Students of the World Share Immigrant Stories

The European Union is the most divided region in the world on the topic of immigration. Scores on the 9 point Migrant Acceptance Index range from a high of 7.92 in Sweden to a low of 1.69 in Hungary. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump requested $25 billion to fund a US-Mexico border wall, even though a Quinnipiac University study found that the majority of Americans oppose the border wall, as do the majority of PenPals.

Students who empathize with immigrant experiences are better equipped with knowledge and social skills to engage in respectful conversations around policy. This week, we celebrate Nikki and Kye from an IB school in Thailand as PenPals of the Week. They participated in Immigration in the 21st Century to learn about how immigrants impact communities and shared their families’ immigration stories with their peers.  

VIEW IMMIGRATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY SYLLABUS

Nikki, Kye, and their PenPals learned about the different reasons why people immigrate. For example, economic immigrants seek out job opportunities elsewhere to improve the quality of life for their families. Nikki V. shares how her mother moved to America to pursue medical training that empowered her to improve the lives of many other people too:

“Communities should accept and welcome immigrants from around the world, because immigrants help the community that they are in by bringing their culture, food, music, ideas, and more, which benefit the destination country.

My mom immigrated to America from Philippines when she was 25 years old. Prior to this she had never been out of Philippines! Here are the questions I asked and the answers she gave me:

1. Why did you move to the USA?
After finishing medical school in the Philippines, I moved to the US to pursue further training. I completed pediatric residency (3 years) and a pediatric infectious disease fellowship (3 years). After living for about 6 years in the US, I returned to the Philippines to work in international health in developing countries. I worked in other countries in Asia, as well as in Africa.

2. What was the process like? Was it hard to get a visa?
The first time I applied for a visa, my application was rejected by the US embassy. The feeling of rejection really hurts. The second time, I was lucky. The lines were very long at the US embassy and you have to get there very early and wait a long time. Now, they have an appointment system so the process is more streamlined. But still, a lot people who apply get rejected.

3. What was the biggest difference/culture shock for you?
The main thing that shocked me was the wastefulness. I left the Philippines after years of the Marcos dictatorship when the country was extremely poor. Working as a medical student in the government hospitals, there was little medicines available and even our prescription paper was recycled newsprint. During my internship in the US, I was shocked at the amount of paper being used, the junk mail I would receive, the large food servings and left-overs thrown out, the number of plastic bags used at the grocery stores, etc.”​

Likewise, Kye P. tells the riveting tale of how his grandfather, Papa, and his family emigrated from the Soviet zone of Austria to escape persecution:

“I moved from Australia to Bangkok, Thailand last year. I think we should let immigrants in to our country because we are all human. We may have different cultures, but that is not an excuse for beating or teasing someone for their race. I would like to share some stories about my grandparents because they were both immigrants.

My Great Grandfather, Papa's Father, fought in World War 2 as part of the Polish Freedom Fighters Movement, initially against the Germans but also against the Soviet Union, which had invaded Poland during the war.

It's not very well known that after World War II, Austria was divided up into different zones like Germany was. There was the Soviet zone, French zone, American zone and the British zone. Although my Great Grandfather had been born in Poland, Papa was born in Vienna, Austria. Papa's family was living in the Soviet Russian zone of Austria at the time and because Great Grandfather had fought against the Soviets in Poland during the War, they decided that it was too dangerous for them to remain in Austria and planned to escape.

Papa, who was 7 at the time, skied with his Mother and Father across the Austria Alps into the American Zone. While they were skiing, Soviet soldiers shot at them and Papa injured his knee during the escape. Papa's sister was about 4 years of age and was not old enough to ski and therefore she was smuggled out of the Soviet zone by good family friends that risked being arrested if it was discovered what they were doing.

Papa's family was eventually transferred to a refugee camp in France and was given the option of immigrating to Canada or to Australia. They decided on Australia because they knew very little about it but knew that it was very warm. After living in the refugee camp in France during winter without much warmth, Australia felt like the best decision. They sailed to Australia and arrived in Fremantle in Western Australia in 1950.

My Grandma's family, on the other hand, emigrated from Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka) after WWII and also sailed to Australia in 1949. My Grandma and her family bought a very cheap house very far from the city because that is all they could afford when they arrived. Their house was a fair way out of the city and had no lights or neighbors. My Grandma said it was pretty lonely and she had no friends to play with.

This is one of the reasons why immigration is very close to my heart, because it directly affected my Grandparents.”

Kye reflected on how the project and his fellow PenPals taught him a lot about immigration, but also encouraged him to learn more about his own family.

"I loved the Immigration project because I didn't know the history of my grandparents before. I love history and to be able to know more about my heritage and my family's history was great. I learned more about how Austria was split up like Germany and I found that interesting. I find that PenPal Schools is a good tool to learn more information about what we've never knew about, how to talk better with people on the internet, and also how to learn about how we can make a difference."
​– Kye P. from Thailand

Nikki was also eager to join in on the conversation and develop her writing skills.

“I like the way PenPal Schools is set up because you feel encouraged to keep writing more as you can see other students responding to you and that is very exciting."
​– Nikki V. from Thailand

Immigration can be a sensitive topic, but with over 250 million immigrants in the world, it’s a topic that can’t be ignored. Students should learn about policies, statistics, and trends related to immigration, but stories like these humanize and ground the conversation around people instead of just numbers. Empathy is the key to civil discourse around big issues. Thank you Nikki and Kye for sharing your families’ stories with our PenPal community!

Want your students to learn about how immigration affects people and communities around the world? Enroll your class in Immigration in the 21st Century.

SIGN UP FOR IMMIGRATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY