Being an Immigrant

In America, there is such a negative connotation with the word “immigrant”. What do you think of when you think of an “immigrant”? I am sitting next to a woman on my plane from Zurich to Chicago. She is Bosnian but is a U.S. immigrant (and citizen!) She was a refugee from the war and her and her husband found a safe place in Boise, Idaho. She told me about how difficult it was when she first arrived and she was just beginning to learn English. She went to the bank to deposit a check, but the person had written the amount but had not written out the words. The teller told her to write the words and she tried to explain that her English was not good enough to write that yet. The teller apparently belittled her for the next five minutes and told her she should be embarrassed that she can’t write. This makes me very sad and embarrassed for the American people. We are a country of immigrants and yet we snub them and look down our noses at them. But with the exception of the Native Americans (and even their ancestors a VERY long time ago) we are all descendents of immigrants. Someone in our family once had to learn a new language, the new customs, navigate a new government system and strange country. So why is it now wrong to be an immigrant?

What has given me all this perspective, do you ask? I am now an immigrant to Switzerland. I live in a country where I don’t fully understand the government, the people or the language. I go to the bank and I am sometimes confused about what the tellers ask me. I get letters from the government (sometimes French, sometimes German) and I get scared that 1. I have done something wrong and 2. I am not able to read what I have done. I am that person that the citizens of Switzerland do not want in their country. Lucky for me I could return to the U.S. if I needed to, and I will not be settling in Switzerland permanently. I couldn’t even imagine having to leave my family, friends, language and home to live somewhere new. This is especially true when that somewhere new is America. It is a land of immigrants who no longer want to accept immigrants. But I know from experience that many immigrants take jobs that citizens of that country do not want. The lady sitting next to me worked night shifts at the Solo plastic company as well as in a lab during the day. She works 12 hours a day and pays taxes to the government. So what is the big problem? In Switzerland I pay my taxes, I obey the rules, I am trying to learn French.

We have a political organization in Switzerland that really hates immigrants. They put up controversial posters to fight some of their causes. Their latest poster has a Swiss flag being walked on by a multitude of black legs. Underneath it says “Stopper L’Immigration Massive! C’est Suffit!” or in English “Stop the Massive Immigration! That’s Enough!" This sign makes me feel terrible. It is talking to me. Now I can have a greater appreciation for those immigrants who come to America and just want to find a job, put food on the table, live in a safe place and contribute. Instead of forcing them to hide as illegal immigrants let’s make them legal – have them pay taxes! It’s not like there isn’t enough room in America. And maybe the American people could have a little more empathy. It’s not that we (the immigrants) are stupid. I can read and write quite well in English. The lady next to me can read and write quite well in Bosnian, German and now English and that is much more impressive than the monolingual narrow-minded bank teller.

Maybe everyone should be an immigrant once. It sure gives  you perspective in life and helps you see things from the other side of the window. I know that I will never feel the same way about immigrants and I think that has made me a better person.