Southeast Asian in the US Ques 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Southeast Asian in the US Ques 2 - Essay Example Louis says that his father had access to the port and the fishermen there because his job took him there often. The first part of the plan to emigrate from Vietnam included lots of secrecy. Louis says his father made it a point to be very friendly with all of the fishermen for a long time. He made friends with one of these men and they became close. Because of this close friendship, Louis says his father knew that the fisherman was someone that could be trusted. He started to ask him to take him on a trip that would enable him to escape from Vietnam. It took a long time to convince the fisherman to agree to do this. Louis’ father had to pay the man money little by little over the course of an entire year to convince him. It was difficult to convince him because he knew that there was lots of danger involved for him as well. After a year, the fisherman agreed to take on the job. He actually worked to organize a group of people that all wanted to go. This helped to defray the co st of the fuel and the risk for the fisherman. Once the group was ready and had paid, the fisherman took them on a two-week boat journey from Vietnam to Malaysia. The trip was very difficult but it was worth it. Once the Vietnamese immigrants were in Malaysia, things got much easier. The Malaysian government worked quickly to issue visas to the Vietnamese. This allowed movement within the country and the ability to work. Louis said that his father had no desire to stay in Malaysia because opportunities were limited, so he almost immediately caught a boat headed for the Philippines. Upon arrival in the Philippines, he was placed in a refugee camp. It sounds worse than it was. He was given enough food and a clean place to sleep. Moat importantly, he was taught English for six months, so he could get along once he arrived in America. After the six months was up, he moved to California and then on to Boston, which is were he still resides today. My classmate Louis’ father had a v ery different experience immigrating to America than a member of my neighborhood did. Mr. Milanovic emigrated from Bosnia with his wife and two daughters. His decision to immigrate was caused by more urgent circumstances that Louis’ father. The war in Bosnia and Mr. Milanovic’s ethnicity were factors in his immigration. He did not immigrate to America just for a better life. He came to America because his life was not safe in his homeland anymore. Mr. Milanovic saw his nieces, nephews and two of his brothers killed in a raid by Serbs. He says that it is a miracle that his entire family was able to escape intact and alive. Mr. Milanovic knew a friend with a truck that routinely traveled past safe areas where the UN was gathering Bosnian refugees. After the visit to his Brother’s home and the raid by the Serbs, he decided that he needed to get his family out of Bosnia. They packed almost nothing and went to the UN refugee camp to wait. They waited a very long time . He recalls boredom being the real enemy. People would grow tense because there was nothing to do except worry about missing family members. After nearly a full year in the refugee camp, the Milanovic family arrived in the United States. They arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska because that is where the organization that had arranged for sponsors was located. All the Milanovic family knew is that they were going to be taken care of for the first few months in America by