Allen Kim

Allen Kim

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Hidden Artifacts

0
10 years
by in Neighborhood Visits

First of all, I thought the tour guide was incredible and knowledgeable. My only complaint, if this counts, is the sheer amount of information being thrown at us. She was just throwing out so much information that I didn’t have time to process much of it. However, I do remember some things. The most striking part of the whole tour was the incredible lengths the tour guide would talk on a particular site. Even though I lived in New York City my whole life, I never really took the time to appreciate its extensive history. I was taught some U.S. history in school so, I wasn’t oblivious to the importance of NYC.

When we first stopped at beauty salons, I was confused. It turns out that it was a major historical landmark. The most surprising part of the tour was when we stopped at a random abandoned warehouse, or so it seemed. Of course, it turns out to be something historically noteworthy also… Almost everywhere we turned, there was some deep history to be found. Just appreciating the various locations we went to was the part that stuck with me the most. It really made me think about how much we can uncover in just our neighborhoods.

Many Eyes on Bangladesh

0
10 years
by in Immigration Stories

As a longtime friend of a Bengali and having visited his home before, I was exposed to some Bengali culture but never in the way the exhibit displayed it. My friend’s father was born in East Pakistan at the time (now Bangladesh) and I delved a bit into the history of Pakistani conflicts. This trip really threw more light on the war with the photographs of the women soldiers and the destruction of buildings. I also knew that Bangladesh was victim of one of the highest population densities in the world, which led to very cramped conditions.

Coincidentally, the day after we went to the exhibit, the New York Times had this as their main headline article: “Facing Rising Seas, Bangladesh Confronts the Consequences of Climate Change.” It really is shocking at how much of an impact climate change is having on Bangladesh when people on the opposite side of the world seems unfazed by the issue. There is a lot of injustice in the fact that developing countries are suffering the most from the pollution of industrious, developed countries. The article says that about 18 million people in Bangladesh will lose their homes to the ocean by 2050 and as such, people are arguing that developed countries should open their borders to those immigrants affected by climate. After seeing the conditions in Bangladesh through the photos on the exhibit, I truly feel a lot more sympathy for their problems and really makes me think how much I take for granted.

The “Golden” Venture

0
10 years
by in Immigration Stories

During our class mini-debate, there was an argument that illegal immigrants are largely criminals or gang members that are detrimental to society. However, the documentary really helps to develop some sympathy for these illegal immigrants. They are shown to be simple people who seek to escape government oppression and search for a better life. It’s unbelievable how much they are willing to sacrifice just to come to the United States. Not only do they have to muster up tens of thousands of dollars and leave their families behind, they’re forced in cramped, inhumane travel conditions. Additionally, it was brought up that these illegal immigrants most likely are fully aware of the problems and consequences that they have to face. They were fined heavily and one was even sterilized… The fact that these people choose to illegally immigrate just shows how desperate and hopeful they really are.

 

It’s truly terrible how these immigrants were treated when they arrived in America, but I was really happy to see so much support they received as well. The fact that there were people who actually grouped up outside of the prison and sang songs to raise awareness of the issue really makes me more of an optimist in nature. I hope that in the future, we fight to help assimilate immigrants into society rather than wasting our money to send them away.

I census losing culture in NYC

0
10 years
by in Census Data

One of the most striking facts from Mr. Salvo’s talk is the high rate of migration to New York City, not from other countries, but from within the nation. As a resident of the Bronx my whole life, it never occurred to me what kind of appeal the city might have for people from other states. I realize now that the abundance of creative, technological, and financial industries present in NYC must attract all sorts of educated college graduates from across the country and even abroad. The main problem I see with this is the resulting economic imbalance in certain communities. As more and more people congregate in poorer neighborhoods, the value of property there will most likely rise, forcefully displacing the existing community as they are unable to keep up with the rising costs.

My biggest concern about this is due to the “melting pot” nature of NYC. Personally, I never liked the melting pot metaphor too much as a melting pot implies a cohesive, homogenous mixture of many ingredients when in reality, it was closer to a chopped salad. The city, as a whole, was a varied community, but the ethnic groups weren’t spread around evenly throughout; rather, it was more in chunks like neighborhoods and communities. Due to this nature, I believe that there is a much larger potential for loss in culture and heritage if any of one of these communities were to be lost.

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