Classmates: Think out loud!

http://www.sayhellogoodbyeoutloud.blogspot.com/

Héctor’s last name’s history is interesting to learn about. How the last name “Porrata” was purchased, by the wealthy, and added “Doria” to distinguish themselves from the slaves. I agree with his opinion about the Arizona Immigration Law. Laws that are set in the US should be both respected and followed, so I agree with his opinion of deporting illegal immigrants back to their countries. His Italian Immigration history was interesting to learn about as well. It was interesting how the Italiand didn’t plan to stay long, but at the end, they stayed in the US.

http://jpah11.blogspot.com/

Jan Paul’s opinion about illegal immigrants was different from mine, so I found it interesting to learn about someone elses different point of view on illegal immigration, and learn why they think that way. I like the way Jan Paul wrote his journal entry, it was very detailed and showed what German immigrants went through be fore and after arriving to the US. In the history of German immigration, I don’t think immigrants should be discriminated agains because of the religion they practicad, because everyone has the right to practice their beliefs and religion.

http://www.ssrivera.blogspot.com/

Stephanie’s family history was interesting to learn about, and how she found out a lot of information about how her family goes way back. Stephanie’s opinion about illegal immigration was slightly different from mine. I know that illegal immigrants are treated unfairly, but they are only treated unfairly because they came to the US illegaly, and I relieve that if a country has a set of laws, they should be followed and respected. If an immigrant doesn’t want to be treated unfairly, they should get their UZ citizenship papers in order to be treated fairly and with the respect they deserve; because if they don’t respect laws, why should they expect the same respect back? On Italian immigration history, it was good to learn about how the Italians started with low-paying jobs and in filthy living conditions, and progressed to getting jobs with higher pay, and they’re homestyle.

http://www.japaneseimmigrationtotheus.blogspot.com/

Elsa’s family store is interesting. I like how she has different heritage that came from different countries. Her father coming from Ecuador is very interesting, and also how she is mixed with Italian heritage and from Norway, how she is ethnically diverse. I agree with her immigration blog post. I think that the US government is doing well in giving the DMV tests in many different languages, because not all immigrants know how to speak English. I also like the way Elsa writes in her journal entry, it was very detailed and you could imagine what the Japanese immigrants had to go through. Also, how the Japanese were very discriminated and didn’t have much success when they first arrived to Hawaii, but were able stu surpass that and make a better life for themselves in the US.

Arquer Haddock: Past and Present

   My paternal side (Arquer) emigrated from  Cataluña Island, Valencia and La Isla Mallorca in Spain and came to the US, though I still have family members living in Cataluña Island, Spain. From my maternal side (Haddock), my ancestors emigrated from England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. Most of my paternal side family is living in Cataluña, Spain, Puerto Rico and the United States. Most of my maternal family is living in the United Kingdom, USA and Puerto Rico.  

   Most of my family members are currently living in Cataluña Island, Spain, England, Puerto Rico and the US. My family members living in Puerto Rico have no problem with the US immigration law system because Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States. Those living in foreign countries in Europe have no problems coming in to the US that I’m aware of. 

   Working hard and risking your life does not make it right to enter a country illegally. As a Hispanic myself, I do understand that these illegal immigrants are crossing the border in order to have a better life and future, but at the same time, the United States HAS a set laws, and those laws should be respected and followed, no matter how unfair it seems to others. Arizona is just enforcing a law that already exists, which is that illegal immigrants should be deported. What I don't agree on is stopping just any Hispanic looking person to ask for their papers, and having them either put in jail or deported. No person should be stopped unless there is a good enough reason to do so.  No one should be discriminated against just because they look Hispanic, and not stopping someone that might be guilty of suspicious activity just because he or she looks American. I do believe that any immigrant should be granted passage into the Unites States, because all they want is to have a better future, but they have to do it LEGALLY, and be able to get their US citizenship first, which no one, no matter their home country, should be denied the right.

Through the eyes of dreamer

March 12, 1926

   Papa came to us during dinner time, to announce that we will be living for America in a few days. I felt very excited, America is a country filled with many opportunities and jobs, and I wanted nothing more than to live “The American Dream”. Papa does not have a very stable job here in our village of Imaicho, and we are worried that we will have to starve and live on the streets, because we don’t have much to eat to begin with. I, Aki Hoshino, am just 11 years old, my little brother Aoki, who is just 7 years old, my mama Kiyoko, and papa Hansuke, want nothing more but to prosper and live in a stable household. Papa’s restaurant is going to come to a close, so we must leave our village and head to Hawaii.

March 15, 1926

   On our way to America, we were on board with a lot of other immigrants, mostly children my age and younger. None of us wanted to leave our village in Japan, and leave everything behind, but we were all hoping for that “American Dream”, we all wanted better lives. I could see the sadness in their eyes from leaving their life in Japan, but also the excitement that was also within me to explore America, and help our families prosper and live a more stable life.

April 29, 1926

   It’s been some time since I’ve arrived here, in a small Japanese village in Maui County, Hawaii. Papa took a job as a day laborer to put food on the table, and mama was working as a piano teacher, while Aoki and me went to Japanese-American school during the day. When we came home from school, we had to help mama clean the house, and set the table before our tired papa came home from work. Papa’s dream was to once again open up our family business, a Japanese restaurant, but he had to earn enough money as a day laborer first in order to make that happen.

August 17, 1926

   It’s been some time now that my family and I have arrived in America. Papa finally earned enough money as a day laborer to open up a small restaurant, and we all help out in the family business, and business is doing very well. Aoki turned 8 years old last week, and we have worked hard enough in the restaurant to have been able to have enough money to have a birthday party with all of our friends from school! I still dearly miss my family and friends that I left behind in Japan, but even with all that was lost, I am proud of my family and I to have been able to work hard enough to be living the “American Dream”. 

The Search for "The American Dream"

   There are a number of reasons why the Japanese first started to immigrate to the US. One of those reasons was unemployment and bankruptcy due to their difficulty of transitioning into a modern economy. By the 1900s, almost half of all Japanese immigrants migrated to Hawaii due to an increase in the economy because of the sugar industry. The majority of these immigrants were farmers and laborers, but a small amount of these immigrants later returned to Japan. After making money in the sugar industry in Hawaii, they would return to Japan. Another reason they immigrated to the US was due to safety reasons. The economic downfall caused civil riots.

   During their journey, the Japanese faced laws before they could enter the US. The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the amount of individuals that could enter the country, making it difficult for individuals to move from Japan to the US. The Act stated that only two percent of the population from that country could immigrate to the US. After the Immigration Act removed these bans in 1965, individuals from Japan could immigrate to the US.

    When the Japanese first arrived, they worked as agricultural laborers for lower wages than whites, and the only way to get land was by paying more than the whites. Then, the Japanese earned more though hard work and long hours. As they’re reputation spread, the Japanese overtook that of the whites. The Japanese practiced a wide range of religion; they were not limited to only one practice. They practiced different types of Shinto, Christianity, and Buddhism. Most Japanese practiced Mahayana Buddhism. Some other practices were Zen, Jodo Shu, and Jodo Shinshu. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, Japanese Americans were regarded as untrustworthy and dangerous, they were also very discriminated against. Some even thought that these immigrants were spies living in the US. The US sent the Japanese Americans to “internment camps”. There were a total of eleven internment camps throughout the US and approximately one hundred and twenty thousand Japanese Americans were sent to these camps.  These camps were authorized by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Since World War II, the United States have realized that these camps were a mistake. In 1988, the Congress passed an apology for these internment camps. President Ronald Regan then signed this as a law. Over one billion dollars were disbursed through Japanese Americans that suffered in these internment camps, or were heirs of individuals that went to these camps.  The Japanese in the mainland, who historically dealt with more discrimination, achieved higher income and occupational levels than those in Hawaii.

   Having been sent to internment camps due to the attack on Pearl Harbor was obviously an unfair act. The Japanese immigrated to America so they could find paying jobs, and have a better life for themselves and their families, not because they were spies. The Americans felt that all the Japanese had to take the blame and be discriminated against or punished because of the Pearl Harbor attack, which not all Japanese had to do with. The apology was well deserved, because they did not have to be sent to internment camps in the first place.