Who Am I ?
April 2020
Who am I? I am a human being stuck between a rock and a hard place. My dream is to be an integral part of the land of opportunity. I want to be a contributing member to the land of the free and the home of the brave. I have decided to follow the rules and regulations set up by the greatest country in the world. I am not a republican nor am I a democrat. I come from all over the world with a dream facing uncertainty of future. All I have is hope and I depend on you to act and fulfill that hope. I am hardworking, honest, many a times skillful, good at treading the complicated system and able bodied and able minded. I could be a researcher, a computer specialist, a genius, a truck driver, a cook, a medical professional, a management expert, a teacher, a nurse, an architect, a policy maker, a thinker, a writer. The likes of me abide by the law and sacrifice in terms of years and hard-earned money. I deal with the emotional aspects of leaving the country of my origin and take a journey into a society which in my opinion claims to be worldly and is willing to accept me. I desire to be a productive member of this society not only to better my odds, but also to create a democratic, pragmatic and sympathetic world. I want to be able to roam the world freely, I want to be protected by the greatest force the world has ever seen, I want to serve the country that enticed me with its abilities, status and position in the world order. I don’t want it to be a one-way deal, I would serve this country in my own way in accordance with the law. I may become a scientist, a policy maker, a researcher, a politician, a lawmaker or I may contribute through a service position. I may build your house, I may fix your plumbing, mow your lawn, cut your hair, drive you around, pick your slack at a restaurant to make you feel welcome and comfortable and care for you when you get old. I do and will work consistently without holidays, weekends and even when I am sick. I will be exploited, yet I will go through this baptism of fire so that one day I can legally become a permanent resident and someday hope to be a citizen.
But I am also a human being. I have unalienable rights that have been guaranteed by this country. I am an American in essence, just short of a piece of paper. I have fallen in love with this country. I love its uniqueness among its diverse values. I have learnt to respect others more. I have met people from all over the world and experienced the Americanness in all of them. I enjoy my friendship with people of different colors, creeds and orientations in life. I have matured into learning the time honed tradition of live and let live. I am free to practice my culture or a fusion of cultures while I am at ease with those who practice something different than mine. I can be a vegan or an omnivore. I can be tall, short, born different, be brilliant or mediocre, strong or weak, have any skin color, I deserve to be treated fairly as I have given my fair share of life and work towards the betterment of this country. I am stuck between the pulleys and levers of life just as all, but my fight is different. I have been in a fight against life with a straitjacket. My arms stuck and tied, I am at the mercy of life and many whims it usually has. I have been targeted by those who consider themselves to be superior because they or their parents came here before I did. I ask them what right they have and what purpose does it serve. Even if I may not appear on the outside as you do, I am still of the same species. The same blood runs in my veins and I experience and enjoy the human condition as much as you do. I am as capable as you are, I have traversed the world, understood mine and your culture, I am bilingual if not multilingual, I am as much a human being as you are.
It is a peaceful appeal to all my fellow inhabitants and leaders of this great country. I have been stretched to the limit. In these ominous days, I am at risk as much as you are. I hear the newscasts that bring the horrible news to my living room. I am helpless in many cases, because I will not be getting any help from most corners of the bureaucracy. I have lost my job or have been furloughed just like you. The rhetoric has made my situation even worse. I have been blamed for the wrongs of those who have squeezed you and me alike. I am also a victim of division, loot and miscommunication that are endemic to all socities. I have been made a scapegoat because those who faltered, need someone to blame. You have been turned against me. I have limited rights; my freedom of speech has been silenced. I have no freedom to move or live or earn a livelihood as I choose. The quality of my life depends on a mere stamp on a paper. It is apparent that a democratic system is a behemoth and takes time to move, but how much time is needed. There were people who landed on the shores of Ellis island were welcomed in quickly. Why am I being denied the same opportunity. I am vetted, carefully examined and then forgotten for months and at times years. In many cases, even if I am given a chance to work, I feel like a bonded labor who has been left at the mercy of those who may not even be half as much capable as I am. How many times must I pass your examinations and inquiries?
Let me remind you that I am exactly what you were decades or your ancestors a century ago. It could have been your father or grandfather; they sailed the same boat that I am in now. They came from far reaches of the world to make a better life for them and for you and I intend to do the same for me and my progeny. They gave their best for the dream that America is and I am giving my life too to America that will be. Therefore, I appeal to fellow Americans and the leaders, please do not treat only me as a file number. Do not let the inefficiency get the best of you. Please don’t let the best of my youth and abilities go to waste because it is not only a loss for me but for all of us. Help me get where I want to be. Do not keep me waiting and wandering from two, three, four years to a decade, two or more. I request you to get going and help me to be the best I can be. I want to be a part of this system, contribute in economic and intellectual terms. I want to serve the great nation while maintaining my dignity and respect. I am not some pariah, I am not some outside organism, I am not here to change your life. I am here to be a part of the greatest country that ever existed. I request you to treat me with sympathy. I appeal to our leaders to consider that I am losing time in my life. I am here and I present an opportunity for us all. I am skilled, technically savvy, economically deft, courageous, exploratory, curious, amiable and entrepreneurial. I will create real jobs when I succeed, pay taxes and make this country grow by leaps and bounds. I possess an edge and that is education, ambition, adaptability and I strive for success. I could be the one who would find the cure for all that ails our society. I could be the one who will write the experiences of life and pass it on to our future generations. I am the one who will imagine and invent the paradigm shifting technologies that will give us an edge far into the future, I will assist in, creating and serving the foundation of a peaceful and multicultural society that will dominate the world through the bridges that I will build. I will take Untied States of America into the new age as a world leader. I will ensure that our democratic values of liberty and justice will be adhered to by the rest of the world. I will fight for this country and for those who live here. I will even pay the ultimate price if need ever arose. I will sow the seeds with you today that will bear fruit in the future for all of mankind. I am not a liability but an asset for this great nation. Just as, once you have been in the past, I am an immigrant.
