From The Integration of Dominican, Chinese, Russian and Mexican Immigrants in NYC
Contents |
Immigration and Integration Facts
Challenges
Language
Language is probably one of the most difficult aspects of integration. This is partly because there are certain syllables that are not part of the Russian language, but are included in the English language. Furthermore, it is difficult for everyone to understand the difficulties of the English language, that us Americans understand easily. Frustration in both the Russian and English classes are common.
Brighton Beach is “the” textbook definition of an enclave community. If you were to go down the streets by the Boardwalk you would see signs completely in Russian. There are individuals who have lived their entire lives in this community without even learning a word of English. This is because 94% of the neighborhood's population speaks Russian, and it is apparent to anyone that takes a walk around the area.
Education
The Russian education system is actually considered superior to the American's. 53% of Russian Immigrants bring a College degree with them and 80% already have a high school diploma. However, an American college education is far more expensive than in Russia, but at the same time it’s lower quality.
The relatively more educated status of the Russian Immigrants is what contributed to their having the highest median income (Roughly $50,000 a year).
Ethnocentricity
Despite the overwhelming presence of Russian Immigrants, Brighton Beach still is home to a minority population of Pakistanis and Hispanics that is woefully underrepresented by the mostly Russian-born community leaders. Ms. Singer has networked with a motley mix of other organizations to get a wider cultural representation for Brighton Beach. The political processes in Brighton Beach are inhibited by the ethnocentricity. Entire town meetings would be held in Russian, and attended by a virtually 100% Russian audience.
The dominance of the Russian population in Brighton Beach politics ensures the perpetuation of the enclave community and the nonparticipation of the other immigrant groups.
Interview With a Russian Immigrant and Her Perspective
She, the Russian immigrant, came here with her parents and sister in 1988 at the age of 16. In Russia at that time it was very difficult to achieve anything if you were a Jew as a result of discrimination. This was the main push factor of her family's immigration.
She described America's education system as "terrible compared to Russia's'. When she first came here she went to into 11th grade in high school. She said that whatever she studied in 6th grade in Russia you take here when your in 12th grade.
When she came to America in 1988, she did not know any English. She took an ESL class and didn't learn much. All of her friends in that class were Russian so they didn't need to know English to speak to one another. She started working part time after school in the clothing store Rainbow and that is were she started using English.