To the Children of Immigrants,
This topic is incredibly complex and so deep rooted, with a multitude of layers to unpack — I can barely touch the surface. But I will try.
بسم لله الرحمن الرحيم
—
To the Children of Immigrants,
Our parents love us so deeply, sometimes more than we can even comprehend.
But they do not show it to us the way the country they birthed their children in taught them to —
so growing up, we were always left feeling like there was something missing.
—
They struggled and left everything they had ever known —
and in crossing a sea and leaving their homes
they were on survival mode.
As they struggled to adjust to this world that was new and lonely,
strange and foreign —
raising their children became a second priority
Because first priority was survival — providing the basic necessities of life for their families.
—
The stories of our parents and the journeys they took to come here are beyond powerful and my words can never do them justice
Yet they are stories we must try to understand
To embrace,
And to use to propel us forward
—
We as migrant kids have struggled —
to feel loved, to feel heard
to be understood.
We carry an intergenerational trauma
Our parents pain is our pain.
We are born into two different cultures,
and then left to make sense of the chaos alone.
—
But we survive just as our parents did.
—
Now growing older and finally finding a footing, I understand that in order to thrive — our priorities and perspectives must change.
One of my biggest priorities is to hear the stories of my parents
To preserve them for their generations
To validate and experience where my parents came from
To live in their shoes
To understand what this means for my own identity
—
We must sit, introspect and understand
We must forgive our parents for their shortcomings —
for what we were not given as children, for the ways we feel they may have failed us
We must give them our time and love
Respect them and be kind to them
Be patient and hold each of their words and gestures like the gems they are.
See, value and treat them as our greatest treasures.
وَقُل رَبِّ ارحَمهُما كَما رَبَّياني صَغيرًا
And say, “My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up (when I was) small. (17:24)
—
By Amira Rahman
