This month, 25 years ago, I landed on these fair shores (actually then Hartsfield-International Airport) brown envelope in hand from the American Embassy in Johannesburg saying I had passed all the tests and been accepted as a permanent resident of this country. It had taken four years, but it was well worth the wait. And now, my fellow Americans, Im sure you will be pleased to know that included in those tests were the medical assurances that I was not bringing with me Aids, Tuberculosis or, God forbid, syphillis - all of which I had been tested for. My son, 12-years old at that time, did have a note in his packet that said he suffered from asthma. However, it came with my sworn assurances that I would not allow him to become a burden on the US government should it ever render him unable to support himself. I swore that I would take on that responsibility, along with my sworn statement that I too would never become a burden on the state. I also came here with the assurances that, well at least when I landed here, I was not a criminal. In fact, my arrival was delayed by six months after they found out that I had lived in Mauritius for a year. They had to run fingerprints in that country just in case I had decided to break out of my law-abiding shell during that year and gone on a rampant crime spree. Im sure you will be happy to know, those fingerprints came back clean as well. And so, I arrived here on Aug. 12, 1989 unburdened, and promising under oath not to ever become one. So far, so good! After staying that way for the required five years without committing any crime of moral turpitude Lori Brudner Duff Im sure you would know if Id done that :) I was able to be sworn in as a bona fide American Citizen in the summer of 1996. Thank you guys, I am incredibly grateful for the acceptance that has allowed me to make this my true home ever since!
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 17:05:41 +0000
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