Colombian vs. American Culture

Contributed by Nick Rhein

 

Colombian vs. American Culture

The melting pot that is America was built on immigrants. Starting with our first permanent settlers in Jamestown from England to the fourteen million that immigrated here from 2000 to 2010. From the 75 million since 1820 and millions of descendants from the original immigrants, we have built our nation from our people. People move here with cultural baggage that empties out into the communities. The many cultures present here have created an original and unique American culture of its own. The English language has been adapted to form words like klutz and mellow. Jazz and polka were original music genres built from African and Central European styles. Our food is hearty and filling based on heavy grains and meat but we still see classic cuisine that is extremely popular. Advancements in social rights came from this blending as well. They didn’t come along easily, but they have been a cornerstone for other nations social reform. The many cultures have shaped America into a country unlike any other.

Interview of Eybe W:

Below is an interview of Eybe W., an immigrant from Columbia.  The interview addresses the cultural differences between Columbia and America. Comparison of Cultures

Q. Are there major differences in daily life between living in America and Colombia?

For me yes. In my daily life in Colombia I never drove. I shop less (hahahah).
My country have a lot of diversity like US, but in my hometown the life is different than where I live right now (St Clair, MI 48079). Barranquilla is a large city, very industrial.

Q. What is one thing you miss most about Columbia beside family?

The food, the culture and the warm weather. In Barranquilla is always hot and humid, The people talk loud, we dance like crazy, we love everything we do, we have a lot of passion for live.
The food is less process, we eat lots of fruits and fresh stuff.
 
Q. What is one of the thing that you enjoy most about America?

The opportunities.

Q. In Colombia, are there positive or negative feelings towards the United States?

Like in every part of the world people have different feelings. Its very difficult to have an unified answer.

Q. Do you know why this is so?

 We hate the idea of any other country that try to take advantage of our resources.
But we also appreciate the countries that try to help us.

Q. How does music differentiate in America from Columbia’s?

Colombia have different music styles. Barranquilla people like salsa, merengue, vallenatos. etc
I'll think the difference is in the volume and the language. hahahaha
In Colombia music is for to dance.

Q. Are other languages spoken in Columbia besides Spanish?

Colombia official language is Spanish. But Colombia also recognised other ethnic languages and dialects (75 total). We also own San Andres  y Providencia islands were English is recognised like official language.

Q. What are some of the most unique holidays celebrated in Columbia?

Colombia has 18 holidays (12 Catholic holidays and 6 Civic holidays), plus Palm and Easter Sunday.
Most of the holidays are the same catholic holidays (Christmas, and Epiphany, etc).
Barranquilla my city is home to one of the most important folk and cultural festivals of Colombia, the Carnival of Barranquilla, which was declared a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity and  National Cultural Heritage and recognized by Unesco in 2003.

Q. Are there any US holidays you find strange?

Cinco de Mayo. hahahaha

Q. What is your favorite dish in Columbia?

Arroz con coco, mojarra frita, patacon y sopa de pezcado.

For more information on the history of immigration: 

"The Elizabethan Renaissance Era of U.S. History." The Elizabethan Renaissance Era of U.S. History. InMotion, 31 Jan. 2010. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. <http://www.timepage.org/cyc/gen/renaissance.html>.

The Projects of the Past

 

Contributed by Dennis Reilly

 

Life in the Projects & the Newark Riots: Research Summary

When we hear the word “projects,” many of us think of dirty buildings, poor living conditions, gangs, and drugs. But what was life really like in the projects back in the 1940s and 1950s? Life may have been a lot different than one would expect. Children played and laughed on the street, families told stories on their porches, and “Old Newark”was filled with life, various shops, and countless restaurants. In 1950, the population of Newark reached 438,000 people. Eventually, white residents began to migrate away from the inner city and middle-class African Americans soon followed. People of color who held low-paying factory jobs were left in the inner cities and crime greatly increased. This led to the Newark Riots of 1967.

The Newark Riots was a six day period of looting, destruction, and rioting that took place between July 12, 1967 and July 17, 1967. The riots began when John DeSimone and Vito Pontrelli, two Newark policemen, arrested John Weerd Smith, an African American cabdriver. Smith had been beaten by police. Smith was taken to a hospital afterwards, but a rumor began that Smith was killed while in police custody. A large number of Newark residents burst out into riots, attacking police and destroying property. Machine guns and sniper rifles fired in the streets, buildings burned to the ground, and the National Guard attempted to stop and contain the terror that raged on throughout Newark by closing down bridges each night. The Newark Riots resulted in 26 people dead, 725 people injured, 1,500 people arrested, and $10 million in property damages.

Interview:

Below is an interview of my grandfather who experienced the riots of the 1960s in Newark and

was a resident of Newark for many years.  Click here: interview  or go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQeXlJVUJd4&feature=youtu.be

 

If You're Still Curious....

 

The day after I conducted the interview of my grandpa about his life growing up in the projects and the Newark riots, he called me on the phone saying that there were some really important parts about his life in the projects that he left out. Here is what he told me:

“Back in the day there was a big baseball field in the middle of the projects. We used to have organized baseball games once every month. At the time, the projects were racially segregated. This was before the sections were all integrated together once I got older. The projects were divided into four sections -- three sections of the projects were white, and then there was one section that was black. Everyone was allowed to play in the baseball games, but usually each section of the projects played against each other and never played on the same team.

“The most-traveled part of the projects was the center courtyard. That’s where everyone sold goods and there was always entertainment there. We saw some crazy things back then!!! There was an organ-grinder with a monkey that would come into the court every week to perform. The organ-grinder played music while his monkey ran around holding out his hat to collect money from everyone watching. You just don’t see things like that anymore!! We all loved the organ-grinder, and his monkey was adorable. We barely had anything but we always managed to save up change so we could give him a dime when he came by.

“There was also always the same man who came by with his cart on wheels selling knife-sharpeners, yelling “Sharpen your knives here!” every morning. Then there was a guy with a pony that would come around, dress you up in a cowboy outfit if you paid him, and then take your picture on the pony. Once a week, a man would come to the courtyard selling watermelons on a horse and buggy. The pastry man always came the day after the watermelon man. He would take your order for what sort of pastries you wanted one week and then you would receive your order from him in the courtyard when he came back the next week. Another man with a horse and buggy would come around each month and collect old clothing for dimes and quarters. That’s how we would make money off of our old clothes. We also used to have a milkman that would deliver milk to our doorsteps every day. The last guy that would always come to our courtyard was a man with no legs who would wheel all throughout the courtyard in his wheelchair singing into a megaphone for money. He was a decent singer, but it was just so crazy to see a man with no legs singing for money back then in your courtyard!

 

“We used to always come up with different ways of making money back then, too. Since we were kids, we didn’t perform in the street like those people, but we’d run around to all the different taverns, shining the shoes of the adults in the taverns for quarters. We made a lot of money shoe shining!! We also used to take the buses around to different parts of the city (back then, the buses were electric and ran on wires; they didn’t run on gas like they do now) and collect bottles that we could trade in for nickels and dimes. I hope that helped give you a better idea about what life was like back then!”

For More Information....

Bigart, Homer. "Newark Riot Deaths at 21 as Negro Sniping Widens." The New York Times On the Web. The New York Times, 16 July 1967. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.< http://partners.nytimes.com/library/national/race/071667race-ra.html>.

Geisheimer, Glenn G. "Welcome to Old Newark." About Old Newark. Old Newark Web Group, 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.< http://www.virtualnewarknj.com/features/about.php>.

Liebman, Steve. "The Newark Riots Through the Eyes of a Child of Ironbound." NJ.com. The Star-Ledger, 12 July 2007. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.< http://blog.nj.com/ledgernewark/2007/07/the_newark_riots_through_the_e.html>.

New Jersey Historical Society. "The Real Estate Market's Early Start in Newark." Newark: History. N.p., 2009. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.< http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-Northeast/Newark-History.html>.

St. Martin, Victoria. "45 Years After Riots Tore At Heart of Newark, City Recalls 5 Days of Mayhem." NJ.com. The Star-Ledger, 15 July 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.<http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/07/45_years_after_riots_tore_at_h.html>.

Italian Immigration

When we hear about immigration we think of people from other countries coming to join ours and nothing more. But what happens after they arrive, what is the rest of their story? Immigration from Italy started in the 1800s. Many Italian immigrants faced prejudice when immigrating to the United States. Jobs couldn't be found and names were called. The main purpose for migration to America was poverty, but political hardship and the dream to return to Italy with enough money to buy land were motivators as well. Italians had immigrated to either Argentina or Brazil as well however, for various reasons many of them ended up staying in America. Despite the mass migration from 1876 to 1976 Italians still only made 1.5% of the population. From 1900 to 1910 over 2,100,00 arrived. Of these, around 40 per cent eventually returned to Italy. An investigation carried out in 1978 revealed that since 1820 over 5,294,000 people immigrated to the United States from Italy. This amounted to 10.9 per cent of the total foreign immigration during this period.

Interview:

It doesn't end there, below is a video of a John Cerimele, who talks about his story and continues to live it. 

 

For more information on immigrating from Italy, see:

"99.03.06: The Italian Immigrant Experience in America (1870-1920)." 99.03.06: The Italian Immigrant Experience in America (1870-1920). 14 Mar. 2013 <http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1999/3/99.03.06.x.html>.

"Countries and Their Cultures." Italian Americans. 14 Mar. 2013 <http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Ha-La/Italian-Americans.html>.

McMillan, Peter. "Italian Immigration." Spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk. Spartacus Educational Publishers Ltd. 14 Mar. 2013 <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAEitaly.htm#mainbody>.

Molnar, Alexandra. "History of Italian Immigration." Mtholyoke.edu. 15 Dec. 2010. 13 Feb. 2013 <https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~molna22a/classweb/politics/Italianhistory.html>.

"ThinkQuest : 404." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation. 14 Mar. 2013 <http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/Italian.html>.

Contributed by Obafemi Animashaun

The Journey to America from Guatemala

Contributed by Dan Cabrera
During the early 70’s and 80’s Guatemala was in turmoil. Violence was drastically increasing day by day. Yet, people still managed to prosper and live. They grew and harvested their plants. The children attended school and had dreams of a good future. Some of them saw it in Guatemala. Many others wanted to venture out. They wanted to go to America.

America is a very different place than Guatemala. Depending on where you are, the climate is just one of the many things to get used to. There were the suburbs and towns in contrast to the farm like community people lived in in Guatemala. Even the cities were different. Guatemala City and New York City are extremely contrastable even if they are both classified as cities. Immigrants still grew accustomed though. They became part of those communities while integrating their old ones at the same time.

Interview:

This is a following interview between me and my father, Minor Cabrera. He grew up in Guatemala and at the age of eighteen came to America. This was the year right after he graduated high school. Apart from that, he moved from a farm town to the town of Plainfield, New Jersey.

What kind of environment were you raised in? Town, City etc. What was it like? 

I lived in the countryside. The houses were all the same. There were bananas everywhere, because we all worked on a banana plantation nearby. There were no phones except for this one that was in the local store of the neighborhood. We got around on bike for the most part. My father had one bike and me and my 4 other siblings all shared a bike. We wouldn’t venture outside of the neighborhood. It was a very peaceful area. There wasn’t violence there like in Guatemala City.  As a child I was basically isolated from the rest of the world. My life was in my town.   I was raised in between a town and a city. I spent my time between Guatemala City and Jutiapa. Guatemala City was very chaotic.

What are some memories or anecdotes of your life there that stands out to you?

Me and my three other brothers were sent to clean and maintain the stalks of some of our bean plants, but we brought our fishing rods with us. This consisted of any branch with any string and a hook. So instead of listening to our dad, we decided to go fishing. At the time of lunch, my younger brother was sent by my dad to bring us food. He didn’t find us and went back home with the food. When we arrived home, we found out that we were being looked for because they thought something bad happened to us. When my dad found us and found out that we were just dilly dallying, he whipped all of us with his belt. And then he sent us back and this time we listened.

As you may know Guatemala had its issues with coupes and violence. Did any of the violence affect you? Any family members or the way you lived?

No thankfully, nothing bad really happened. Like I said we were very secure in out little neighborhood. There weren’t any gangs or violence around. The worst was your average fight that would happen between two people. It’s a lot worse now. There’s more drug wars and violent shoot outs. There aren’t too many safe havens like my old neighborhood in Guatemala anymore. You have to be more careful because no one is safe.
 

What’s one of your favorite celebrations in Guatemala?

My favorite celebration had to be Christmas. We would shoot fireworks. For our Christmas tree we would chop down a, basically it was a stump with a leaves. We’d decorate the tree with lights like we do here. Some years we would make fake snow with chopped bars of soap. We would add water and batter it. We let it dry for a day and then we would cover the tree with it.

What does Guatemala have that America doesn’t?

More guns and drugs I think. Really though I think it had a more united sense of family and community. My brothers and I whether we liked it or not were forced to live together and go through the same burdens. This made us close. It’s not like you and your sister sometimes. We wouldn’t go out with friends a lot because we had each other.

Why did you want to come to America?

The main reason I wanted to come to America was for work. In Guatemala the best job opportunity I had was being a teacher and over there teachers aren’t paid well at all. So when the moment was right, at the age of 18, I came to America.

Where did you live in America?

The first town I lived in here was Plainfield. There were more concrete streets and cars and phones. Everyone was also a lot more clustered together. It’s just like any town but it was still different for me. I had to learn routes, stores, and even the language. It was like if I took you with all your knowledge that you have, even the trivial knowledge like the history of where you lived, and got rid of most of it. It was a little difficult starting from scratch. I learned how to act basically. The way you act can get you far here.

What was the hardest thing to adjust to when you first arrived?

The hardest thing to adjust to was the language and the boundary that it created. I mean this was sometimes because I came to a place where there were many Hispanics just like me. Still there are more now than there were back then. Anyway the language boundary denied me of jobs that was the main reason for my coming here. It’s a land of opportunity as they say, but you have to be in a good position first. So for the beginning of my time here I worked in a factory packing pampers, working in a cafeteria serving food, a busboy, and cooked at a restaurant before I started the job I have been doing ever since (HVCAC technician).

What does America have that Guatemala doesn’t?

America really has more opportunity and diversity. This can come in the form of jobs and the type of people you meet. If it wasn’t for America I wouldn’t have the life I live right now. I wouldn’t be able to afford this type of house, be able to send you and your two sisters to private school, and maybe even afford taking care of all of you. When I was your age I was already 6 years in working. I didn’t have a car or laptop or even air conditioning. Compared to Guatemala, America is more advanced and has more prosperity.

Conclusion:

So from one bike, a stick and string for a fishing rod, and one phone shared by the whole town, my dad has changed his life drastically. He is able to afford to pay for four cars, and a nice house in New Jersey. America has changed his life and even mine. Try imagining living without you phone, laptop, T.V., or air-conditioning and heating. 

For more information on Guatemala and immigration, see:
 

"Chapter 3: The 1970s." Chapter 3: The 1970s. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. http://shr.aaas.org/guatemala/ciidh/qr/english/chap3.html.
 

"Guatemala 1962 to 1980s." Guatemala 1962-1980s. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Guatemala2_KH.html.
 

"Countries and Their Cultures." Guatemalan Americans. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Du-Ha/Guatemalan-Americans.html.
 

"Migration Information Source - Guatemala: Economic Migrants Replace Political Refugees."The Migration Information Source. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. http://www.migrationinformation.org/feature/display.cfm?ID=392.
 

"Guatemala History." History of Guatemala. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/guatemala/history.
 

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Growing Up With

 

Terrorism

Contributed by Parnika Celly

For years, India struggled to gain independence from British control.   In 1947, the British finally did leave, but not before leaving their final mark. Their strategy had been to divide and conquer, and they exercised this one more time when they partitioned India and Pakistan shortly before independence for both countries was official. This is when the repulsive monstrosity of terrorism was born between the countries.  From then until now, terrorism thrives, especially in Punjab, Jammu, and Kashmir, which are all Indian states that border Pakistan.  My interviewee (my father) grew up in Punjab. Punjab had been in turmoil from the start since it had been split in half during the partition, so it was geographically an obvious target of expansionist efforts.  There was also a religious aspect to the terrorism there. Muslims and Hindus clashed both within the Indian border and across it.Several years later, another wave of religious-based terrorism hit Punjab, when a faction of Sikh people there wished to create their own state called Khalistan due to a feeling of neglect and various cultural and political differences. This was known as the Punjab insurgency. The government conflicted with rebellious forces on many occasions, which fueled terrorism further.  One such event was Operation Blue Star, in which Sikh people were attacked within the Golden Temple, their most pious religious place, in an effort to destroy the rebellions.  As a result, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards. Feelings of hatred and religious profiling made Punjab a flood of blood.

America has seen terrorism as well.  No American can forget the decimation of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.  At the time, September 11^th was just another Tuesday when parents went to work and kids went to school.  Everything changed at 8:46 AM.  High up, between the 94^th and 98^thfloors, American Airlines Flight 11 came crashing into the World Trade Center at almost 500 mph.Next, United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center between floors 78 and 84 at almost 600 mph.  This happened at 9:02AM.  Half an hour later, American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, and another half hour later, United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania.  About 3,000 people died in this terrorist attack.  The youngest person was age two, and the oldest was age 85.  Every newspaper, television, and radio set spread the news.  This was one of the worst events that America has had to face. 

But how does one monstrous terrorist event compare to having lived in daily danger?  Is it worse to come to the rude awakening that your safe little world may not be safe, or is it worse to live with the knowledge that you are never definitely safe? This is what I will explore in my interview.

Interview:

Here is an interview of my father about his experiences with terrorism:

Q1: So, what was the nature of terrorist action you encountered?

Let me first explain what kind of terrorism I encountered.  There was a part of Sikh community, which was angry at the government for various reasons.  Since the government at that time was mainly formed by Hindu leaders, this part of the community adopted a terroristic approach against all the Hindus.  Now, let me explain the nature of danger by giving you one example.  I used to go to college which was about 50 to 60 miles from our town.I used to come back home every weekend.  And then, on Monday morning, when my father used to drop me at the bus station, he used to always say one thing, “If you reach safely, inform us”.  The reason for this was that the terrorists would ask all Hindus to come out of the bus and then shoot them at a point blank range.  So, this was kind of uncertainty, which I faced during that time.

Q2: What protection was provided by the authorities to protect people?

Authorities seem to say that they are trying their best to protect us.  But I did not see any protective measures.  People were on their own.  People will take some protections such as reaching their destinations before the sunset because that was the time when terrorist would become active (in the night time).  But there was nothing from the government as if the government never existed at that time. Basically one was relying on God for safety.

Q3:What protections were taken by your parents to protect you?

I think I have answered part of this question in my previous answer.  Basically, my parents will tell me not to go anywhere in the evenings. As I have told you a number of times, that we got married at the peak of terrorism.  We finished all the wedding ceremony in a day and came home before 5:00 PM as there was a curfew after that.  This was quite opposite to a normal Indian wedding ceremony which lasts whole night and also spread over almost five days, we shortened all the ceremonies to be finished in one day, so that we could be safe.

Q4. Are there any specific events you remember to date from the terrorism you encountered?

Yes.I was coming back to my town from a nearby city via train. I came out of the train and the police told me that there had been a terrorist attack in the city and a curfew has been declared.  You have two options -- either to stay at the railway station or take some back streets to go home.  I decided to go home as I thought I might be safer at home rather than at the railway station.On my way to home, I saw something very unusual, very ugly aspect which usually happens during terrorism and that was to witness some people who were actually not terrorists but were taking advantage of the curfew by looting many shops. I was really disheartened as many of these shops belonged to my friends’ parents. Anyway, after that, I saw a firefighter (I recognized him from his uniform), who might have tried to save somebody from the terrorist but got himself shot instead.  There were close to sixteen gunshot wounds in his belly and blood was gushing out of all these wounds.  This is one of the many events which are still vivid in my memory and still wakes me up in the night now and then.  Another event is the bomb blast which happened at our shop.  Somebody left a bicycle outside of our shop. There was a bag hanging from it, and that bag had a bomb in it.  Luckily, my father had gone for a tea break up onto the roof, otherwise he would have been dead.  There was a lot of glass on our shop and naturally the glass shattered when the blast happened.  At the time, there were two women who had come to our shop, and because if the glass, one woman’s clothes were completely torn and the other went deaf in one ear immediately.  Many people were panicking and tried to run away from the shop, but the terrorists had predicted this and ten minutes after the first blast, a second blast occurred where everyone was running to.  Then they started running back and ten minutes later another bomb blast happened where they were running to.  At the time, I was in a different state and I couldn’t visit my family right away because my wife was eight months pregnant with our older daughter.

Q5. What aspects do you think personally still affect you?

All I can tell you is that when I came to Canada, I used to tell everybody that I wish that terrorism should not hit any country.  It is very difficult to live a life where there is a sword always hanging on your head that somebody is going to kill you. I still remember that even now, when I go to India and if I traveling in a bus and fall asleep and if the bus suddenly stops, I wake up with a feeling of almost getting a heart attack because I got so conditioned with this feeling that the bus has been stopped by the terrorists and they are going to shoot me.

Q6.You mentioned that you always wished that terrorism should not affect any country.  One of the biggest terrorist attacks in the US was 9/11.  What was your reaction on the day when attack happened or shortly after that?

That day, I was in a meeting. The meeting was stopped and we were told that our country had been attacked. You should go back to your labs and let people working in the labs go home, especially those who have relatives working or living in the city.  I wasn’t panicked but I felt very sad because all my earlier memories of terrorism came alive in my mind right away.  I had great regards for this country but I knew that life here is going to change drastically.  There are going to be two era: pre-9/11 and post-9/11.

Q7.How was your response impacted by your previous experience with terrorism?

It was affected by my previous priming with terrorism.  But there was a difference between the terrorism which I faced earlier in my life and 9/11. The terrorism which I faced was more at street level.  Let us say that there is a relaxation in the curfew to get out of your house and you go out to buy milk or medicines etc.and suddenly the terrorists will show up from nowhere and start shooting at innocent people. Whereas 9/11 was very different, it was well planned and was done with a motive to create terror in the whole country rather than what we had in one state of India.

Q8.What do you think the impact of 9/11 was on your individual life?

One impact which I notice is extra security at the airports.  You know as a foreigner I go back to India and due to nature of my job, I travel a lot within the US.  I see a lot of security and I am not against it.  Anything which can our lives while we are up in the air, I am for it. And that is what I feel.T  his was such a peaceful country and suddenly, now everybody, even the government feels so insecure that all airports and other ports of entry are so strictly regulated.

Q9.Do you think the racial profiling at the airport is infringement upon our rights? Do you think is it justified?

You know, when government imposes such measures, there is almost always overdoing of these measures and sometime also a misuse. I won’t call it racial profiling as random checking and even otherwise searching and questioning is needed but it should not be restricted only to people whose last name ends with “Khan” or some other Muslim last names. But at the same time, I am for the tight security checks at the airports.

Q10.In post 9/11 era, what is the long term impact on different aspects of your personal life?

I suddenly found this country becoming so security conscious and I think this is going to continue for a long time or may be forever.  I notice a sense of insecurity in day to day life especially at the airports.

For more information, see:

·Raman, B. "Terrorism: India's Unending War." Terrorism: India's Unending War. N.p., 4 Apr. 2003. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.

·"Pakistan Attempts at Revival of Terrorism in Punjab. 09 Dec 2011, 02:46 PM." Pakistan Attempts at Revival of Terrorism in Punjab. N.p., 9 Dec. 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.

·United States. Department of Defense. Remembering September 11, 2001. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.

·"September 11 Digital Archive." September 11 Digital Archive. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.

·"September 11: A Memorial." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.

Life from Communist Cuba to America

Contributed by Fernando Alvarez

 Life from Communist Cuba to America

 

           Cuba, one of the largest islands found in the Caribbean, was once a thriving and prosperous nation until tragic revolution led to its downfall. The revolution of Cuba links back to the reign of current president of the island, Fidel Castro, when he armed groups of guerrilla fighters to fight against police groups. This eventually led to the ruling president, Batista, to flee the country, allowing Castro to come into power and put selected leaders into office. The ruling of Castro caused relations with the United States to cease entirely, creating a deteriorated economy where farmers became slaves to the state. The period of 1959-1968 was a period known as Castroism in Cuba, where Castro took power and urged Latin American countries to follow. In 1962, Castro made his declaration of revolution, leading to the Cuban missile crisis where Americans and Russians stood face to face on the verge of nuclear war. By 1975, Castro was able to complete the political entry of Cuba into the Communist circle.

            Cuba’s culture is mainly set up so that everybody shares what is available to them. It is a country filled with working people, most of which are on the government’s payroll. The average Cuban makes about 200 pesos ($10 US) every month, which can be spent in stores for necessary foods and goods. In addition, Cubans receive food rations and free medical care from the government; however, the food is not sufficient alone. Citizens usually take buses or ride bikes to work, and do not have much opportunity for travel to the outside world. The youthful community is able to receive a minimum of ninth grade education and have the option of finishing high school. They are then able to attend the university, which is provided by the government for free. The Cuban people are a friendly community who are finding ways to get through hard times, but ever since the beginning of economic crisis, life has gotten harder. The end of Soviet aid has taken a toll on the economy and limited resources for several citizens. However, citizens today still appreciate the basic necessities of life, whether or not they have work or dollars.


Interview:

In this video, I interviewed my father who lived in communist Cuba as a child and left to America at the age of 10. Click here to watch > Interview (or go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqBUY2E3kvU)

For more information about Communism in Cuba, see:

Cowan, Cameron. "Communism in Cuba." Communism in Cuba. 13 Feb. 2013< http://sunburst.usd.edu/~clehmann/HWB/hwb_l/cuba.htm>.

Encyclopedia Britannica. "Communist Party of Cuba (political party, Cuba)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. 13 Feb. 2013< http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/129234/Communist-Party-of-Cuba>.

Mericle, David. "Daily Life." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation. 13 Feb. 2013< http://library.thinkquest.org/18355/daily_life.html>.

University of Groningen. "Castro and Communism in Cuba." 13 Feb. 2013< http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/outlines/history-1963/america-in-the-modern-world/castro-and-communism-in-cuba.php>.

Willens, Kathy. "Glimpse of life in Cuba." San Antonio Express-News. 13 Feb. 2013< http://www.mysanantonio.com/life/travel/article/Glimpse-of-life-in-Cuba-3702965.php>.

Childhood During World War II

Contributed by Bridget Nocera

Childhood During World War II
 

 

         December 7^th, 1941 became “a day that will live in infamy.” The bombing of Pearl Harbor, which caused over three thousand casualties, changed America forever. No longer did the country want to sit on the sidelines, they wanted to completely defeat Germany and Japan. It was after this event that America plunged into World War II. With participation in the war, life for the average American changed. Nearly 15 million men and 216,000 women joined the armed forces and left their homes and families behind.

It also became necessary for rationing of numerous items, including food, gas, and clothing. Many everyday items were no longer readily available. Life was different for American women and children, too.  Over 6 million women took up jobs and became responsible for holding the country together while the men were at war. Children also had civic duties. Besides collecting everyday items for soldiers, they also helped plant some of the twenty million “victory gardens” that added to the food supply, and bought war bonds.


Interview:

This is the interview with my grandfather, Michael Carnevale. He is 83 years old, and grew up in Belleville, New Jersey. At the age of 12, World War II began, and his life changed greatly. 

My grandfather Michael Carnevale, left, with his brother Frank Carnevale, right, in 1942. His brother, Frank Carnevale, was in the army during World War II. 

For more information on life during WWII, see the following sources:

The National WWII Museum. "PRIMARY SOURCES: WAR BONDS." The National WWII Museum. N.p., 2003. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. <http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-teachers/primary-sources/war- bonds.html>.

Robinson, Heather E. "Children on the Home Front." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 2009. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. <http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/world-war-ii/resources/children-home-front>.

Cohen, Stan, and Clark Reynolds. "Rationing on the US Homefront during WW II." Rationing on the US Homefront during WW II. Ames Historical Society, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. <http://www.ameshistoricalsociety.org/exhibits/events/rationing.htm>.

History. "The U.S. Home Front During World War II." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 1996. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. <http://www.history.com/topics/us-home-front-during-world- war-ii>.

University of California. "Everyday Life During World War II." Calisphere. University of California, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. <http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/themed_collections/subtopic5h.html>.

 

Japanese Occupation of the Philippines

Contributed by Tom Wang

          Hours after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces invaded the Philippines. General Douglas MacArthur declared Manila an open city on the advice of commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon to avoid its destruction. Despite his move, Manila, the largest city in the Philippines and current capital of the country, was occupied by the Japanese on January 2, 1942. MacArthur retreated with his troops to the Bataan province while the commonwealth The joint American and Filipino soldiers in Bataan finally surrendered on April 9, 1942. The 76,000 captured soldiers were forced to embark on the infamous "Bataan Death March" to a prison camp more than 100 kilometers north. An estimated 10,000 prisoners died due to thirst, hunger and exhaustion. After 3 years of Japanese occupation, refugee soldiers that had previously escaped charged back into the Philippines to take back their home country. Aided by the U.S. military, General MacArthur led a highly effective guerilla campaign by Philippine resistance forces fought to conquest over 60% of land in the Philippines and forced the Japanese to back down. 

Interview:

Below is an interview of my Nana, Ceferina Badiola.

For more information on the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines, see:

Daniels, Robert C. "Military History Online - MacArthur's Failures in the Philippines." MacArthur's Failures in the Philippines. Military History Online, May-June 2007. Web.

Japanese Invasion of the Philippines 1941. Perf. Fred Baldassare, Alfredo Villanueva. N.d. DVD. YouTube. YouTube, 31 Dec. 2008. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssSDELFWdYc>. 

"Japanese Occupation of the Philippines." Japanese Occupation of the Philippines. Philippine-history.org, 2005. Web. <http://www.philippine-history.org/japanese-occupation.htm>.  
PBS. "The Guerilla War." American Experience. PBS, n.d. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/sfeature/bataan_guerrilla.html>.  
San Jose, Enrique. "Philippines Japanese Occupation." Philippines Japanese Occupation. PhilippineJapanese.com, 2001. Web. <http://www.philippinesjapanese.com/Timeline.html>.  

The Journey to America

Contributed  by Katie Brown

In September 1939, German leader Adolf Hitler instigated the war by invading Poland. From then on, Poland suffered significantly and every social class was impacted. Western Poland took a major hit when Germany established a colonial government in hopes of trying to wipe out the Polish nationality in general. Millions of Poles were removed from their homes and German settlers moved into the homes to create a new German empire. Other Poles were forced into labor camps, similar to concentration camps for the Jews, where average people and prisoners of war worked day in and day out. Jews of course were affected by the Holocaust and sent away to concentration camps mostly on Polish soil. Devastating camps like Auschwitz, Majdanek, and Treblinka killed close to 3 million Polish Jews on their very own soil. The Poles who weren't in concentration camps, labor camps, or removed from their homes succumbed to German rule in a different way and lost opportunities for schooling, jobs, and more. Many people did try to fight Hitler and the Germans back, but of course, they did not succeed.

After the war, Poland slowly got up on its feet but continued to struggle until present day. Many rural areas are still in shambles from German invasion from decades ago and have terrible living conditions. Many Poles yearned to immigrate elsewhere but it was extremely hard to maintain a farm let alone move to America. The 1960s brought forth immigration reform in the United States. Previously, a quota system was in place permitting only certain immigrants to come into the country legally. The Hart-Cellar Act abolished this system and attracted skilled workers to the US. Many people from all over Europe were attracted to the idea of living out the “American Dream” and came to this country. Though immigrant conditions were awful, in most cases the immigrants definitely were a whole lot better here than in their motherland. America had new additions to its melting pot.
 

 Additional Resources

 Heubeck, Meg. "The Polish Experience During World War II." University of Virginia,
 "Poland - World War II." Poland - World War II. US Library of Congress
 Sadi-Nakar, Merav. "Welfare and Immigration Policies During the 1960s." University of Los Angeles,
 "U.S. Immigration Since 1965." History.com. A&E Television Networks
 "WW II: Behind Closed Doors." PBS. PBS

Interview

The link bellow is an interview with Donna (Dabrowski) Brown, a Polish Immigrant whose family was severely impacted by World War II and inevitably came to America in hopes of pursuing "The American Dream". Headphones are suggested when viewing the video.

Click Here!

Life In America During WWII

Life in America During WWII

Contributed by Joseph Perona
           World War II had a huge impact on the lives of American citizens.  The great demand for manufactured war goods created opportunities for American citizens.  This demand led the United States out of the Great Depression as people went to work in factories and began to improve the economy.  The war also created opportunities for many women to begin working.

            In this improved economy, there was more money for people to spend; however, due to the war, people could not simply go to a store and buy as much of something as they wanted.   Rationing was in effect due to the shortages during the war.  Rationing was the only way to make sure everyone got their fair share during the shortage.  Commonly rationed goods were gasoline, tires, sugar, meat, silk, shoes, and nylon.  Each family was given a ration book which contained ration stamps.  You would then use these ration stamps to buy things in stores.  These stamps did not take the place of money.  You still had to pay for the items, but would not be allowed to buy them without the stamps.  Each stamp had a number on it designating the points it was worth as well as a letter showing which rationing period the stamp could be used. Each rationed product had a point value assigned to it.  You would then give the amount of ration stamps that the rationed products you were buying were worth.

Interview. 
Below is an interview of my grandmother: Joanne Croteau
Q: How old were you and where did you live during WWII?
A: I was born in 1938, so I was very young during WWII.  During the war I lived in Bayonne, New Jersey.

Q: Were you aware of the war and what was going on?
A:  No, my mother shielded me from much of what was happening.  Information was not as easily available at the time.  We just lived our lives normally, although there were a few differences.

Q: What were some changes to your daily life during the war?
A:  During WWII, I remember there were black outs.  All of the houses had black curtains, and if the alarm went off we were required to close all the curtains and hide.  This actually occurred quite often, however, it was only done as a precaution in case there was a real problem.  During these black outs I remember being scared and confused.

Q: How did rationing affect your life?  Did your family have a rations book?  What do you remember buying with the ration book?
A: I remember my mother kept our ration book.  This rationing effected us because due to the shortages we had to make many things on our own.  A few things I specifically remember being rationed were gas, flour, and butter.  In order to get butter, we would use Oleo Margarine as a substitute.  I remember buying a bag with lard and a yellow part in the middle.  I would break the yellow part and then knead the bag until it was uniform throughout.  The final product was an equivalent to butter.

Q: Did you do anything to help out in the war effort?
A: During the war, the women would try to help out the best they could.  My mother along with other women, would knit socks, hats, and other clothes and give them to the Church.  I remember learning how to knit at a very young age because of the war.  I would make my own gloves, hats, and scarfs, along with other items.  I would also knit in order to donate to the Church.  This was my way and other women at the time's way of helping out.

For more information on World War II, see:

"History." Enotes.com. Enotes.com, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. <http://www.enotes.com/history/discuss/what-was-wars-impact-america-american-life-du-96088>.

"The Impact of World War II." The Impact of World War II. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. <http://middle.usmk12.org/Faculty/taft/Unit7/wwii_legacy.htm>.

"Rationing During World War II." Rationing During World War II. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. <http://www.waverlyinfo.com/page/3282/Ww-Ii-Memorabilia>.

"Rationing on the US Homefront during WW II." Rationing on the US Homefront during WW II. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. <http://www.ameshistoricalsociety.org/exhibits/events/rationing.htm>.

"World War II Rationing." World War II Rationing. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. <http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1674.html>.