US Immigration Policy

Before researching, I did not know as much as I probably should have about the U.S. immigration. What I learned from researching really surprised me though. I read that there is a limit of 480,000 visas available for family based circumstances. To me, that seems like a huge number of visas given out. However after listening to Greg today, I realized that is hardly enough visas for everyone trying to get into the United States. I also read that nearly 14 million immigrants entered the US between 2000 and 2010. That to me is an astonishing number. Comparing that number though with only having 480,000 available each year is incredibly sad. It makes me wonder what the people who cannot end up getting a visa, do in a situation like that. It makes me curious of the statistics of how many then choose the dangerous route such as drug or sex trafficking.

It seems also that the statistics would be even worse trying to come across the Mexico-United States border. I read that they have extremely restrictive legal limits on green cards and have a lack of immigrant visas for low skilled workers. That made me think of the pictures we saw today of the border between Arizona and Mexico. It started out as nothing but a few light posts, but ended as an actual medal barrier as the time went on due to the growing amount of people wanting to get into the US. I looked up more pictures of the border between Mexico and the United States and I was not expecting what I saw. It was interesting to look at the difference between the US. and how it is so developed versus Mexico where there is still much land left undeveloped. They are two completely different areas, yet only separated by a wall.

With health care being such a big issue right now, I decided to look up statistics on how many immigrants have health insurance, and a little more background information. The information I found was from 2008, but I thought it still gave me a good idea of what is going on. In 2008, immigrants accounted for 29% of the 46.6 million working-age adults that lacked health care, which is about 13.4 million. About half of these were unauthorized immigrants, a third were lawful permanent residents, and the remaining 17% were naturalized citizens. The half that are unauthorized immigrants though make me wonder what would happen if they ended up getting seriously injured and had to go to the hospital. They would first face a huge medical bill, which is bad enough as it is for US citizens, but on top of that would they be risking deportation?

Deportation got me thinking as well. I wanted to know the statistics of how many people are deported on average. From the same site, I read that nearly one million were deported. It was interesting to me however because this number decreased from nearly two million in 2000. This makes me wonder if we have raised the number of visas allowed for the United States? Researching all of this made me think a lot more on US immigration policy than I ever have.  

Crossing the Wire

Reading Crossing the Wire ended up really surprising me. I thought I knew about illegal crossings of the border, but I clearly did not know the extent of it. I had no idea about the coyotes and how some people tried to pay them off, but really after reading the book, it makes sense when that is there only hope of getting across. Going with nothing is even more risky to me, and personally I do not know if I would have it in me to make it across the border after everything Victor went through.

It made me sad for Victor that he literally did everything he could to support his family, risking death too many times. It seemed like he got discouraged, but never discouraged enough to quit and go home. Just as in Sold, I found myself getting happy for Victor after the smallest of Victories. I was happy anytime he could eat, or sleep. He is incredibly old and mature for only being 15 years old. That is another thing that really shocked me about this book. He was running from police and border patrol, all alone, hungry and cold, and I constantly had to remind myself he is only 15. My younger sister is 15, and I could never imagine one of her friends having to endure everything he did to send money back to his family.

Money is another thing that surprised me while reading. At the end of the book, Victor got so excited because he was able to send $250 home. He stated that now his mom was going to be able to buy everyone new clothes, none of them would have to go hungry, and his sisters could even think about starting school. To me, $250 does not sound like enough money to do all of those things – or even close to it. It showed me how little they were able to get by off of.

Even with Victor sending that money though, he said he had been waiting 11 weeks to be able to start working and get money. 11 weeks without knowing if your son is okay is such a long time for his mom to wait. I also understand though that that was their only option to surviving, and that Victor had to step up to be the man of his household and get money. This differed from Sold, because the woman was the one expected to make money elsewhere to send back to their family. I applaud Victor for always keeping trudging along no matter what came his way. He is so young to have to face drug smuggling, border patrol, hopping trains, and near death experiences all in hopes of making it to the United States.

This book made me want to read more into the issues of illegal crossings into the United States. It was so alarming to me he ended up meeting so many other kids his age along the way, it makes me interested to read more statistics. 

Sold

Before reading Sold, I knew about human trafficking, but I did not know the extent of it, like it described in this book. This book overall was very unsettling for me, yet I had the hardest time putting it down. It took me a total of three sittings to finish reading this book, which for me, is very quickly.

 

I’ll start off from the beginning describing my feelings and what went on in my head. I first found myself rereading what her and Ama put up with from her stepfather, in disbelief. Many times, Ama said that having a man in the house that gambled away all of their money was better than no man in the house at all. That to me was astonishing. I was so alarmed by how much they would do for him and the house, and he would continue to treat them with no respect, and say out loud to his friends that having a daughter did not mean anything. I did not know the severity of the male dominance in Nepal.

 

When Lakshmi needed to get sold away to help her family, she was told she was going to become a maid. Ama even helped her with all of that. She told her exactly what she needed to do and when to eat her meals. This now makes me wonder if Ama knew what Lakshmi was really going to be doing in India, or if she really thought she was going to become a maid. My research from Sunday said that the girls are rarely welcomed back to their families after being sold, so it makes me think Ama did know what was going to happen to her there, but just tried to calm her nerves.

 

It made me sick to my stomach with how the girls were treated there, let alone them being around 12 years old, and if they were not, they would lie and say they are because that is the prime age. My little sister is 12 years old, and I could never imagine something so horrific happening to her, any one of her friends, or any girls I know for that matter. The way Lakshmi described being locked in the room, and everything she felt in there, made my body hurt for her. How she said she knew hunger well enough to just tighten her waistband to last a few more days. No one should know that extent of hunger, and to get deprived of meals when they’re being “bad”.

 

It made me feel awful for her that she would sit and calculate when she was finally going to be able to get out of that house, but every time her calculations were somehow wrong to Mumtaz. As much as it made me feel awful for her most of the book, I found myself getting excited for her during her moments of happiness. As little as the things were, such as the David Beckham boy giving her a pencil, or Monica giving her the doll she slept with.

 

All in all, I am very glad to have read this book. It opened my eyes to be thankful for the little things in life, and to be so grateful nothing like that has happened to me or anyone I know. With that being said, it also makes me want to research more about it and see what little things I can do to help the matter.

Nepal and India

Before researching, I did not know much about Nepal and India. What I first researched was their location. I saw on a map just how close they were, and from what it sounds like, it is very easy to cross the border. I then wondered how their relationship was. I found out the history of their relationship, and how they were very close with great relations. I learned that in 1950 they signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship. It sounded like with time, they had their ups and downs, but currently their relationship has gotten better.

Since it is so easy to cross the border, it made me think about their education systems. I read that many Nepal students end up going to school in India for their newfound technologies. Nepal has many schools themselves, and there are currently 7.2 million students. With that number, I would have thought their education system is fine. I however learned differently, and read that they face problems of quality, relevance, education management and access. They also have social disparities of gender, ethnicity, location and economic class. From that, I went on to read about the structure of education. It is known as school education, and higher education. School education are grades 1 through 10, and higher secondary education are grades 11 and 12. They also have a national level School Leaving Certificate examination for kids at the age of 10. This made me wonder how many kids take that examination, and end up leaving school at the age of 10.

Since I had insight into what our book, Sold, was about, I decided to research the sex-trafficking issue. The information startled me, and it was very unsettling. I read that 10,000 to 15,000 girls are trafficked across the Nepal-India border each year. I had read a little into the book, so I knew previously about being lured in by false hope of employment to be a maid, or other things but this source gave me much more information. I read that they are told they are “paying back” the price that they were bought for, but more often than not, they do not have a chance of getting out. If they do get out, I read that most of the time, their families will not even accept them back, so they end up back on the streets selling themselves. This made me wonder what is going to happen in the rest of the book.

The last thing I researched was any current problems in Nepal. I read more than I would have hoped for and found out they have severe Environmental issues including water pollution, air pollution, respiratory problems and land degradation. I was reading that those issues then contribute to stunted economic growth and the livelihood of the people that live there. Land degradation is typically because of the population growth, improper use of agro-chemicals and overly intensive use of landholdings that are too small to provide households with a sufficient amount of food.

Researching all of this really opened my eyes to how life can be in other countries. I was glad to read all of this, and am now even more curious to read the rest of Sold. 

Cultural Museum Display

This is a picture of my family and I at my older sister’s graduation from Washington State University in 2011. I chose this picture to represent a part of my culture because my sister and I are first generation college students. Education is a very important part in our lives, and it is something now instilled in my little sisters, that they will further their education after high school. I am graduating in June, and am very proud to say I am a first generation college student who went straight out of high school. I have been told numerous times that it is something no one can take away from you, and that is what I love remembering about it. Once I walk up on stage and get my diploma, it is mine forever, and a symbol of my hard work and dedication.

This is a picture of my two little sisters and I when they came to visit last year. My youngest sister is 12, and the other is 15. Everything I do, I keep them in the back of my head. I strive to be a good role model for them, and someone they can be proud to say is their older sister. They play such a big role in my life that it shapes who I am as a person. I want them to have me as a good example of how to behave, act, and perform in school.

Since economics and jobs play a big role in a person’s culture, I decided to put a picture of where I am currently interning/working. I started my internship at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, WA., last summer. I am continuing to work remotely from school now, and will pick back up full time on-site after I graduate. It is my first ‘real’ job, and I am incredibly happy with it. I have learned life long career skills, and have met people I will never forget. For survival, a person needs to have a job, it is an extra bonus I have found a job I love.

My sorority is Alpha Phi. I joined my freshman year of college, in 2010 and I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have met girls I now can call family, and I currently live with three of them. I lived with a different three last year, and the year before that, I lived with 20 of them. Alpha Phi prides itself on their morals and values, which directly play a role in my own morals and values. Scholarship and friendship play a big role into Alpha Phi, which plays a big role into my life as well. I have also obtained leadership positions within Alpha Phi, which I greatly grew as a person within that time. I learned my strengths and weaknesses, which I will take with me forever.

My family and I have never practiced a certain religion very much growing up, we just went to church on Christmas Eve and Easter. A few years ago though we started going to Center for Spiritual Living every Sunday. We practice what is called Religious Science, which honors all religions and paths people take, and provides spiritual tools to transform our own lives. From what I have heard, it is much different than most other churches. When I was younger, I remember I did not understand anything that was said up front. Now, I love going anytime I am home, and try to carry the message with me for the weeks to come. This church is something I have experienced since I was very young, but really hits home for me now that I am older.

Kampung Boy

I felt that Kampung Boy was a very interesting read. I had never read a graphic novel before, it was almost as if it was taking me back to elementary school days with picture books. This book was a little different though. I actually got a message out of it, and learned much more about their culture. 

So many aspects throughout the book really showed the differences in lifestyle they have, and what it was like to grow up in the 1950’s in Malaysia. I was glad to have done research about Malaysia previously as well, because I was able to go into reading the book knowing a little background on their country. Still however, I did not research much about the people there, so I did not know what sort of story to expect.

The thing that was the most interesting for me in the start was him talking about the birthing process for the first born child. From that alone, it shows how much different their culture is. With both the mom and child not leaving the house for 45 days, and how then his head was shaved at that point as well. After reading that though I remembered getting into groups in class and discussing our research on Malaysia, and a girl in the group said that is what she read within her research.

The education system was the next part that was different, but interesting to read as well. It seemed like his whole education surrounded being able to properly speak Arab, but it made me wonder if they were taught anything else. As well as that, the way the kids all had to pay the teacher after each lesson surprised me. I would have thought that when the dad first went to ask the teacher to take in his son and gave him rice and the $1, that that would have been payment enough. It proposed questions for me: Is the money/other forms of payment going only to the teacher, as his salary? Or is the money going towards the school? It made me want to research education in Malaysia further.

The next thing that really took me by surprise is when the boy said he felt like he was full grown when he was 9 years old. Personally, when I was 9, I was most worried about what I was going to do that weekend, and making it to dance practice on time. Reading this book really showed me that kids grow up and take on adult responsibilities much sooner than other countries.

What I wish I got more clarification on however was his dads business, and the land the boy was going to take over when he was older. I felt like understanding that more would then make more sense when his mom mentioned the tin people coming to inspect his land. I would have liked to read more about that because I think it could have played an important role in the story for me. Overall though, I felt I got a good understanding of the story, more of the Malaysian culture, and the message he was trying to get across about loving his home town.

Malaysia Research

I did not know very much about Malaysia before researching. In fact, I hardly knew the basics. What I found out is that Malaysia is located in Asia, and has a mixture of races and religions, making it very diverse. The various races include Malays, Indians, Chinese, and many others. The constitution declares Islam to be the state religion. Since their independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with a GDP growing an average of 6.5% for almost 50 years. I think that is a great thing they can pride themselves on. My research said that Malaysia has traditionally been fueled on their natural resources but they are now expanding on their science, tourism, commerce and medical tourism. This now means that Malaysia has an industrialized market economy placing them 3rd largest in Southeast Asia, and 29th largest in the world. I did not know what to think at first researching Malaysia, but I think that is a great fact to set them apart from other countries.

After researching the 'light' facts, I wanted to go onto something deeper, so I decided to research foreign policy and military. I found that their foreign policy is based upon the principle of neutrality and  maintaining peaceful relations with all countries, no matter their political system. A high priority to their government is the security and stability of Southeast Asia, and furthering relations with other countries in the region. My research then went on to say how Malaysia has never recognized Israel and has no diplomatic ties with it. Consistently throughout this research it was said how Malaysia takes pride in their peace keeping missions, and how it is present in Lebanon, and that they have contributed to many other UN peace keeping missions. For the military aspect, the Malaysian Armed forces have three branches; the Royal Malaysian Navy, the Malaysian Army, and the Royal Malaysian Air Force. The required age for  volunteering into the military is 18.

To relate this back to class and what we were just talking about, I can see how the culture in Malaysia would be much different than the United States. With all of the different religions and races in Malaysia you are bound to get different values and morals within people, which I feel is a big part of culture. A lot of people in Malaysia would have gotten brought up differently, therefore giving them a different outlook on life, playing into your own personal culture. I also feel that their military and foreign policy outlooks would play a big part in their culture as well. With them caring greatly about keeping peace, people in Malaysia could have a more peaceful outlook on life than other places.

With the research I have done, I like Malaysia's views on peace keeping and it seems that they are doing a fine job running things. I do not have any personal ties with Malaysia, so I cannot say how deeply this research affects me, but I can say I can have a better understanding when people talk about it now, which is much more than I could say before.