The American dream is not picture perfect, that’s what Darya Cherine has learnt.
She is young, educated and ready to pursue her dreams in life, but she can not find a job in the land of opportunities to make it all come true.
"Many countries look up to the USA, and so their inhabitants tend to have only a positive image of this country," Cherine, a 28 -year-old Russian immigrant, told IslamOnline.net.
"But it’s not all roses."
Cherine immigrated with her family 10 years ago to America, where her father believed his children could have a better life.
But after getting her BA in Romance Languages and Literature, she came face to face with ugly unemployment, making her think for the first time in 10 years of packing and leaving back to Russia.
"You do have opportunities here that perhaps you wouldn’t have anywhere else, but in the USA you often have to give your life away to exercise those opportunities."
Lahsen Oummad, a middle-aged Moroccan who came to the US in 2001 after winning the Green Card, feels Cherine’s pains about unemployment.
He lived in Pennsylvania after he arrived, and after suffering with the language and communication barriers for a while, he got his first job.
But it did not last for long.
Oummad, a father of a young son, lost his job at an IT company last November and has since remained unemployed.
He now lives in Washington DC where he is trying to pursue his study in Economics, which he quit after getting the Green Card, working sometimes as an IT satellite worker, and driving a cab in hard times.
"In the same time, I still have to pay my bills and support my family. Life here is too expensive."
Since 1819 when the Congress issued the first law legalizing immigration to the US, the waves of immigrants have not stopped.
The Census Bureau estimates between 10-11 million legal immigrants were welcomed into the US from 1991 to 2000.
The recent past years, however, have witnessed decrease in the immigrant flow, mostly linked to the economic recession.
Come True
Nonetheless, America’s promise of being the land of opportunities remains true to many.
"I feel free and happy," Dina, an Egyptian immigrant, told IOL with a sparkling glance in her eyes.
"I enjoy the weather, I work with very diverse people, I live independently and I love the quality of life as well as the dignity of each individual."
Dina, 27, has been in the US for two years now since she got a job offer as a Program Manager at Microsoft in Seattle.
She has never regretted taking the decision to move to the US, and prefers to stay in what she calls her new home forever.
"Whenever I visit Egypt I realize how much I miss my friends and family, but I also realize how grateful I am to have the happy, free life that I have here in the US."
Like Dina, Gaberiel Hidalog, a 30-year-old biologist from Peru, found his dream in America.
At the advice of his mother, who immigrated years before him, Hidalog came to the US four years ago pursuing his scientific research in Washington DC.
"Here in the US, I was taught that you can be anything you want," he asserts.
"It has also taught me that although it is somewhat hard for us immigrants here because of the different culture and different language sometimes, with a lot of work and dedication one can achieve one's dreams and aspirations."
But unlike the Egyptian immigrant, Hidalog says life in the US does not make him forget the idea of returning back to his homeland.
"I think that your culture, your country will always be a part of you, and in my case I still feel nostalgic when I think about Peru."
Even Oummad, the Moroccan immigrant, says that the difficulties he is facing are not making him give up pursuing the American dream.
"The image of a land of dreams is still a good image even if it’s now dusted because there is always hope of change," he says.
"One day we will achieve our dreams, inshaAllah."
She is young, educated and ready to pursue her dreams in life, but she can not find a job in the land of opportunities to make it all come true.
"Many countries look up to the USA, and so their inhabitants tend to have only a positive image of this country," Cherine, a 28 -year-old Russian immigrant, told IslamOnline.net.
"But it’s not all roses."
Cherine immigrated with her family 10 years ago to America, where her father believed his children could have a better life.
But after getting her BA in Romance Languages and Literature, she came face to face with ugly unemployment, making her think for the first time in 10 years of packing and leaving back to Russia.
"You do have opportunities here that perhaps you wouldn’t have anywhere else, but in the USA you often have to give your life away to exercise those opportunities."
Lahsen Oummad, a middle-aged Moroccan who came to the US in 2001 after winning the Green Card, feels Cherine’s pains about unemployment.
He lived in Pennsylvania after he arrived, and after suffering with the language and communication barriers for a while, he got his first job.
But it did not last for long.
Oummad, a father of a young son, lost his job at an IT company last November and has since remained unemployed.
He now lives in Washington DC where he is trying to pursue his study in Economics, which he quit after getting the Green Card, working sometimes as an IT satellite worker, and driving a cab in hard times.
"In the same time, I still have to pay my bills and support my family. Life here is too expensive."
Since 1819 when the Congress issued the first law legalizing immigration to the US, the waves of immigrants have not stopped.
The Census Bureau estimates between 10-11 million legal immigrants were welcomed into the US from 1991 to 2000.
The recent past years, however, have witnessed decrease in the immigrant flow, mostly linked to the economic recession.
Come True
Nonetheless, America’s promise of being the land of opportunities remains true to many.
"I feel free and happy," Dina, an Egyptian immigrant, told IOL with a sparkling glance in her eyes.
"I enjoy the weather, I work with very diverse people, I live independently and I love the quality of life as well as the dignity of each individual."
Dina, 27, has been in the US for two years now since she got a job offer as a Program Manager at Microsoft in Seattle.
She has never regretted taking the decision to move to the US, and prefers to stay in what she calls her new home forever.
"Whenever I visit Egypt I realize how much I miss my friends and family, but I also realize how grateful I am to have the happy, free life that I have here in the US."
Like Dina, Gaberiel Hidalog, a 30-year-old biologist from Peru, found his dream in America.
At the advice of his mother, who immigrated years before him, Hidalog came to the US four years ago pursuing his scientific research in Washington DC.
"Here in the US, I was taught that you can be anything you want," he asserts.
"It has also taught me that although it is somewhat hard for us immigrants here because of the different culture and different language sometimes, with a lot of work and dedication one can achieve one's dreams and aspirations."
But unlike the Egyptian immigrant, Hidalog says life in the US does not make him forget the idea of returning back to his homeland.
"I think that your culture, your country will always be a part of you, and in my case I still feel nostalgic when I think about Peru."
Even Oummad, the Moroccan immigrant, says that the difficulties he is facing are not making him give up pursuing the American dream.
"The image of a land of dreams is still a good image even if it’s now dusted because there is always hope of change," he says.
"One day we will achieve our dreams, inshaAllah."
