This week, I had the honor of congratulating 1,018 new Americans as they took the oath to become American citizens. I had a chance to hear some of their stories – stories of hard journeys, hard choices, and hard decisions to come to a new country and build a new life. Most families in America have an immigration story – and my family does as well. My great–great grandmother, Channa Bassa, left Vilnius, Lithuania and arrived on Ellis Island in June 1889. In her words from her journal – “The trip to New York was miserable. We traveled steerage. The seas were rough, and we all became very sea-sick. Our sleeping bunks were four high. When the boat rocked, the person on top vomited on those below. We had no water – but I finally begged some from the first class passengers. After 19 days, our trip ended. When I saw how the children had changed, I was sick at heart. We had all boarded the ship immaculately clean and now we were covered with filth and vermin.” If Channa had not taken that difficult journey, I would not be here today as my family would almost certainly have perished in the concentration camps of World War II. Her sacrifice created my family’s future. In every generation since our country was founded, immigrants – and new citizens – have helped build this nation. I never got to applaud my great-great grandmother’s courage – but I was honored to have the chance to applaud the courage of these new Americans this week. Welcome home, my fellow Americans!
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 15:55:23 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015