So far after doing all the readings from the beginning of the class, I feel as if we have only touched upon the “struggles,” horrible conditions and negative aspects the immigrants faced regarding their journey to the “land of opportunities” or a place to better their lives. Beginning with their trip to New York on overcrowded boats-including some who weren’t even able to survive the ride, to the terrible and filthy living conditions in the tenements, now to even the jobs immigrants had to take upon to survive, let alone support their family. The journey of immigrants has been very much saddening rather than a feeling of relief since they left their home countries to live a “better” life.
In response to the question Eden poses: differences outweighing similarities, I believe that differences are truly inevitable; as time moves on things change, hence differences are bound to arise. However, there are also similarities between past and current immigrant jobs. For example, many immigrants face several hindrances in acquiring a job due to English speaking capabilities. Also, no matter how educated or skilled an immigrant might be much struggle is done in order to get a well-paying job. Furthermore, the use of social networking in means of getting a job is as much important now as it was back then, maybe even of more importance now due to the infinite number of different types of positions available. Regardless, the differences between the old immigrants and current immigrants are significant. The best example is the increase in number of professionals arriving to the country.
The concept of “professionals experiencing downward mobility when coming to NY” as said by Eden is definitely very interesting. Some of the reasons for this, I believe, include the inability to speak/understand English, and not having legal paperwork to support their job position. There are some individuals I know of who are in this situation and their response to this was to earn quick money to send back home as sorting out legal documentation and being fluent in English requires much time. While driving a taxi or working in a convenient store requires less time as they are able to start immediately and also they can earn enough money to send back home. However, the fact that they have “made it” to America, or in this case, New York, suffices for some.
To answer Edens question about raising the status of women by actually having jobs verses reinforcing an inferior rank due to the jobs paying lower wages, I believe that the fact that they don’t have to sit home all day to take care of their family and actually being able to provide in another way by supporting financially is a great achievement. Other than that, women became more independent and if wished being able to survive on their own definitely raises the status of women.
No matter how hard it was for immigrants to survive here in New York, they were successful. Their struggle was for the better of their life and more importantly to secure the future of their children.
