Interview Format:

Name

Age

Relation to the interviewer

1. What year did you come to the United States? What age were you?

2. Who did you come with?

3. Why were you leaving your country?

4. How did you choose to come to the United States?

5. How did you get here and long did it take?

6. What were your first impressions of America?

7. What were some cultural differences you noticed?

8. Did you face a language barrier?

9. How do you think being (your nation of origin) has influenced your experience?

10. How did you get citizenship? When?

11. How did you initially find work?

12. What have you done for work over the years?

13. How do you think your immigration has brought you to where you are today?

14. If you could go back would you make that same decision?
     

The films and stories discussed throughout this course have introduced the class to the harsh reality of Italian immigration through unique perspectives and within different circumstances. Through this, our knowledge has expanded on the journey and assimilation that are apart of each immigration story. For our final project we have decided to incorporate each of our Grandmothers specific immigration history. Once hearing their stories, we were able to connect their experiences to the information we have seen in this course. We are excited to share the stories of Elena Sharp and Guadalupe Robledo.

Throughout history Russians have been seen immigrating to America for reasons such as escaping diseases, evading the clutches of political turmoil, obtaining freedom, or in hope of building a better life. The first Russians are believed to have arrived in America over 15,000 years ago during the Ice Age via the strip of land known as the Bering Land Bridge. The next Russians are said to have arrived in America during the late 1700's as fur traders. There have been various waves of Russian immigration since this time such as the 1950’s, the period following the Second World War. It was during this time that my Grandma at age nine, came to America from Russia.

December 22nd 1955, Elena Sharp arrived in New York via an airplane with her mother and father. Elena’s parents moved to Belgium following both of their experiences in Nazi working camps during World War Two. It was in Belgium that they left for America in hopes of a better life or how as Grandpa said that my Grandma went since it was said that “everyone in America was rich”. Upon arriving they took a train to Connecticut and it was on this train ride where my Grandma has a distinct memory of being viewed as “different”. She noticed the stares of others as her and her parents were dressed in latest Belgium fashion. The clothing difference reflecting the deeper cultural differences she experienced.

She initially moved to Connecticut to live with their friends who sponsored them in their travels to America. During school she endured the struggle of being “different”, her culture and appearance contrasting to the other children at school. Speaking only Russian and French, my Grandma was blessed with a school secretary who taught her English. My Grandma’s growing knowledge of the language brought her to go along with her father to job interviews so she could translate. She recalled the process of citizenship being very hard, her and her parents having to attend many classes to learn about the history of the United States that they were later tested on. Though my Grandma immigrated at a young age she knows that her experience with immigration has shaped her whole life, ultimately bringing her to where she is today.

Reflecting on Elena’s story, I have noticed relations from her experience to the perspectives that are seen in films viewed throughout this course. For example, Elena recalled feeling very different from those around her while on the train ride to Connecticut. This situation can be compared to the train scene in the beginning of “Rocco and His Brothers”. Upon arriving in Milan, Rocco’s family were introduced to a new environment which Visconti illustrated both through audio and visually. The music played in the old country was an old tune sung in dialect while the music shifts to a modern jazz as they enter the city in the train. The shift in music represents the change in environment and lifestyle the characters are entering. In the film the appearance of Rocco and his family make them stand out from those around them. Their clothing tied them to the old country just as my Grandma’s appearance made her stand out and feel judged as she first viewed America on her way to Connecticut.

           In addition, I found another comparison when I heard my Grandpa mention that “everyone in America is rich”. This has been a stereotype believed by many individuals about America throughout history; a belief that has fueled individuals to immigrate. This is specifically seen in the film “Nuovomondo” through the character Salvatore and his family. Throughout the film there are fantasy like scenes such as huge produce and flourishing money. These scenes are used to represent the beliefs that immigrants possessed about America. They believed that they would be able to indulge in these fantasies and live a prosperous if they came to America. It is beliefs like these that my Grandpa referred to when he said this about my Grandma’s intentions in immigrating.

The Mexican immigration movement to the United States of America is the largest movement of aliens on to American soil as of recent history (Katz, Stern & Fader, 2007). This is due to the ever changing political and economic climate that is present in Mexico, as well as, the sharing of a border with America (Katz, Stern & Fader, 2007). The United States is seen as a place that provides better work and living conditions when compared to situations present in Mexico. The initial vast “movement” of Mexicans into America was sparked by the Mexican - American War that resulted in Mexico relinquishing a vast amount of territory and those people being displaced and established as American citizens (Molina, 2012). For many years it was easy for Mexican citizens to travels to America from Mexico to work for those in need of cheap labor since the people had a  willingness to work for low wages as compared to a full-fledged American citizen ideal wage. (Katz, Stern & Fader, 2007). Moving into the late 1900s, there was a movement supported by the American government to put in place a new Mexican government that created political and government unrest, whilst also have economic crisis where the peso had lost an abundance of its worth (Katz, Stern & Fader, 2007). While Guadalupe Robledo, my grandmother, has never explicitly stated that she left Mexico due to any of the above reasons, I am inclined to believe that she sought out a new and better life in the United States.

At the age of 21 and with two children in tow, my nana decided to illegally cross the border and enter the United States. She crossed from an area in Northern Mexico into Texas where her husband had used illegal documents in order to help them cross the border. She instantly set out to work, as she had since she was a little girl by knocking on peoples doors and offering to help them in any way they needed. A language barrier proved to be one of the largest culture shocks to her and limited her ability to assimilate into the culture she had chosen to become a part of.  Since she understood that she was an illegal alien, she was constantly cautious of her actions and ultimately felt on edge and prejudiced against for her lack of citizenship. This initially casted a shadow on her immigration experience.

In the mid 1980s, Guadalupe was able to establish legal residency and eventually gave birth to five more children. Throughout this time she moved to Needles, California and raised her children all the while working consistently to provide for her family. She maintained her culture and practiced devoutly for the Jehovah Witness Church that very much influenced the upbringing of her children. She eventually obtained citizenship in 2012 through large amount of paperwork and an intense test that challenged her knowledge about the United States government and its history. With her newly minted citizenship, she felt she was able to embrace the United States by being able to attend more classes that allowed her to learn more and earn better work opportunities. Similar to the experiences of the second generations film that was assigned for class, where receiving a paper represented the ability to have privileges as a citizen of the country. Citizenship is the token to truly feel a part of a country and urges a sense of pride within those who attain it through hard work and devotion.

This story told on a small scale compared the vast years it had taken place and has resembled many of the accounts that we have discussed within this class. Though not explicitly stated above, Guadalupe’s migration was initially completed alone, unlike Lucy from Nuevomundo who had to be married in order to enter the United States. This shows an apparent changing of time and how the process of immigration is influenced by the relative proximity of migration. She also experienced similar job discrimination similar to that of Geremio in Christ in Concrete because she was thrust into work that was “typical” for people of her race and was often under the table type of work. To comment on another connection I saw present with my grandmother’s story to that of story we learned in class, was the experience of entering illegally into a country like Ibi. Though unlike Ibi, my grandmother was not transporting drugs, though many negative assumptions made about Mexicans would say otherwise, she did still face the ever present issue of being undocumented within a country. They were both strong women who left in order to pursue a new and different life that could bring prosperity to their children. The driving forces are seen throughout nearly all immigration stories and shed light on the motive for many people to move to a new nation.

References

Alchin, L. (2014). Russian Immigration to America. Siteseen Limited. http://www.emmigration.info/russian-immigration-to-america.htm

Crialese, E. (Director), (2006). Nuovomundo [Motion Picture]. Italy: Miramax.

Donato, P. D., (1939). New York: New American Library. Christ in Concrete.

Katz, M. B., Stern, M. J., & Fader, J. J. (2007). The mexican immigration debate. Social Science History, 31(2), 157-189. doi:http://dx.doi.org.libproxy.sdsu.edu/10.1017/S0145553200013717

Molina, N. (2010). The power of racial scripts: What the history of mexican immigration to the united states teaches us about relational notions of race.Latino Studies, 8(2), 156-175. doi:http://dx.doi.org.libproxy.sdsu.edu/10.1057/lst.2010.20

Robledo, Guadalupe. Personal interview. 10 December 2018.

Segre, A., (2017). Ibi [Motion Picture]. Italy.  

Sharp, Elena. Personal Interview. 10 December 2018.

Visconti, L., (1961). Rocco and His Brothers [Motion Picture]. Italy: Astor Picture.