complexity and humanity of the immigration experience that is too often obscured in current conversations. Within these pages, these brave youth share reflections on their past, describe challenges from their immigration journeys, and illustrate the many ways that they contribute to their new home. These written and digital narratives--as well as the included study guide, glossary, and links to video narratives--are a unique resources for anyone looking to expand their understanding of the tapestry of different cultures that make up the United States. By seeing ourselves reflected in the bravery and honesty with which these stories are shared, we start to build the necessary bridges of understanding between us all.

About this title

About the Author

AUTHORS: Marie Nikuze: Rwanda; Hau Phuong Vo: Vietnam; Kumba Njie: The Gambia; Mario: Mexico; Nu Nu: Myanmar; Abdoulaye Diallo: Guinea; HM Sakib: Bangladesh; Dim Cing: Myanmar; Daniel: Mexico; Sean Cordovez: The Philippines; Dania Karim: Bangladesh; Luis: Mexico; Farhat Sadat: Afganistan; Edanur Isik: Turkey; Sanjith Yadav: Nepal; America: Mexico; Eliyas Sala: Ethiopia; May Da: Myanmar; Karelin: Guatemala; Faysal Ando: Ethiopia; Yehimi Cambrón: Mexico

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

One day last year, I had a senior come into my room asking for a book. All students are required to read books outside their regular classroom assignments and then present to the whole school. He was overwhelmed with college applications, attending dual enrollment college classes, and the pressures of being the first in his family to graduate from high school. I handed him one of the Green Card Youth Voices books and said, “I think you’ll like this. It’s pretty easy, plus my friend compiled it.” He is a reluctant reader at best, but he came into my office a week later saying he completed it and couldn’t wait to present to the rest of his schoolmates. At the end of the presentation he said, “I would recommend this book to all the students here and everywhere because it made me feel normal. I didn’t feel alone. I laughed, and I cried, and I think all of you here should read it.”

My connection to Green Card Voices first happened when I met Tea Rozman Clark in 2016 at the Executive Program in Social Entrepreneurship at Stanford University. In a group of fifty-six young ambitious CEOs and executives spanning non-profits, b-corps, and social ventures, we were the only two directly working with immigrants and refugees. I was running the first accredited school dedicated to refugee education in the country and was looking for ways to grow. She was the executive director of a nonprofit dedicated to sharing stories of first-generation immigrants and refugees. We bonded over our passion and determination to humanize the refugee experience. Our organizations shared similar obstacles, but we both also held the belief in the power of youth - their resilience and determination. Our kids had something unique to offer America, a perspective and deeper appreciation for everything that we take for granted in this country.

In 2012, I was a new American citizen voting in my first election ever. Growing up in the Middle East, I didn't have the right to vote. I gained my American citizenship in the fall of 2011. When CBS News SUnday Morning approached me to do a story on my work, I agreed knowing that it was important to share our stories; I was also very lucky that their filming coincided with my citizenship test and swearing-in ceremony. The response we received was overwhelming, solidifying my belief in the power of storytelling and the ability of a story to touch hearts and change minds.

Our stories need to be told. Our voices need to be heard. Our experiences should not be used as political tools but should serve as ways that we can humanize each other.

When I decided to share my story on the TED Talks stage in April 2017, I knew that my toughest audience would be those who knew me best. I shared dpublicly for the first time that I am a child of refugees, that I am gay, and that I have received political asylum. WHen I showed the talk to my students, I was nervous about their response. I had to leave the room as they watched. Later, they told me they loved it. But what stays with me is the shy kid who came up to me at the end of the day and said, “You made me feel proud to be a refugee, Coach. Thank you.”

Our school has a deep commitment to empowering students through stories and their own refugee identities. We do so by embedding their experiences throughout the curriculum. In high school, students are reading stories about the refugee experience like What is the What and Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. We include immigrant authors like Ishmael Beah, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Viet Thanh Nguyen. And in my office, I keep the different Green Card Voices books. Students often come in asking for book recommendations, and I point them towards Green Card Voices’ incredible collections of experiences, voices, and stories.

Now, in the classroom, we use stories from the Green Card Youth Voices collections alongside with other books, such as A Long Way Gone and The Great Gatsby. These powerful student stories show resilience and, most importantly, each story is told by a unique and original voice. At a time in our country when we do not listen enough, these books are an opportunity for us to listen to the kids - their voices, their experiences - and to understand how uniquely American their stories are. (Luma Mufleh Foreword)|Excerpt from the chapter "Edanur Isik": I was born in Istanbul. Istanbul is a big city: it’s noisy, crowded, and traffic is really bad and not as quiet as here in Atlanta. Still, I think it is the most beautiful city in the world. I lived all my life there in an apartment with my family. The apartment was close to my grandparent’s house. As a child I enjoyed spending time with them during the weekends. They were so old that they didn’t spend a lot of time outside of their house. Because of that we found fun stuff to do at home such as playing cards and watching soccer and talk shows on TV.
Since my birthday is on New Year's Day, we would celebrate my birthday and the new year at the same time. I enjoyed those nights so much. As I grew older those family parties started getting smaller, and instead I had spent those nights with my friends. On one of my birthdays, we played this game called Tombala. It’s like bingo. It is a game we only played on New Year’s and you need five or more people for the game. We were dancing and watching fireworks and just having a lot of fun. They were good friends.
I went to the schools in our neighborhood so I didn’t have to spend a lot of time in traffic. I was always a good student and got good grades in elementary and junior high. My teachers liked me. My parents were proud, and I had many friends. Right before I came to America, I was a senior in junior high, and I had to study so hard to get a good score on the high school entrance exam. The test was very hard. There were 240 questions. If you made more than two mistakes, you could not go to a good school. There are special classes you can take or you can study by yourself. Family helped too. To prepare, I was not only going to school but also taking some private lessons where we had lots of practice about this big test. Because of my preparations, my score was not too bad, and I was able to enter a decent school.
We had two types of school in Turkey: government school, or public school as it is called in America, and private school. If you wanted to go to a good government school, you had to get a perfect score on the test you took right before you graduated junior high. If you wanted to go to private school, you should have made a good score and had a lot of money. They are very expensive. It was not possible for my family to send me to private school even though I had gotten a good score, so I had to leave Turkey to get a better education in the States.
One of the best days of my life was when we had the junior high graduation party. It was my very first night out with my friends and was so special because my parents usually did not allow me to be outside after 7:00pm. The party was unbelievable. We had food, drinks, and we danced all night. We took lots of videos and photos. We sang songs. It was a night I will never forget. It was the first party I had in Turkey and also the last party I had. For me it was special because it was going to be the last time I would have so much fun with my friends before leaving for America.
I was nervous and sad to leave. I was sad because I would not see my friends and family for a long time. It would be my first time being away from them, and I didn’t even know when I would see them next. I was nervous because I would not be able to communicate with people since I didn’t know English. I knew that making friends at first would be impossible. I was a little happy though because I was going to live with my halfsister, who had moved away from home by the time I was born.
I went to the Istanbul airport with my family. I was crying, and my mom saw me crying so she started crying too. We were going to miss each other a lot, but we knew I had to go. So we said goodbye, and I got on the airplane with my older brother, who was coming for his vacation to visit our sister, and we went to America together. He stayed in America for one month before going back to Turkey. When I got to the Atlanta airport, I felt lost. I had left everything behind. I would go to school with no friends. I did not know the language. I did not know the people. I did not know the culture. Imagine if you were at a place you have never seen before and you were alone, if you were a stranger and if everything is strange. That is how I felt.
I was very sad and thinking about my mother and my father and my friends, too. I miss them a lot but I talk to my parents every day. There is an eight hour time difference. I met my brother-in-law at the airport, and he took me and my brother to our sister’s house. It was dark outside and very quiet. When I saw my sister and my little nephew, I was very happy. I felt that I was not going to be totally alone. I was also very tired from the fourteen-hour flight. The flight went from Turkey straight to Atlanta. The first thing I did was go to sleep.

About this edition

• Publisher: Green Card Voices
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1949523055
• ISBN 13: 9781949523058
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176
• Editor: Rozman Clark Tea, Rodriguez Darlene Xiomara, Smith-Sitton Lara