Immigration

The Journey 

Mari, along with her mother and sister, moved from Brazil to America in 2017. The three of them had to clear out their entire apartment two months in advance. Within those two months, they were sleeping on mattresses on the floor which Mari was not happy with. When they finally began their move, they had to travel to the capital of Brazil, Brasília, to get the official documents necessary to enter America. Mari enjoyed the trip to Brasília because she got to visit family friends who live there. After they were finally ready to move, they took a total of three flights: from their hometown Belo Horizonte to São Paulo, São Paulo to New York City, and New York City to Boston. Mari describes how the plane rides were fun despite one suitcase getting lost. 

Mari and her mother at the São Paulo airport overnight.

"The flight from São Paulo to New York City was actually really nice. They had TV's on it so me and my sister just watched TV the whole time."


Reason for Immigrating 

Mari and her family's immigration story is unique: there was not a large group of Brazilians that moved with her family for the same reason. This family moved because her mother wanted to attend school and get a Ph.D. in Haitian immigration from Haiti to Brazil to Boston. In 2010, there was a catastrophic earthquake in Haiti that left the country in turmoil. Many Haitians lost their jobs after the earthquake but were in luck. Brazil needed workers so they offered many of their jobs to Haitians. After working in Brazil for 5 years, many Haitians took the money they earned and moved to Boston for more opportunities. In turn, Brazil's economy went down. To study this, Mari's mother needed to interview Haitians living in Boston, bringing her 2 daughters with her. Her mother successfully got her Ph.D. at UMASS Boston. 


Haiti in 2010 after the earthquake. 

Map displaying the immigration pattern of Hatians to Brazil to Boston. 

Haitians being welcomed by Brazilians in 2012. 

"My mom was very interested in this immigration pattern so she wanted to move to Boston to learn more. She was excited to interview Haitians living in Boston."

From Belo Horizonte to Newton to Needham:

Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Mari's great great grandmother on her mom's side first came from Italy and arrived in Belo Horizonte. Since then, her family has been living there for years. Mari has many great memories here despite being excited to move to America. 

Newton, Massachusetts, USA

After leaving Brazil and landing in Boston (2017), Mari and her family went to Newton. Her mom wanted to go to a place with many immigrants but also good education for her 2 daughters, so Newton was her decision. For a year, they slept in Airbnbs until they got a house in which they lived in for the next 6 months.


 


Needham, Massachusetts, USA

After living in Newton for some time, Mari and her family got a house in Needham (2018). Her mom married her boyfriend at the time who lived in Needham. He did not want to move to Newton because his daughters were about to graduate from Needham High School so Mari's family moved to Needham.