COMING TO AMERICA

Journeys of Modern-Day Immigrants

De: Drienie Hattingh

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

AMERICA: Land of freedom, promise, opportunity. A place of hopes and dreams. A shining light in a dark and troubled world. An idea as much as it is a physical place. It is a land of plurality, where a Statue stands and welcomes everyone from all corners of the Earth, literally bringing and befriending the tired, the hungry, and burdened, all of whom yearn to be free. Countless souls have made the journey—that long, arduous trek—to a strange and foreign land, in hopes of making a better life for themselves and their progeny. And what a journey it is! For some, it is a more difficult than others. Many people encounter great obstacles in order to be in the United States. One doesn’t simply decide to come here. It takes a great deal to leave the familiar... your family, sounds of music, language, and nature, and the taste of familiar foods in one’s homeland. For some, it may mean leaving the sounds of war. For others, it may mean leaving the sounds of crime and the cries of victims. For others, it is more the lack of money in the bank and loss of opportunity in their fatherland. For the less fortunate, they depart under adverse circumstances, with little more than the clothing on their backs. For everyone, it is a decision not made lightly. There are many preparations and steps involved. It takes a great deal of planning on both ends of the journey in order to make it happen. For everyone, it means having to tie ends up in one country in order to open new doors in another. Without a firm foundation to call home anymore, it’s a very scary time, with a mixture of emotions. Once the immigrants get here, they must find housing, pass rigorous health standards, fill out forms with the state department, go through countless interviews, applications, classes, and studies, with a final test for citizenship. Every single person who undergoes this process is willing to do this. The immigrants have left their homelands. Oftentimes, they’ve left family behind, property, livelihood, and the sheer familiarity of their place of birth. And, yet, they dare to make this journey to the brave New World called the United States of America.Some have left the oppression of totalitarian governments, lack of safety and security. Others have left religious oppression. For some, it is the lack of economic and professional opportunity in their fatherland. For every one of them, it is the dream of a better life, and a more promising future. So, then, what is it that draws people to these fair shores? It is an idea, every bit as much as it is a place. It’s the idea that if you are willing to work hard and stick with your dreams, you can make them come true; that an ancestral title isn’t necessary for success and advancement. It’s the knowledge that one can be educated and receive a fair and protected wage. And it’s the collective strength of the people of every nationality who have walked these lands, from coast to coast, including the Native Americans, with mingled bloodlines and traditions, that gives this country its unique strength and character; that even in our darkest times, we are bolstered by the generosity and openness of a nation that embodies an entire world, and that we draw our essence from that diversity. The United States is indeed a gilded place of golden hopes, dreams, promises, and opportunities. It is a place where one will always be able to celebrate the past, the present, and the future. America is an idea that will never, ever grow old—one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. God bless America, and all her people!