Harrisonburg 360

In this episode of Harrisonburg 360 titled “Home,” we had the privilege of interviewing David Figueroa, who is a junior at James Madison University. David is generation 1.5 because his parents relocated to the United States from Honduras. This podcast episode will highlight
David’s story as he speaks about his successes, struggles, and motivation to finish school. He reflects on his time in K-12, the teachers that impacted him, and how he found his support systems in college. We will also examine the literary work of Journalist Jose Antonio Vargas. In Jose’s essay, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” he shares his experience as an undocumented immigrant. He accounts his personal journey from the Philippines to the United States, as he establishes what it means to be an American from his perspective and his experiences. Jose reflects on his hardships that he had to overcome, such as correct paperwork, hard decision-making, and struggling to find support systems. Our group will discuss the ways family, identity, and support intersect with education.

Links:
Vargas, Jose Antonio. “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 June 2011, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/magazine/my-life-as-an-undocumented-
immigrant.html.

“Temporary Protected Status.” USCIS, 19 Apr. 2022, https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status

This episode, Lost in Translation, was produced by Emily Killmon, Hannah Knick, Charlotte Lawrence-Hovey, and Alayna Saunders. Our narrator was Jaime Cañas. Lost in Translation covers Jaime’s experience as a generation 1.5 immigrant from El Salvador. Jaime immigrated in 2001 following an earthquake in El Salvador that allowed him and his family to stay using Temporary Protected Status. Jaime describes growing up managing the extra responsibility of being the family translator, being more independent scholastically, and finding people to help him through it all. We explore the themes of responsibility, support, and logistic obstacles as Jaime explains how he navigates life as an immigrant.

The information used in our literary discussion can be found here:
Contreras, Ingrid Rojas. “The Paris Review  -  Translation as an Arithmetic of Loss - The Paris Review.” The Paris Review,
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2019/06/18/translation-as-an-arithmetic-of-loss/.

Nayeri, Dina. “The Ungrateful Refugee: We Have No Debt to Repay.” The Guardian, 4 Apr. 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/04/dina-nayeri-ungrateful-refugee

“Temporary Protected Status: An Overview | American Immigration Council.” American
Immigration Council, 24 Aug. 2017, https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/temporary-protected-status-overvi
ew#:~:text=Temporary%20Protected%20Status%20(TPS)%20is,be%20deported%20to%
20those%20countries.

“ Community Support for Migrants Navigating the US Immigration System.” American Immigrant Council, 26 Feb. 2021,
https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/community-support-migrants-navi
gating-us-immigration-system

In this episode of Harrisonburg 360, MIXED, Izabella Pezza recounts her experience having immigrant parents, growing up and living as a mixed-race person, and her understanding of how her family's dynamics have shaped who she is. Izabella, a sophomore English major at JMU, has aspirations to be a Creative Writing professor. In combination with references to Izabella's Oral History interview, conducted by Emily Graff, our group made connections to We Came All The Way From Cuba So You Could Dress Like This? by Achy Obejas in our literary discussion. This
episode’s host was Zoe Lublin, the research and content producer was Grace Keeler, and the audio producer was Oliver Cigich. This episode was unique because Izabella was not only the narrator but a member of the class, and acted as team manager for this episode’s group.

Link to short story discussed in episode:
https://latinosexualitygender.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/obejas-we-came-all-the-way-from-cub
a.pdf

Bibliography of Additional Relevant Information
Chigas, George, and Dmitri Mosyakov. “Literacy and Education under the Khmer Rouge.”
Genocide Studies Program , Yale University,
https://gsp.yale.edu/literacy-and-education-under-khmer-rouge.
Humans Win. “Affections.” Storyblocks,
https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/affection-bxz2g2oz8k69tat9h.html
Obejas, Achy. We Came All The Way From Cuba So You Could Dress Like This? Cleis, 1994.
Sean Fischer. “We Are Millennials.” Storyblocks,
https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/we-are-millenials-hb4f1xgf_0hk4brm9cq.html
So, Anthony Veasna. Afterparties. Grove Press UK, 2022.

In a collaboration between Candy Foster, Anthony Salazar, Molly Boucher, and Rachel Hoffman, we present this episode, “Bravery Displaced.” When creating this podcast, we took into consideration a multitude of challenges that immigrants still face unfortunately, in today’s society. We examined specifically what caused each of our interview subjects to leave their home country to seek asylum in the United States, the impact of educational opportunities, and the importance of women’s rights. Our two subjects, Salwa Mahdi and Osman Rezain are both from Kurdistan region, which encompasses eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, and Western Iran, as well as, smaller parts of northern Syria and Armenia. Osman is from Iran and Salwa is from Iraq. Our podcast will explore the courage and resilience of our two interview subjects as they fled their home countries of Iran and Iraq to seek political asylum in the United States.

Our first interview was conducted with a man from Iran named Osman Rezain as part of the Shenandoah Valley Oral History Project. Osman was specifically from the region of Kurdistan, an area that underwent Islamic Revolution in 1979 and this was heavily reflected on the country’s new culture and made things difficult for non Muslims like Osman, Osman’s education was greatly impacted by the cultural revolution, because the educational focus was religious rather than focus on traditional subjects like mathematics, science and history. In our second part of our episode, we talk to Salwa Mahdi, who lived in Iraq where because of “morality” police and vigilantes, enforcing their country discriminatory laws against women and non Muslims forced many citizens to seek asylum in the United States. Salwa Mahdi is from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. She has an undergraduate degree in business with a focus on statistics from a university there. She was forced to leave Kurdistan when Saddam Hussein declared the organization she worked for were criminals. She fled to Guam with her brother, where she waited five months before being given asylum to the United States. Courage and resilience our common themes in our episode as we discover their fight towards their respected causes.

Relevant material included in today’s podcast:
Excerpt from Dina Nayeri's The Ungrateful Refugee
Link-https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/04/dina-nayeri-ungrateful-refugee
“We have no debt to repay.” Like Salwa who had a university degree from Iraq, but could only first find work in a factory because their English language skills were weak. Dina talks about how our mother, who was a medical doctor in Iran could only find work in a pharmaceutical factory, where her bosses and co-workers would question her intelligence daily, though they had a quarter of her education. Her accent was enough if she took too long to articulate a thought they stopped listening and wrote her office unintelligent. This is a common issue that immigrants face when they first arrive in the United States, the inability to speak English.

Bibliography:

The Ungrateful Refugee: ‘We Have No Debt to Repay’. 4 Apr. 2017, www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/04/dina-nayeri-ungrateful-refugee.

This episode was created in order to highlight the narratives of two immigrants from Vietnam and Mexico; Que Hang Pham and Willie Chavez. In this episode, we draw attention to Que Hang and Willie’s different experiences as emigrants, specifically noting Que Hang’s experiences navigating the American education system, as well as the educational experiences of Willie’s children. Referencing Dina Nayeri’s “The Ungrateful Refugee,” we hope to establish the differing experiences had by immigrants as they establish new lives in the United States and navigate the American education system.

“The American Dream” podcast episode was inspired by those who helped make it possible, specifically Que Hang Pham and Willie Chavez, Dr. Fagan, and the JMU libraries’ special collections and digital specialists. It was their guidance that gave us the privilege of sharing the voice of Que Hang Pham and her story. This episode was produced by Lizzy Kubica, Jasmine Frank, DJ Monsale, and Sean Walsh.

Que Hang is a Vietnamese immigrant who came to America with her family at the end of the Vietnam war. She was an 8 year old girl doing her best to transition into American life. Her and her family rebuilt their lives from the ground up. Que Hang utilized her new opportunities to seek out success in her education and adult life.

Bibliography

Nayeri, Dina. “The Ungrateful Refugee.” The Guardian, 4 April 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/04/dina-nayeri-ungrateful-refugee Accessed 23 April 2021.

Chavez, Willie, oral history conducted by Theresa Staropoli, 10 February 1993, The New Cultural Pluralism in the Shenandoah Valley, SdArch8, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.

Produced by: Elainah Elkins, Electra Ellis, Gabriela Powell, and Jordan ZappSummary: In this episode of Harrisonburg 360, the Female Gaze, we aim to give insight into the diversity of the female immigrant experience by highlighting two resilient women who immigrated to the United States- Lynn Buchanan from the Phillipines and Hiba Ali from Syria. Hiba is an immigrant from Syria who describes her experience coming to the U.S as a woman who had just gotten out of a domestic violence situation with her husband. Hiba also describes her strong connection with Syrian culture, with an intense urge to stay in touch with her roots even in a new country. While Lynn also had to find ways to become more independent after the death of her husband, she differs from Hiba in that in many ways, she chose to assimilate more to American culture. By sharing the stories of these women, we hope that we highlight not only the strength and connections of the female perspective and experience, but also the diversity and uniqueness among them.

Links for this episode:

For Lynn’s full interview: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/slalitv/16/ 

For more information about Syrian Culture: https://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Syria.html#ixzz6rI0arsra 

For more information about domestic violence: https://www.thehotline.org/stakeholders/domestic-violence-statistics/ 

For more information about assimilation: https://www.britannica.com/topic/assimilation-society

Finding a Home : Education, Family and Identity

Produced by: Tyler Belcher, Camille Lynch, Leah Smith & Ena Guevara-Marquez

In this episode of Harrisonburg 360, JMU students Tyler Belcher, Camille Lynch, and Ena Guevara-Marquez interview GN. GN is an undocumented immigrant, whose family migrated from Mexico when he was two-years-old; they have been living in America since. GN is currently a high school senior who is also attending a local community college to secure an associate’s degree after graduation. He plans to attend college and study computer sciences, in order to be successful and ultimately provide for his family in the future. GN has been on a journey in making Harrisonburg, Virginia, and the U.S. feel like a home for himself and his family. This episode focuses on GN’s immigrant experience with education and finding his identity and place in society. The episode also compares GN’s story to an oral history by Salvador Romero, and his immigrant experiences as described in 2007. Both stories contain personal narratives on their experiences in Harrisonburg, VA, and highlight changes in the community. 

This story also compares with Jose Vargas’s personal essay, “My Life as anUndocumented Immigrant,” and conflict in considering himself American and calling it his country too. GN expresses he would not take anything away from his experience, he believes “what happened is for a reason” and “appreciates the struggles and successes.”

SOURCES

Marshall, Serena. “Obama Has Deported More People Than Any Other President.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 29 Aug. 2016, www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/obamas-deportation-policy-numbers/story?id=41715661.

Sasser, Mitchell. “Harrisonburg City Public Schools Embrace Diverse Population.” The Breeze, Breeze JMU, 6 Feb. 2019, www.breezejmu.org/news/harrisonburg-city-public-schools-embrace-diverse-population/Article_aba48c34-2a61-11e9-9207-6f0735eb283c.html.

Vargas, Jose Antonio. “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 June 2011,www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/magazine/my-life-as-an-undocumented-immigrant.html

“What Is It like to Grow up as an Undocumented Youth in America?” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, 2013, www.apa.org/topics/immigration/undocumented-video.

MUSIC

Intro and Outro “We Are Millenials.” Sean Fischer www.audioblocks.com/stock-audio/we-are-millenials-hb4f1xgf_0hk4brm9cq.html

Transition“Affection”. Lance Conradwww.audioblocks.com/stock-audio/affection-bxz2g2oz8k69tat9h.html

In the podcast episode “Ten Million Souls”, we explore the lives of two immigrants: Nasser Al Saadun and Ana Arias. Both Nasser and Ana have been through traumatic events in their home countries. But, they both also bring up the mental struggle of adapting to a new culture in the United States. 

Ana Arias was born in Manaus, Brazil. She went to Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California for two years before returning to Brazil. She later continued her education at Eastern Mennonite University majoring in Psychology. She worked at the Collins Center for 12 years as a sexual assault therapist. She now works for the Harrisonburg Public School system as a trauma therapist. She lives in Harrisonburg with her husband and three sons.

Nasser Al Saadun was born in Kuwait. He received his B.A at the University of Basra in Iraq. After graduating, he became an interpreter for the British and United States army during Operation Iraqi Freedom. This job created many dangers for Nasser and his family. So, he immigrated to the United States. He then received his Master’s Degree in Education from Eastern Mennoite University. He now works at James Madison University in the Foreign Language Department as an Arabic Instructor. 

Links:

“Affection.” Royalty Free Stock Audio, Special Effects and More, www.audioblocks.com/stock-audio/affection-bxz2g2oz8k69tat9h.html. 

Al Saadun, Nasser. “Support Office Of New Americans.” Daily News-Record, 13 Feb. 2020, www.dnronline.com/opinion/open_forum/support-office-of-new-americans/article_613df9ec-bfcb-5f0d-beb2-b13e3bcde50d.html.

Radford, Jynnah. “Key Findings about U.S. Immigrants.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 17 June 2019, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/17/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/.

“Refugee Blues by W H Auden.” By W H Auden - Famous Poems, Famous Poets. - All Poetry, allpoetry.com/refugee-blues. 

Risen, James, et al. “Leaked Iranian Intelligence Reports Expose Tehran's Vast Web of Influence in Iraq.” The Intercept, 18 Nov. 2019, theintercept.com/2019/11/18/iran-iraq-spy-cables/ 

Saadun, Nasser Al, Oral History Conducted April 2009, in Shenandoah Valley Oral History Project, 2005-2009, 1677, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA. 

“The U.S. Invades Panama.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Feb. 2010, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-u-s-invades-panama. 

 “We Are Millenials.” Royalty Free Stock Audio, Special Effects and More, www.audioblocks.com/stock-audio/we-are-millenials-hb4f1xgf_0hk4brm9cq.html. 

Producers: 

Emily Baker: Audio Editor

Arielle Gick: Host/Interviewer

Kara Myers: Host/ Content Editor

Madison White: Content Editor

Hello and welcome to the Harrisonburg 360 Podcast! The JMU students who produced the episodes of this podcast are eager to share the stories of Harrisonburg, Virginia immigrants from the past and present.

This podcast was produced with the support of JMU Libraries and Special Collections. Special thanks to Nicole Wilson, Elaine Kaye, Kirsten Mlodynia, Kate Morris, Bodeene Amyot, and Sarah Roth-Mullet for their extraordinary, unfailing guidance and support.