Archive of Immigrant Voices

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La Familia Es Lo Primero - An Oral History Interview with Violeta Rivas
(2014-05) Herberger, Mallory B.; Rivas, Violeta
In this oral history interview, Violeta Rivas discusses her experience as an immigrant in the United States. Born in Nicaragua in 1960, Violeta and her husband came to the U.S. in 1984 to escape the Sandinista regime and to build a new life. Thirty years later, they are still here. Although Violeta had originally intended to return to Nicaragua, she and her family stayed, and throughout the course of the interview, she displays an acute awareness of her life in retrospect. Leaving her home was a sacrifice, but she did it for her family; every obstacle she faced and every cultural barrier she had to overcome was for her family. That is the essence of the interview, and throughout the course of this oral history, Violeta guides her listeners through the things that matter the most to her: religion, tradition, and moral values. Violeta’s story is not just one of many Central American immigrant narratives; it is a part of a whole, and without it, the picture is not complete.
From West Africa to America
(2014-05) Adeniji, Olufunke A.
Since the late 1960s, there has been a rise in immigrants coming to the United States. Many Africans, particularly, Nigerians have been a part of the migration. In this Oral History Interview, there were three main themes that were presented. The first was education. Many immigrants leave their country to receive a good education. My interviewee, Kojo Appiah benefited from that. He came to seek education that was much more beneficial overseas than in his home country. Second politically. As Appiah understood the role of the government in the United States, he became in love with it. His home country’s government did not represent the people or had the best interest for them. And lastly, Appiah realized that America was not only different politically, but culturally. He realized that the communication is different and had to learn how to become a true American, by not have citizen status, but culturally assimilating. He today, identifies himself as an American.
Oral History Interview: Mary Cooney
(2014-05) LaCherra, Kevin; Cooney, Mary
Juvenal Valeriano Lastarria Interview
(2014-05) Lastarria, James; Valeriano, Juvenal
After looking back at the interview, I see some themes that could probably be explored more on a follow up interview. Mr. Lastarria places a lot of importance on education. He did not succumbed to the ideas of the senderistas or corrupt officers and politicians because he was well educated. It is demonstrated during the first couple of minutes in the interview when he spoke about his mother and the importance and sacrifices she did in order for her children to get an education. My uncle became an attorney, my dad an undercover agent, and my other uncles and aunts obtained blue collar jobs. Another major theme in this interview is family. The decisions that Mr. Lastarria made were for the sake of his family. He may have taken his job to heart, which is noted during his long absence from his family, but there is also a sense of regret on his part. As he stated during the last minutes of the interview, he wished that he would’ve enjoyed his family more. Who knows, maybe if he had, the problems that are now facing my family would have gone away. My own personal view of his may have been different from what it is today. After this interview it did change a little; however, it is going to take a lot more time to mend the gap that 17 years of absence has caused. Corruption in the government is another theme that could definitely be explored further on another interview. Due to our limitations to an hour and a half, I could not fully explore the corruption within the Peruvian government. I realize that the goal of this interview was to get a narrative of the interviewee’s journey to the US, but events like corruption and distrust in the government play key role for certain individuals to come to the US.
Eder Deleon interview of Ismar Deleon
(2014-05) Deleon, Eder M.; Deleon, Ismar
I interview Ismar Martin Deleon. He is my father and he was born in 1963 in Salcaja Guatemala. He migrated to the United States in 1981 at the age of 17. The reason he came to the United States was because his father who had migrated to the United States a few years before was struggling to pay the bills. The key points of the interview were family, work, religion, and soccer. Ismar started working at the age of seven with is parents making cortes. Cortes is the clothing that indigenous people wear. He would get up early to help everyday around four in the morning. His favorite past time was playing soccer he wanted to go pro and play in Guatemala. Due to lack of money he was forced to migrate to the United States with his father. Ismar played for many teams in Salcaja he even played for a team called America which was the best team in the town and a semi pro team. When he was 17 he came to the United States to work. He felt that since he was the oldest son in the family he had to take on that responsibility. He left his youth and all of his friends and family in Guatemala to come to the United States were he did not know any one but his father. He did not mind the sacrifice he had make if it meant his family would live a better life. He grew up as a catholic in Guatemala and to this day still practices the catholic religion. In the interview he mentions religions several times and gives thanks to god for everything he has today. Today he is successful he has a house in the United States and two in Guatemala. He is currently working to make sure his children earn a degree.
Immigrant Oral Experience Interview
(2014-05) Ferguson, Amber M.; Gunderson, Olive
I had the pleasure of interviewing Olive, an Air Force wife and mother who immigrated to the United States from Port Antonio, Jamaica. Born in 1933, Olive moved to several places around the world and now has six children, six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. I am her granddaughter. The themes that we focused during the interview were: Early Childhood, Jamaican Culture, Racial Identity, Military Life and the Civil Rights Movement. Olive has a unique story in many ways. She was an interracial Jamaican who married an African-American military officer. In the early 1970s, Olive become mildly involved in the Civil Rights movement after meeting Rosa Parks. Throughout this interview you will read about the experience of an extraordinary Jamaican immigrant who became a world traveler and a living source of history.
Carlos Morales Interview
(2014-05) Morales, Monica; Morales, Carlos
Oral History Interview - Vivian Ojo: Namibia
(2014-05) Saldana, Stephanie; Ojo, Vivian
The interview I conducted was of Vivian Ojo. Vivian is a senior at Georgetown University. She is from Windhoek, Namibia which is the capital of the country. Vivian came to the U.S. to attend college making her immigration story unique in that she is an example of someone who can possibly transition into the complete immigrant experience. I see Vivian’s story as one of the new, modern immigrant that we see evolving in the United States. Themes that ran throughout our interview were development, transnationalism, religion, and education. Vivian’s opportunities and why she has ended up in the United States is based largely on her parent’s education which has influenced her desire to pursue higher education. Education has also provided Vivian with much of the mobility and agency needed to achieve a lot of the things she has in terms of migration. Development is reflective of Vivian’s desire to help her home country. Similarly, where I met Vivian plays a role in explaining her passion for development. I met Vivian this semester as a fellow intern of the ONE Campaign, a non-profit founded by Bono in 2004 that advocates to alleviate poverty and hunger in Africa. This mission of ONE is reflective of Vivian and what she hopes to accomplish through her career one day. Vivian’s ability to travel and experience new cultures are representative of transnationalism another theme in the interview. Vivian is a global citizen and has made choices in her education and life in general to assure she maintains as much of a global view as possible. Religion is another aspect of Vivian’s life that she embraces in the United States as well as her home country. Throughout the interview she credits God for providing her with the opportunities she’s had. Therefore, religion plays a role in her everyday life in shaping her values as well as a practice she’s maintained through her immigrant experience.
Interview between Ryan Goldberg and Gina Heredea
(2014-05) Goldberg, Ryan A.; Heredea, Gina
Interview with Nelson Cabezas
(2014-05) Jimenez, David A.; Cabezas, Nelson
The interview with Nelson Cabezas, a Chilean-American, is about his work history. His occupation as a tailor defines who he is. His pursuit to expand his tailoring education is what brought him to the United States. Even though he was unable to acquire an education in design he made due by working labor intensive jobs such as catering and delivery services. At the same time he was able to practice his craft as a tailor by working part time on the side until he was able to work for U.S. Navy as a tailor. An interesting aspect of this interview is the relationship of Nelson to the interviewer. He is my stepfather. This posed some challenges for the questions I had prepared beforehand because I wanted to explore topics Nelson has never covered with me before and I was unsure on how to respond to information that I already knew beforehand. Therefore, the abrupt transitions from topic to topic are not the result of my disinterest, but are the result of my desire to know information I never knew before.
Oral History Interview: Taha Ahmed
(2014-05) Ahmed, Baredu S.; Ahmed, Taha
Oral History Interview: Silvia Nuñez Fowler
(2015-03-18) Lynch, Mary A.
Oral History Interview: Edwarda M. Buda-Okreglak
(2015-03-21) Buda, Bożenna
Oral History Interview: Omowumi L. Akinwale
(2015-03-22) Ayodeji, Ganiyat K.
Oral History Interview: Manu Manohar
(2015-03-22) Manohar, Nikhil
Oral History Interview: Asha Simon
(2015-10-03) de Gravelles, Natalia
Oral History Interview: Adriana Busti-Carioti
(2015-10-04) Mohn IV, William T.
Oral History Interview: Natalie Neighbors
(2015-10-10) Alexander, Crystal E.
Oral History Interview: Regine Dunlap
(2015-10-11) Dunlap, Kevin
Oral History Interview: Natalia Siegel
(2015-10-11) Singman, Leah

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