Statistics show that more than 40 million people living in the US today were not born here but were immigrants. According to the data recorded in 2017 among the whole population of the US, around 44.4 million people are immigrants and among those almost 77% are legal. And the astonishing numericals do not end here yet. Every year more than 1 million immigrants arrive in the US. However, the most interesting thing about immigration is not the statistics related to them but the young immigrant stories that teach us some valuable key points. Listed below are some of the key points that can be learnt from young immigrant stories and can help in making the US a more peaceful and friendly place to live for all including the immigrants.
Diversity:
People often struggle in accepting cultural diversity and become very rigid when it comes to accepting different cultures and differences. But accepting and respecting diversity in culture, religion, caste, and personal differences is very important. Immigrant stories always play a good part in teaching diversity. Not only do these stories make people accept diversity but they also make them more diverse in their own views.
Acceptance:
When people think of moving from one country to another and approach immigrant consultants for a visa, the thing that scares them the most is the fear of not knowing the answers to these questions “Will the new land and its people accept us? Are we going to feel alienated there? Will we ever be able to feel as safe there as we feel in our own homeland?” One thing that can help in making people accept you is telling them your immigrant story. And take our words when we say this.
Empathy:
Usually it is considered very hard to open up to someone about your struggles, difficulties, tragedies and hard experiences but the good thing about opening up is that you end up converting a very unaccommodating person into an empathetic dude who respects your struggles of life and accepts you the way you are. Hence, telling your immigrant story can definitely teach someone empathy and can make you feel more comfortable about opening up and telling your story.
Respect:
Respecting the values, beliefs and principles of others is often very hard and daunting especially when you are not aware of the nature and life story of others. Telling an immigrant story also teaches respect and admiration for others. Respecting others is not just ethically right but it is also a high esteemed value that young generations of ours have forgotten. It is our duty to make our younger generations and our children learn this value and then practice it all their lives so that they can make this world a better place for all. And what can be a more exciting way to teach this previous value than through telling immigrant stories? Hence, immigrant stories gave us another key point to learn from them.
Understanding:
It is said that the more you know each other, the more you pave the way for developing understanding between each other. And the more you tell each other about yourselves, the more you know each other. Consequently, telling young immigrant stories plays a part in developing understanding between people or persons. When different kinds of people have to live together in the same country or have to go to the same school, college or university, or they have to interact with each other at the same workplace; it is important that they have some degree of understanding. Therefore, young immigrant stories are a nice way to develop understanding.
Connection:
Young immigrant stories can often help in developing connections not just between different immigrants but also between the natives and the immigrants. Listening to young immigrant stories makes the natives more accepting, empathetic and friendly, consequently they do not hesitate in becoming friends with or building close connections with the immigrants coming from different parts of the world to the US. And these connections last longer and prove stronger than ordinary connections between natives. Young immigrants are usually very lively, friendly and cheerful but they usually tend to be very insecure about becoming friends with the natives and encouraging telling immigrant stories can definitely end these insecurities.
Inclusion:
Having a sense of belonging and inclusiveness can make immigrants more comfortable and feel at home. A feeling of inclusiveness makes the differences between natives and the immigrants less different. Telling young immigrant stories makes the natives more caring and tolerant of differences on one hand and makes immigrants more positive, self-esteemed, confident and inclusive.
The above listed key points are often overlapping but their importance as individual values cannot be neglected. One thing that is common about them is that they all can be learnt through young immigrant stories. Immigrant stories are full of lessons but these key points are the most important takeaway from young immigrant stories.
