we've been doing a bunch of family history research recently. its provoked some personal thoughts for me related to dominican economic immigration.
one of my great grandfathers grew up in the isle of man, uk. his father died when he was ~5, and his mother wasn't able to keep him when she remarried so he went to live with his 50 year old uncle and aunt. as soon as he could, he left for australia.
his future wife grew up in the outer hebrides, scotland. that area had been going broke for generations with a lot of people moving to canada. thats where she met my great grandfather and got married, and gave birth to my grandmother. we can't even find a birth certificate for my grandmother, or a wedding registration for them in canada, there's no paperwork on them there. the rest of my family show similar stories - one of my relatives worked on a brickworks in melbourne, a filthy job to do.
my point? i'm descended from a long line of unsuccessful people. and i've done ok.
i think we should be less harsh on dominicans who migrate to the US "in search of the dream". something special happens when you get a fresh start in a new country.
one of my great grandfathers grew up in the isle of man, uk. his father died when he was ~5, and his mother wasn't able to keep him when she remarried so he went to live with his 50 year old uncle and aunt. as soon as he could, he left for australia.
his future wife grew up in the outer hebrides, scotland. that area had been going broke for generations with a lot of people moving to canada. thats where she met my great grandfather and got married, and gave birth to my grandmother. we can't even find a birth certificate for my grandmother, or a wedding registration for them in canada, there's no paperwork on them there. the rest of my family show similar stories - one of my relatives worked on a brickworks in melbourne, a filthy job to do.
my point? i'm descended from a long line of unsuccessful people. and i've done ok.
i think we should be less harsh on dominicans who migrate to the US "in search of the dream". something special happens when you get a fresh start in a new country.