Think of the Kids…

It’s the classic American dream: Come to the US, get a job, work
your way up the ranks, and become a great success story—all very
rapidly. For some immigrants, this works out just fine. For others,
however, it seems that the situation doesn’t quite play out. Educated
immigrants have to settle for jobs that are far below their skill
level. Others who do not speak English well, or at all, get locked into
industries that feature conditions which can range from undesirable to
completely oppressive. Furthermore, these immigrants do not have much
opportunity for advancement in many such sectors. Just as bad – or
perhaps worse, in some ways—is the fact that the children of these
immigrants often get “stuck” in the same job prospects. Being that
every good parent wants to see their children have the opportunities
that they did not, this outcome must be particularly heartbreaking to
New York City’s immigrants.
There is a novel that came out one or two years ago called “Girl in
Translation”, by Jean Kwok. (Don’t let the unbelievably cliched title deceive
you—it’s actually a good book.) The story revolves around a girl, Kimberly,
who immigrates from Hong Kong with her mother in her youth. They are
sponsored by Kimberly’s aunt, who owns a sweatshop, and end up working there
for her. Their experience is an awful one lived right at the poverty level, sometimes below. Kimberly’s mother tells her they will be able to make it, but their situation improves little while Kimberly is young, and they grow
disheartened over time. Kimberly vows to work herself into the ground to both do well in school and help her mother, in order to provide a better future for both of them. In the end, she becomes a successful physician, but in her dogged quest to “make it in America”, concludes at the end that she has her success has come at the very costly expense of other deeply important things in her life. Perhaps such major
sacrifice and commitment to hard work is the only option that the “second generation” has, in some cases, as an alternative to being confined to the undesirable financial situation of their parents. Neither choice really seems like a “better life”.