User:Anton
From The Peopling of Astoria, Queens
ANTON is learning how to edit his page.
Anton Gringut 3/8/07.
Anton Gringut 3/11/07 Professor Peterson 3001H
The Scales of Immigration
September 6,th 1995 was a life-changing day for the Gringut family. Lev and Roza, their daughter, Irina, and Irina’s son, Anton, were huddled in a dimly lit living room in Yaroslavl, Russia. They were awaiting the arrival of a taxi van, which would take them to Moscow’s International Airport. Here the family would board a direct flight to none other than JFK airport in New York City. The verdict reached to relocate half way around the world was not an easy one to render, especially for the family’s oldest member, Lev Gringut.
A few months ago, the final decision to move to New York City was made. It has been forming since 1992, when Alexander Gringut, Lev’s son, moved with his family to the legendary city. Ever since his departure, a permanent reunion was being organized. Led by Lev’s wife, Roza, the most difficult part of her mission to reunite the family was convincing Lev to buy into the move. Leaving his home and birth town would mean losing touch with lifelong friends, as well as close cousins. [Although phone calls are constantly exchanged and a correspondence via air mail remains, the feeling of abandonment lingers, emerging semi-annually with parcels of small amounts of financial aid that are sent back to the “old country.”] The prospect of a new lifestyle was abominable for a man already in his mid 60s.
Lev had led an accomplished life. He was a successful radiologist in one of the premier hospitals in Yaroslavl. Living in an apartment with a view, a summerhouse in the suburbs, a car, a garage to park it in, Lev had reason to resist his wife’s persuasions. With plenty of friends and family to spend his free time with, he had already achieved the equivalent of the American dream in his hometown and obviously was not willing to give up his hard work so readily.
Despite these admirable materialistic gains, Lev was being suffocated by Russia’s negative atmosphere. The early 1990’s were times of reconstruction in Russia and land that was previously owned by the government was being reallocated to the citizens. Unfortunately this distribution was done with much bias against the Jewish community. This was not the first time Lev Gringut faced discrimination due to his religious background. Less than ten years ago his daughter had applied to medical school. Despite outstanding grades the director of the institution turned her away with little consideration. She was forced to settle for a school of engineering, in which she dispassionately learned a subject of little interest. With a growing grandson, Lev did not want to become witness to a repeat of this racial limitation. Anton was already seven years old and rapidly approaching the dangerous age of 18. Eleven years from now he would be drafted by the Russian army. With even more racial hatred within its structure than the Russian bureaucracy, the army was no place for a Jewish boy.
Escaping prejudice was only a part of Lev’s larger goal to improve his family’s lives. The United States offered a free world, a free economy, a public education system and no restrictions on success. Russia’s weak financial structure offered little compensation for an overwhelming amount of work. Lev, even when at the top of his position, often had to work several shifts in order to have enough money for all the necessities. But having money alone was not enough; products could not just be bought, everything had to be obtained. If his grandson wanted a bike, Lev would have to find someone who was selling it and then negotiate a deal, offering either cash or merchandise in exchange.
The inconvenience of the barter system was obvious, however an even bigger monetary problem was looming ahead. Lev and his wife were both approaching retirement age and a new fear had formed over them. The pension paid by the government would not be enough to support the family. There were four people relying directly on their salaries and a sudden income cut would bring harsh consequences. The family would be forced to give up many comforts and completely reassess their budget.
After the scales of immigration were properly weighed, there was a great imbalance in favor of the move to New York. It was the most promising solution to a sea of problems. Flying over the Atlantic Ocean, on the way to a new life, the Gringut family was 3500 meters, or as they would soon learn to say, 10,000 feet, above their problems.