Thankful for Family & Friends in a New Homeland
The first immigrants to arrive to the United States were religious refugees. The Native Americans who they met here welcomed them and helped them survive. The pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620: 110 arrived; 44 religious dissenters, 66 English adventurers. A year later, less than fifty of those people survived the harsh winter. The Native Americans, who did not share the same religious beliefs as these pilgrims, joined together with them to celebrate a successful harvest. “By then they had been humbled by burying friends and relying on natives.”(Garrison, 2017)[1]
This Thanksgiving Keene State College in Keene, in New Hampshire will host an event to focus on immigration. “Organizer Mohammed Saleh was inspired by hearing about Eleazer Lopez Ayala who was detained after living in the country for almost 20 years.” (Greene, 2017)[2] According to those planning this event “It only makes sense to choose Thanksgiving…[as] a day that recognizes the coexistence of immigrants and natives.”(Greene, 2017)[3]
“On Monday [the 20th] a crowd assembled just before noon to share a holiday meal with politicians and advocates at the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalitions annual Thanksgiving luncheon.” (Guerra, 2017)[4] Earlier this year the Department of Homeland Security decided to end Protected Status which allows for some immigrants (like those affected by natural disasters like the 2010 earthquake in Haiti) to live and work in the United States legally. They will have the next 18 months to settle their affairs in the United States and prepare to head home to an uncertain fate. Some of these people “are here legally through TPS, [they] are paying taxes, are contributing to social security, [they] are doing all the right things.” (Guerra, 2017)[5] Those caught in this struggle need to live with hope for the next 18 months, hope which can easily be outweighed by the despair they feel as they worry about being forced to return to their native lands with uncertain futures.
For many Americans Thanksgiving evokes warm feelings, for new immigrants it’s a celebration that can be an echo of harvest festivals that took place in their own homelands. Often, immigrants have never experienced a Thanksgiving or even a Christmas before. For so many across the country it will be a time to be thankful to finally be together again. Each of them through their participation will add their own personal touch to the day. As a new comer “it is important to embrace the culture [and] America has so much…when it comes to culture.” (Baker, 2015)[1]
Moving forward as a country that I hope aims to not only celebrate but lift up immigrants perhaps it is time to take a closer look at the limbo many immigrants are forced to live in. In a world full of uncertainty it is important to give thanks for all our blessings every day. On a day dedicated to giving thanks, let us all remember that it’s the welcoming attitudes of the natives that gave those first immigrants the hope to carry on in spite of a desperate first year in their new home.
[1] Garrison, Greg (November 22nd, 2017) Native Americans Welcomed Immigrant Pilgrims in the First Thanksgiving http://bit.ly/2zBwco4
[2] Greene, Britta (November 22nd, 2017) Thanksgiving Event in Keene to Focus on Immigration http://bit.ly/2Aw0CZ2
[3] Greene, Britta (November 22nd, 2017) Event in Keene to Focus on Immigration Thanksgiving http://bit.ly/2Aw0CZ2
[4] Guerra, (November 21st, 2017) For Haitian Immigrants an Uneasy Thanksgiving. http://bit.ly/2A4QOEL
[5] Guerra, (November 21st, 2017) For Haitian Immigrants an Uneasy Thanksgiving http://bit.ly/2A4QOEL
[5] Baker, Suzanne (November 22nd, 2015) For Recent Immigrants, New Traditions are a Reason to be Grateful http://trib.in/2B9PBsv
