A column about your Eden Valley Area Library
?ÄúGive me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!?Äù
Emma Lazarus
Those famous words engraved on a bronze plaque and mounted inside the lower level of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty represent the United States as a refuge where oppressed can come and live in liberty.
Whether it?Äôs the Swedes coming to find farmland and higher paying jobs, the Germans looking for religious freedom and a better life, the Hmong fleeing political reprisals in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, or the Somalis looking to escape a civil war, our country has a tradition of welcoming those in search of the American dream. As a result, we have a rich, diverse culture of which we can all be justly proud.
There are a number of books and other media that represent the struggles of those settling in a new land. ?ÄúOf Beetles & Angels: A Boy?Äôs Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard,?Äù by Mawi Asgedom, chronicles his unconventional path to Harvard. ?ÄúAngela?Äôs Ashes,?Äù by Frank Court tells of his childhood in Brooklyn as the son of Irish immigrants. While Gregg Aamot?Äôs ?ÄúThe New Minnesotans: Stories of Immigrants and Refugees,?Äù is a locally relevant story that helps us all understand the challenges facing immigrants and refugees today.
?ÄúThe Master Butchers Singing Club,?Äù by Louise Erdrich follows a German butcher who comes to North Dakota with a suitcase filled with sausage and the tools of his trade. Erdrich, a Minnesota native of Ojibwe descent owns Birchbark Books in Minneapolis. ?ÄúThe Lighthouse Road,?Äù by Peter Geye tells of a young Norwegian woman who faces raising a son alone in Northern Minnesota in the 1920s. And Jamie Ford?Äôs ?ÄúHotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet,?Äù takes the reader back to the 1940s and the wartime persecution of Japanese immigrants.
For the younger reader, we have ?ÄúBlue Jasmine,?Äù by Kashmira Sheth, about 12-year-old Seema who moves with her family from India to Iowa City. While Pam Munoz Ryan?Äôs ?ÄúEsperanza Rising,?Äú captures a Mexican girl?Äôs fall from riches and her immigration to California. Young adults will enjoy ?ÄúThe Crossing,?Äù by Gary Paulsen. On one side of the border is brutality and heartache; on the other side ?Äì a new life.
To enable children to understand the immigrant experience, try ?ÄúThe Keeping Quilt,?Äù by Patricia Polacco, featuring a Russian family holding on to their traditions after immigrating to the U.S. While ?ÄúOne Green Apple,?Äù by Eve Bunting, helps kids understand what it?Äôs like to be different and alone.
Take a break from reading to watch ?ÄúAn American Tale,?Äù (rated-G) with your children. And for the adults there is ?ÄúGran Torino,?Äù (rated-R) starring Clint Eastwood, a movie that highlights the often-complicated relationships between immigrants and their new neighbors.
In closing, if you haven?Äôt had a chance to research your own family tree, take the opportunity to question parents and grandparents about your ancestors and let the search begin. Check out ?ÄúShaking Your Family Tree: A Basic Guide to Tracing Your Family?Äôs Genealogy,?Äù or go online to familysearch.org. You might be surprised at what you?Äôll discover. Until next month, happy hunting!