The Life of Doris Clarke
by Liseth Reid
Doris Clarke was born in Claredon, Jamaica on April 16, 1918. She came to the United States in 1975 for better job opportunities and because her daughters live here. Doris Clarke's parents had eight children. Her father was a farmer and her mother was a seamstress. Doris attended school up to six grade. She found school very interesting and fascinating. Her favorite subject was English. In the neighborhood that she grew up, children were not allowed to stay out late on weekends. The religion she practiced was Christianity, and she attended church every Sunday. She was also a member of the church choir. Doris Clarke believed that a girl should follow in her mother's footsteps, so she became a seamstress. She was married to Arthur Clarke for thirty nine years. They had ten children, three boys and seven girls. An historical event that she remembers is when Jamaica gained its independence from the British. Pounds, shillings, and pence were changed to dollars and cents.
Esther Nyarko
by Jeanette Nyarko
Esther Nyarko was born on January 15, 1958 in Akropong, Ghana. She was the last of three children. She was the daughter of a wealthy business man and a house wife. Esther immigrated to America at the age of twenty. She came to live in Brooklyn, New York, where she stayed with her aunt, uncle, and their four children. The reason she left Ghana was because she wanted a better education so she could obtain a better job. Esther moved to the Bronx where she met Edward Nyarko. They became boyfriend and girlfriend and married on June 28, 1981.
My Mother, Ley Tu
by Chomburi Kim
My mom is an immigrant. She was born on May 10, 1948 in Cambodia. She came to America in 1983 for freedom and a better life. When she was in her old country, her family was very poor. After her parents died, she and her brothers and sisters were raised by an adult who they did not know. When she was 12, the Khmer Rouge entered Cambodia and she became a slave. After she escaped, she got married at the age of 19 and came to America. She now has four children.
Tatyana Nesterova
by Maria Vrykina
My mother, Tatyana Nesterova, was born on May 28, 1951, in Moscow, Russia. My mother's parents are still in Moscow. My mother has a twin brother. His name is Michael. Even though they were twins they didn't look too much alike. He was tall and my mother was short. My mother spent most of her life in Moscow until she immigrated to New York. My mother has a degree in biochemistry. She graduated from the University of Fine Chemical Technology. Schools in Russia are very strict. You cannot wear rings and your nails can only be a certain length. I was born in 1982. My sister was born in 1986. Since we are Christian Orthodox, my sister and I were baptized. Since our religion was forbidden in Russia, my mother and father left for America.
My grandmother Maria was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1927. She married Luis Rosario in 1946. In 1950, they moved to New York. It was quite a change. They had to adapt to the weather. This meant no more sombreros and shorts except for the summer. Altogether, they had nine children. In 1966, my grandfather passed away and it was hard for my grandmother to provide for the children on her own.
Anthony Sammartino
by Lauren Quattrucci
Anthony Sammartino was born on January 23, 1925 in Stigliano, Province Matera, in Italy. His parents made their living as farmers. Both of his parents were very religious Roman Catholics. He had two younger sisters, Lucille and Grace, and a younger brother Frank. When my grandfather was two, his father left Italy to go to America. Like many Italians, he went to find golden opportunities. When my grandfather was three, he decided to join his father in America. He packed his bags and traveled down the mountain. He was found a day later in the next town. Two years later, my grandfather, his mother, and his sisters began their journey to America. The children dreamed of a better life, restaurants, money, and school. When they arrived in America on May 22, 1929, they found that their father was a laborer at a factory. He rented an apartment in the Bronx. There was no hot water, no separate beds, and sparse lighting. Times were hard, and food was scarce.
Naum Fridlender
by Kenny Kremerman
Naum Fridlender was born on August 5, 1931 in Moscow, Russia. As a child he enjoyed building things and was fascinated by violent chemical reactions such as explosions. During World War II there were many bullets, shells and other war materials. Using things like strings, needles, and razor blades, he and his friends built small bombs. Naum was married to Elena Leonova in July, 1960 and they moved to a city in the very north of Russia. Naum became an engineer of war technology in a factory that designed bombs. He and his co-workers developed a special anti-tank bomb called "ptashka." This was a very light bomb so an airplane could carry hundreds of them. When the bomb was dropped it would stick to a tank and then explode. It focused the explosion on one small point so the heat melted the tank's armor. Naum and his wife moved to the United States in February, 1995. They moved to escape from a country that was falling apart. He remembers standing in line for hours just to buy a pound of meat.
Rusha Gjonbalaj
by Mimoza Gjonbalaj
Rusha Gjonbalaj was born February 28, 1953 in Yugoslavia. Her parents were originally from Albania. She has four sisters and one brother. Her father died when she was eight years old and the family had some tough times. They really didn't have relatives that could have helped them out. There were times when they didn't have enough food to eat.
David Rothberg
by Lauren Shuman
David Rothberg was born in St. Petersburg, Russia on December 28, 1900. Life in Russia was quite difficult. The winters were brutal and food was scarce. His family was very poor. His father was a tailor, and taught him this valuable skill. He immigrated to America in 1920. David arrived here with both his parents, two older sisters, and a younger brother. They came here in search of a better lifestyle. David went to school to learn English, and was fortunate to obtain a job in a factory in the garment district. He was introduced to his wife, Lillian Levine and they were married shortly after. He is an Orthodox Jew, and dating was not permitted. They were married for 59 years, until she died in 1980. They had three daughters.
Phil Nam Yoo
by Josephine Yoo
Phil Nam Yoo was born in a small city in South Korea on November 14, 1952. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1988. During her childhood, her parents owned a farm She is the only girl out of four children. She had two older brothers and one younger. Her religion is Catholic. She was able to get education up to high school. She owns a dry cleaners with my father. Her dream is to send all of her kids to college.
Wilson Silva
by Margarett Silva
Wilson Silva was born on November 23, 1950, in Valparaiso, Chile. His parents were Jorge and Oriana Silva. He lived in a middle class situation with three other brothers and sisters. During his elementary school years, he went to a private school called Salesianos. Some of his favorite subjects were technology, technical drawing, and mathematics. In school, some of the rules were to wear uniforms, behave, and respect teachers and classmates. As a Catholic, my father was baptized, did his first communion, and had confirmation.
My father decided to go to a technical college. While going to college, he worked in art printing. Wilson dated many girls and married Sandra Tobar on June 6, 1980. After their marriage, they went to New York City for their honeymoon and decided to stay. My father took a job in construction. Two years later my parents had me and then my sister. My father learned English by listening to people while he worked, though at home he and my mother spoke Castilian.
Mussarrat Khawaja
by Fatima Jilani
Mussarrat Khawaja was born in Gujarkhan, Pakistan on March 23, 1951. She is the eldest of thirteen children, eight girls and five boys. As the eldest she was in charge of her younger siblings. Growing up in a large family, the budget was always tight. Mussarrat's mother was a housewife and her father owned a store that mainly sold sugar. The food for their meals came from there own home. Their home was a mini-farm. They had goats, chickens, and buffalo, and apple trees, grapevines, tomatoes and potatoes.
Mussarrat Khawaja is a Muslim and practices the religion of Islam. She went to an all-girls school because of her religion. In Islam, boys and girls are not allowed to attend the same school. Mussarrat went to school until the age of seventeen. At fifteen she became engaged and two years later she was married. When she married, she left school. This was common among girls.
Two years after Mussarrat was married, her husband was offered an opportunity to go to America. At that time, Mussarrat already had two children. Mussarrat and her family immigrated to the United States in May, 1974. Mussarrat Khawaja currently has four children and lives in the Bronx. She likes the U.S. because of its conveniences. In Pakistan, water needs to be heated because there is no heating system. They had to pick their own apples and they had to hand wash their clothes by hand.
Maggie Sitaram
by Denny Singh
My grandmother was born on August 23, 1934 in New Amsterdam Hospital, Berbice, Guyana. She came to the United States in 1993 to take care of my newborn brother, Nicholas. My grandmother's parents' names were Edward and Sheila Bishram. Her father was a principal at #48 Primary School and her mother was a seamstress. She has four brothers and a sister. My grandmother is a Christian by birth. She was educated and became a teacher and was a part-time seamstress.
My grandmother got married in 1952 and has been married happily for 44 years. She has two children, Loretta, my lovely mother, and Patricia, my wonderful aunt. She educated them well and my mother is now a Senior Customer Service Representative at Apple Bank. My aunt works for the government in Guyana.
Anastasia Geros
by Heather M. O'Shea
Stacey Geros came to the United States when she was thirteen years old. Her family came from Keparisia, Greece. They came to America because they thought they would have better opportunities. In Greece, her father was a police captain. When he came to America, he opened a restaurant. In Greece, her mother helped women give birth. When she came to America, she worked in a factory. Stacey has three older brothers and a younger sister. Their religion is Greek Orthodox. When she was growing up, the whole family went to church on Sundays.
.Jennifer Jones is originally from Kingston, Jamaica. She was born in April 1962 and came to America in 1990 to live with her husband. The things most vivid in her head about Jamaica is the scenery. She remembers the blue-watered beaches, a river that split into two smaller ones, and the large-leafed trees.
Jennifer lived a normal childhood in Jamaica. Her mother was a housewife and her father was a carpenter. She grew up in a Catholic home and had nine brothers and sisters. Jennifer went to school until the age of 17 and she received a certificate of achievement from secondary school. That is like a high school diploma here. She lived in a quiet neighborhood, close to the heart of the city. A big problem growing up was that her mom died when she was 13. The older sisters took care of all the younger siblings. She married at the age of 23. In Jamaica, she worked at a clothing factory and a chemical factory.
Doris Marroquin was born in San Salvador, El Salvador on July 13, 1956. Her childhood was not the best one. El Salvador was no place for a child to grow up. My mother described El Salvador as a "War Zone." There was so much violence that they were told to stay indoors. She lived in a poverty stricken community. Her mother could only afford the essentials. That was one reason why, at the age of 21, Doris set out on a month and a half bus trip to the United States. She only brought clothing and a little money. Once here, she went to California to get her first job in the United States. After two months, Doris took her belongings to a friend's house in Queens. It was her first real home in the United States. While in Queens, she worked and studied to become a U.S. citizen. In July, 1977, she met Hernan Ramirez, a man from Puerto Rico. They fell in love and got married on September 19, 1977. In 1981, she became a U.S. citizen and a mother for the first time.
Mohamed Zakir Rafeek was born on March 20, 1961 in Guyana, South America. He had three younger sisters and one older brother at the time. Their father died when he was about 3 years old. His family practiced the religion of Islam. Mohamed and his friend's went to the mosque to pray every Friday and on religious days.
Mohamed only went to primary school in Guyana. School was very strict and they had to wear uniforms. Mohamed could not go to school because he started working in a mechanic shop and the money was a help for his family.
Mohamed got married when he was 19 years old. His wife was sponsored and came to America. Later she sponsored Mohamed and he came to America also. When he arrived in America it was winter and the weather was very cold. It was hard adjusting to the cold climate because in Guyana the weather was hot all year round. After months of searching, Mohamed found a job as a mechanic fixing oil trucks.
Bilkis Ara Hye
by Affana Hye
Bilkis Hye was born in Khulna, Bangladesh on October 7, 1955. She lived with her parents and eight brothers and sisters. It was hard growing up because she had to take care of them and help her mother. Her father was an army officer. Her family was Muslim and they lived according to traditional customs. They prayed five times a day, fasted during the month of Ramadan, and helped the poor. She was brought up to be an educated young woman who believed in Muslim ways.
Bilkis attained a high school diploma and attended a 2 year college. She majored in biology and geography. She got married at age 25. It was a small traditional wedding. Her husband's name is Mohammad Abdul Hye and together they had two children. In 1986, they immigrated to America. It was a scary, yet exciting experience. They came for a better life for themselves and their kids. It was hard a first because they didn't know much English.
My Grandma was born in Cambodia in 1913. Her parents were farmers. Grandma never got an education because they needed her to work on the farm. She married my Grandpa in 1958. They had three daughters. They lived in a small house made out of bamboo and wood. The whole family were farmers. She came to the United States because she wanted to escape from the Khmer Rouge, who wanted to take over the country.
Ho-Hsiang was born in Taiwan on July 30, 1952 in the city of Taidong. She remembers that her father worked for the Federal Agency and her mother took care of the children at home. Her family included her parents, one older brother and four younger brothers. The family's religion was Buddhism. She went to school at Big Wong Junior High in Taiwan. It was the only school available. Ho-Hsiang got married in 1972 in Taiwan and they moved to America. She works as a tailor and my father is a home attendant.
Kam Chin was born on April 23, 1953. She was raised in Hong Kong. She is the oldest of four children. Her father was a electrician and her mother was a housewife. They had a low income and because of this Kam Chin painted figures and organized flowers to help make money. Kam Chin finished high school in Hong Kong. School was very disciplined. Everyone wore uniforms and people were hit if they did something wrong. Kam Chin left for America right after she finished high school and settled in Brooklyn. Her parents got jobs in the garment industry and they both joined the union. They joined the union because it would give the union strength so it could protect all the workers.
Susan Valsamma Jacob was born in Puthusari Hospital in Kerala, India on May 25, 1952. She was the second oldest of six girls and one boy. When she was young, she lived a hard and difficult life. She lived on a farm which required lots of attention and dedication daily for the land and animals. Her family was Jacobite, an Indian religion, and they spoke Malyalm. They were really dedicated to their religion. They woke up daily at 4:00 a.m. to pray and worship God. When she grew older, she converted and become a Pentecostal. At the age of 21, my mom came to the United States. The year was 1973. My mom thought that America would be a land with streets paved of gold, but she was wrong. It was very hard for my mom to live in America. She didn't know anybody and she had problems understanding English. After a hard long struggle, my mom now is a doctor and an excellent mother.
