My parents, Eva and Andrew, both immigrated to the United States in 1981.
Barely married two years, they both strongly opposed communism in their home country of Poland. So strongly that they caught the eye of the government. Luckily, my father had an old friend that was part of the SB, the Polish secret police. He tipped him off that they were wanted for being members of the anti-communist Solidarity movement and their activities within the movement.
By taking advantage of a loophole, they tricked the passport agency into giving them both passports. This was a rare occurrence, my dad tells me, because most people were granted passports only if other members of their family were staying behind, ensuring that citizens would be tied to the country. My mom loves to giggle about this feat, probably the only time she did anything truly illegal.
They left Poland, their families, their homes and almost all their possessions to escape to Austria, where they requested political asylum and were taken to a refugee camp. Just like the Sudanese refugees in our cover story by Lauren Cusimano (“Center of the Heart,” pg. 16) they had to apply to immigrate to a safer country. One quote that struck me when I first read the story was Jany Deng saying he was “one of the few lucky ones,” getting to go to the U.S. My parents have said the same exact thing about coming to this country.
In “Center of the Heart,” Deng talks about starting the AZ Lost Boys Center to help the Sudanese refugees. Education and friendship seem to be the two pillars of every effort at the center, and they are what helped my parents adapt to life in the U.S. as well. I’ll never forget my mom telling me that her co-workers at her first job all went out and bought Polish-English dictionaries so they could better communicate with her. And, their friendships helped my parents get the education they needed to get their citizenship in 1987.
While I will likely never know the struggle of people like Deng or my parents, I’m still thankful for the people that were willing to give both education and friendship to them when they needed it most. I know that being in college has provided many of us with the opportunity to educate each other, especially through friendships, and to both learn about other cultures and share our own. In this week’s “What’s Your Story,” Katrina Anderson shares her experiences with the French culture while studying abroad in Lyon.
So, whether you’re giving or taking (and hopefully you’ll get to do both someday), experience the culture.
P.S. Mel is actually gonna give you some texting tips this week. I’m not kidding this time.
