Terrific 2’s!!
This month The Immigrant Experience turns two years old. This means we can not only walk, run and jump with both feet, we can now begin telling the stories of other people’s Immigrant Experience. The inaugural installment features Victoria T.’s take on The Privilege of Responsibility. As a foreign student, Victoria who is only allowed to be in the US on a student visa speaks about the reason for her journey far away from her native Zimbabwe and the pressures of remaining a light and beacon of hope for the struggling community she is coming from. For many people her words will speak to the challenges faced by those who are sacrificing their time, energy and efforts to find a brighter future for themselves and their loved ones.
“Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” – MLK Memorial, Washington DC
The Privilege of Responsibility: The Impact of Civil unrest on the Zimbabwean Citizens outside of the diaspora.
As an international student, moving to a foreign country especially the United States during the Trump era has been a very difficult decision to make. Yes, it was and is an opportunity that gives me a certain level of privilege and power, but one that does not come without much sacrifice and obligation. One of the most difficult sacrifices I made was to leave my family in an economically and politically uncertain wavering environment. Even if I would have preferred to stay and “struggle” together, the environment presented us with no hope for better things ahead. It was better for me to leave.
“This is just reminder to all of us around the world who sometimes feel they are alone in their struggles and hardships. We are in this together. ”
My greatest hope and motivation is that every opportunity and privilege that would improve my life would help me to be a better resource to my family and my community at large. It has been and it still is a difficult journey with many challenges and obstacles. However, it has already provided me with lessons that have helped me to become better, stronger and more able to “help”. I am still learning and growing every day because it remains an unending process. Giving my narrative is a journey on its own and I hope after completing my education I will be better able to share the story of my experiences.
When a government does not care about the rights, freedoms or livelihood of its people, and when the people have no access to resources and nothing to live for, they have nothing to lose because they have lost everything. All they can do is challenge the system. Faced with these sacrifices, people are shouting “we can’t live like this anymore”. I find, myself pushed against a hard concrete wall. The political and economic instability in my country has led to civil unrest. The heavy hand of the government is unmerciful and has resorted to violence in silencing the masses. Many lives have been lost.
Not many of my people have a voice and I know many people out there are experiencing different struggles, hardships and challenges who need to know they are not alone. For this reason it is so important for me to speak and spread awareness to people who are unaware of what is happening all around the world. It is important for me to speak because my mental health and sanity require me to have a safe space to process and share. Having been raised in a country that is home for me yet experience so much hardship that threatened my right to live as a decent human being has been a difficult reality.
Watching my siblings and people that I grew up with, who have so much potential and capacity, amount to “nothing”; some ending up as junkies. To watch the cries of mothers and children, to see families and communities fall apart, to look around me and only see pain and suffering. I feel a deep tug at my heartstrings. Feeling crippled and unable to do anything is a heavy weight to carry around. Being a student in a country where you are constantly reminded that you don’t belong leaves me constantly worried about a future that is uncertain. I feel pressured to work three if not more times harder than everybody else because I feel my life depends on it.
Every day I remain reminded of the struggles and hardships of my people and with no hope for them, I constantly feel undeserving of the opportunity and chance I have been given. Walking around feeling responsible to carry the burden of a community with no assurance of their livelihood and safety is a very scary thing. Every day I am afraid, every day I hear the cries of my people and every day I am reminded of my responsibility. On some days I have no idea how to do everything I feel I have been called to do.
If you or someone you know has a story that they want to share, please send it via email to theimmigrantexperience.org@gmail.com
