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Overall, immigrants have a positive impact if we allow them to come in. They start businesses which allow more people to work. Some things in everyday American life wouldn’t be in everyday American life. Also, most famous people originated through immigrants. So the question is, what would the country be like if there were never any immigrants allowed?
In the state of Connecticut, there are some immigrants that have overcome so much. One of those immigrants is Aiti Rai. She was in a refugee camp for 16 years in Nepal and currently is a student at Wesleyan University. She has decided to tell her story.
Aiti speaking at the panel
Aiti has had a very difficult life but has overcome many obstacles. When asked about what refugee life was like she said: “I was a refugee and refugee life was a struggle.” She is very grateful that the opportunity the U.S. gives her and explained “Coming here gave me the hope to be who I want to be.”
Aiti has had to adapt to the changes and it’s been different but still, some things she did in Nepal she does here in the U.S. She still eats two meals a day because that is what she is used to. Also, the move for her was very difficult and she didn’t know anybody when she came over from Nepal. “I felt lonely.” When you come over people don’t realize it but you have to adapt and that is very difficult.
Aiti said, “People who are from Nepal and outside the refugee camp, I cannot connect.” She understands the pain other refugees from other countries went through rather than her own people. A reason she gave for this was that she never actually met that much people who weren’t refugees and lived in Nepal. She also lived in a refugee camp for all her 16 years in Nepal and that was her “normal”. Aiti understands all refugees regardless of which country they’re from.
Aiti has also had a hard time adjusting because Nepal is so different from the U.S. She was not used to all the new items she could use. Back in Nepal, she didn’t have any electronics. “I came to the U.S. unprepared,” she answered when she was asked about how Nepal affected her ability to adapt to the new environment. That just speaks volume about how great of a country and how lucky we are to be living in the U.S.
People don’t realize how lucky we are to live in a great country. Aiti thinks that people in the U.S. should be grateful. “How many of you worry about not having a meal for the day,” she asked. “Have you ever thought about that? Refugees often have to worry about a meal for the next day or even the night.” That is one reason why if you have 3 meals a day and clothes on your back you should never complain. There is probably always somebody out there who has it worse than you.
According to Aiti, “The hardest part of coming to a new country is learning the new language.” When Aiti came to the US she had a big disadvantage. She had never been exposed to English. Her parents didn’t know English either so they couldn’t teach her. She had to learn a whole 'nother language to even be able to go to school. Sometimes we ungrateful for the ability to communicate with people in our country.
Some of the things Aiti aspires to do is to go back to Nepal to help people in a refugee camp just like she was. She already helped people in Ugandan refugee camps. In Connecticut, she has actually run into some people with similar stories. The main thing she wants to do is travel the world and be involved in the government in some way. She thinks going to Uconn in the future will help her achieve this goal. All of these are involved in giving back or helping people in some way.
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