Immigration

This is dedicated to my parents as an appreciation for all the sacrifices they had made for my siblings and I’s future. I was born late 2001, about a year and a half before the gulf war started. As a toddler, I surprisingly remembered a lot. Most of my memories were of the war and the terror it has caused my family and my town in Iraq, Baghdad. While I haven't had the best or the happiest of childhoods, I’m still grateful for all of the things it taught me. I learned to be more robust and to work harder; I grew thick skin because that was the only way you could live/ survive. In 2006/2007 my parents moved us to the small country of Syria. Syria was and still is the most beautiful place I've ever seen. As a family we lived there for two years, so by 2010, a year before the gulf war ended, we came back to Iraq, Baghdad to visit my grandparents for one more time before we left to America to start our new life. The idea of moving to America was exciting because back In Iraq, America was seen as a massive chance at being successful. When my parents enrolled my older sister and I in school, that was when I realized how different the culture, and the language are. As young kids, we got the hang of the language in a year or so, but for our parents, it was a struggle to learn a whole new language. They also struggled to adapt to the culture and to the new environment. They gave up seeing their family and friends; they gave up their language and culture, and they gave their education and jobs. All their sacrifices were for our freedom, safety, Health, and education. I’m thankful for all the sacrifices they made for us. They’re the most selfless people I know. My mom was a college professor, and my dad worked with his father in their paint factory, they both went to the same college and graduated then got married and had my older sister then me and my younger siblings. They threw everything they knew away for us to get a better education then they did and to keep us safe. After a few years, my grandparents and my aunt’s family also moved to America for safety reasons. The process of applying to migrate to America is a long and hard one. It took my parents years just to get an interview so that we could be considered. I understand that the process is rigorous for safety but also what about the people who are in other countries and are trying to save their families and loved ones? The process needs to take less time and be more efficient. My family’s story Is one of millions, some families get out unharmed, thankfully like us, but some do not make it this far.