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Towfig Arjmand

This is Towfig Arjmand. He is originally from the western part of Iran in the province of Kermanshah and immigrated to the United States in the mid 1950s. His mother was a housewife while his father worked in the British consular. Arjmand had a proper education beginning in grammar school all the way to medical school. Arjmand immigrated to America to fully pursue medicine and become a specialist, something that was difficult to do in Iran. Once being in America, he says it was relatively easy for him to acclimate to American culture, however “getting used to the food, the culture and all that, it takes a little bit of time…”. After moving to the United States, Arjmand “identifies himself purely as American. After all, it is a lifetime that I have been in the United States…”. Since being in America, Arjmand has gotten married, had children and fulfilled his dream in medicine by becoming an anesthesiologist. Towfig Arjmand passed away on Friday, August 23rd of 2019. He lived a happy and successful life in the United States, but will always remember Iran as a second home.

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Kazamir Ladney was born in Kakolewnica, Poland in 1914. When he was three years old, his father was captured and became a POW, so his grandfather became his parental figure. In 1936 Ladney was drafted into the Polish army to fight against Russia. Eventually, he was captured as a Pow and was brought to a camp in Siberia. Later he became a factory worker and a Russian slave-labor. Kazamir Ladney then found out he was eligible to immigrate to America, where he would have more opportunities and would be able to escape the violence, but at this time it was too risky, considering the current war, and he was concerned that it would be too difficult for his wife in America. For a while Ladney was making a living off of the black market by selling glass thermometers because that was the only way he could make money. He states “I had to make a living. The ration cards were not enough”, but then finally he was able to make it to America and when the American consultant tried to place him in an area with a large Polish and German population, he stated “Sir, if I would want to live among Polish people I would go to Poland. If I would want to live among German people I would stay here. If I go to America I want to live among American people.”.

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Arvid Theodors Hammers was a Latvian, born under the German occupation of the country. He and his family fled, when he was a child, to mainland Germany to escape the oncoming Soviets, spending seven years in different refugee camps before finally immigrating to Chicago. In Latvia, his family had owned a successful chain and nail factory and were very well off. However, when his family escaped Latvia, they brought hardly any possessions with them for fear that they would be sent to Siberia to work if they posed a threat to the Soviet cause. Arvid describes how the few items they possessed were dangerous, as his mother had brought a nice watch with her to America, though “somebody in Chicago” ended up stealing it from her.

Like many other immigrants, it did not matter the jobs they possessed in their home countries; they would be seen and treated as foreigners, and would need to start afresh. When the family was able to move to the United States, settling in Illinois, Arvid’s parents took any work they could find, usually in factories. America during the 1950s was not the most welcoming place to foreigners, and “people tried to get away from [speaking a foreign language].” However, the inequality suffered by Arvid and similar refugees did not prevent him from becoming successful. After struggling through language differences, Arvid received a university degree in political science and worked as a research associate and public affairs consultant. Coming to America brought him several new opportunities, and Arvid raised his family American.

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The interviewee is Martha Rose Moser.Her life before immigration In Germany was mainly spent under Communist rule.  She says that the government had power over a lot of things and that there was lots of propaganda and politics discussed during her childhood as well, she specifically said that “I also had a picture of a little Chinese guy pulling a rickshaw, and in the rickshaw was a big fat American soldier, with a whip- he was whipping the little rickshaw guy.And that's what we were told about Americans.”She says that barely anyone had money, and she remembers there rarely being stores or stores that were open/busy.Money-wise, she also remembers a story about her parents regifting her the same dollhouse every year on Christmas, her cousin was in the same situation where their parents didn't have enough money to get them a gift every year either.

She was too young to make much of a decision on her and her family immigrating, but her parents seemed to have decided to move because her stepfather had heard that farmers lived very well under Hitler in Prussia, and since her stepfather was a farmer they moved there.After immigrating, she remembers not liking it in West Germany(Prussia), because people would get mad and treat them badly for being “refugees and taking our stuff”.There were no jobs there, and they were very poor. She was also not allowed to complete high school, since apparently her intelligence level was too far below everyone else's.

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Yeni Carolina Lera was born in March 1977, in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, and was raised in a family with 3 siblings and her parents. Yeni describes how she used to play with her family and friends, “We all played outside together, children and adults. We knew each other and did things together”. Yeni graduated highschool and went to two years of college for Civil Engineering in Venezuela, and then moved to the United States with her husband, Jose Lera, when she was 19. She describes how it was difficult coming to the US without knowing any English, and moving to Florida, where there weren’t many resources available to assist immigrants adjusting to their new life. Dianne Donelly, a woman Yeni worked with, taught her English and played a huge role in helping her adjust to her new life in America. Yeni says, “She was somebody very important for me here”, and while talking about Dianne, Yeni begins crying, showing how much she meant to her. Overall, Yeni’s story shows the challenges that non-English speaking immigrants have to face when immigrating to America, and she demonstrates courage and strength in her journey to adjust to her new life in America.

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Life for Maija before immigrating from Korea was relatively difficult. She was originally born in Manchuria but was orphaned in Korea which is where she grew up. In her traditional and superstitious household that she lived in before being orphaned, it was believed that a girl baby being born after a son would suck the luck out of the son and the success he will have will no longer exist. Therefore, she was orphaned to be taken in by a childless Korean couple. Maija was never told about her being adopted due to the belief that being told a child was an orphan would lead to the child developing anxieties and self-consciousness that, “...child would never be able to overcome. The child would become a juvenile delinquent or worse, which would be killing, committing suicide.” Maija lived during the Japanese occupation of both Korea and Manchuria. During this time, food was scarce for the Koreans and the native Koreans were not allowed to speak Korean or name their kids in Korean names. The reason Maija immigrated in the first place was because she had a full-ride scholarship for St. Louis University in the United States. Her first impressions of the U.S was that her English was not good enough to properly communicate with the American people. She was not the only other Korean student studying abroad; she and some classmates went to an American supermarket for the first time and were surprised at the items available to buy there. They made their own kimchi and Maija had a great time in America, despite her naivety to the racial prejudices taking place between African Americans and White Americans during the time she was studying in America.

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Peter Embalabala is a Kenyan immigrant who immigrated to the United States after finishing high school in 1978. Peter moved to the United States to pursue a degree in biology and mathematics at Spring Arbor College in Spring Arbor, Michigan. After graduating from Spring Arbor College, Embalabala earned a Master's degree in mathematics from Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. Prior to his immigration, Peter's life was relatively easy. Peter's father was from Uganda, where he eventually met Peter's mother through cultural similarities. Peter's father was the disciplinarian, and he desired the best for his children, knowing that education was the "key to success." There were 12 children living beneath Peter's parents' roof. Peter spent most of his time in boarding school and with his mother selling groceries, which is where he learned to be a mathematician, as he stated, "there was no cash register." Peter chose to immigrate to study biology and mathematics in college, eventually receiving a master's degree in mathematics. Peter married Julie Van Sledright after immigrating, and they eventually had seven children, all of whom were homeschooled. Peter worked in education for two years until being let off, and then went on to work at Lincoln Land Community College after finding no opportunities in Kenya. Peter had a sublime experience after immigrating, and he is now preparing to begin the process of becoming a permanent United States citizen.

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Walter Ade was a German native who grew up in Sudetenland during the Second World War. Both his father and older brother served in the German army during the war, and both unfortunately died from the war. Living through World War 2 was very difficult for Walter. He stated, “Closer toward the end every day you could see a funeral procession to the cemetery. And the shooting of the salvo. That became quite a traumatic experience.” In 1949, Walter’s mother encouraged him to emigrate to the United States for a chance at a better life, and she encouraged Walter to make something of himself. However, she would stay back in Germany as she was hoping that her husband was miraculously still alive, he had just been captured or imprisoned. Luckily, he actually did return 1955, as he was released by the Soviets. Walter emigrated to the United States and lived in Springfield. Walter got himself involved in an amaeteur symphony orchestra, where he met his future wife, Eunice Holt. “And I was seated in the viola section by a lady who introduced herself, ‘Hi, I’m Eunice Holt. How are you?’” Love at first sight.  He also learned how to drive a car and a motorcycle, got to try new foods, and started to assimilate to American culture.

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Peter Embalabala was born in Vihiga, Kenya On February 14, 1959. Growing up, his family had emphasized the importance of education at home, and his father often told him it was “the key to success.” Peter in many ways did not have a deep connection with either of his parents, and it was normal in Vihiga that parents did not interact with their children as we do in the United States; Peter’s father did not “take him fishing, or go to his ball games”, however was still able to provide food for his family to eat. As a child, Embalabala spent time in boarding schools, and when he returned home he helped his mother at the local shops, where he practiced his skill in math while weighing goods. Growing up in Kenya, Peter knew very little about the United States other than what he had learned in secondary school in history, which included abbreviated lessons of United States History. After graduating from high school, he was selected by his school to teach Mathematics and Biology. However, he preferred attending a university, however was not selected for one in Kenya. After not being selected for an African university, he was prompted to continue his education overseas, which did not materialize until he gained his parents' support. The next day, he ventured to a local library, wrote his applications and applied to schools across multiple countries. He decided to narrow down his choices to universities in the United States, as many of the Americans he had interacted with had seemed “laid back”, and “nice.” His first acceptance letter came from a local Virginian University, however without a passport he was unable to accept their offer. After expressing interest in a University in Michigan, Spring Arbor, Peter finally decided to go to America to receive a higher level of education that “was not available in Kenya”. After meeting an officer who was a patron of his parents' business outside of an office for the process of his education, he was given a letter that allowed him a meeting at the embassy. He was told he had every qualification possible, however his financial requirements were not met. Peter was gifted the funds from a very prominent business man, who was a family friend, and he was granted approval. No one in his family had originally known other than his father, mother, and sister. After his first plane ride, and a connection of three flights, he arrived in Michigan in the dead of winter, having never seen snow before. In Kenya, men were never taught to cook, so in an effort to feed himself, Peter learned how to cook on the fly, cooking simple things like beef and onion. In Kenya, Peter had gone through a British influenced education system that had a profoundly different curriculum than the curriculum in the Americas. Peter had a profound interest in Mathematics, and Biology. He ended up majoring in Biology, and minoring in Mathematics. Eventually Peter doubled his major, and graduated a year early, receiving high praise from professors, even while adapting to the many societal differences he found after migrating to America. After receiving his Masters degree in Mathematics, peter became a permanent resident of the United States in 1985, and has been a professor of Mathematics since 1992.

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Walter Ade was born on October 3rd, 1931 in brooksalle. He lived there for his first 3 years of life. They continued to live there until the invasion of Poland, 1940. According to Ade, his father “worked in the labor department/unemployment” (2:20). He grew up during the 2nd cold war and stated that the food was “controlled through ration cards. Meat was largely controlled” (12:56). Furthermore, he loved to hike and do outside activities as a child. He also loved music/instruments, as his hometown was famous for its music industry. Him and his mother made their way to heidelberg.  When I grew up there, let’s face it, in the morning we walked to school, in the afternoon we walked to music school. Eventually, his family chose to immigrate. He moved to America because there was too much war going on. Later on after he got his life settled, he went to night school,took on all machienery and bookkeeping that he wanted to learn, had a baby, and started a family.

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Towfig Arjmand was born in Iran to his mother, who was a housewife, and his father, who worked for the British Consular.  He never really traveled outside of Iran before coming to the US; Iran is rich in culture and history so he didn’t find it necessary.  Arjmand attended the first organized school in his Iranian hometown, Kermanshah all the way up to highschool. There, he learned French along with the traditional school subjects.  He then went to public high school and Medical school. He wanted to keep specializing in the medical field, he wanted to become an anesthesiologist.  Thus, he studied as an exchange student in America at The University of Chicago.  He first came to the US on a student visa, he was just there to be an exchange student.  However, when he graduated he decided to stay in America and got a job at St John’s hospital, which is where he worked for over 30 years.

During his immigration process he didn’t experience too many hardships. Besides the fact that he had to get used to the culture. No organization that helped him adjust to American life, in fact he said “No. No, it was purely on my own”, not even to find a job at St. John’s Hospital. Arjmand considers himself to be fully American.  He says his favorite part about living in the US is that “you don’t have to be concerned about any organization watching you”, he appreciates the fact that freedom of speech and freedom of expression are guaranteed.

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Arvid Hammers was born in Riga, Latvia in 1942 and would later move to Chicago, Illinois at the age of nine. There was German occupation in Latvia, which would lead to him and his family moving to Germany. He said his family “basically left everything in the middle of the night…because anybody who owned anything went automatically to Siberia.” They would spend the next seven years in Germany in a series of refugee camps and in 1951 they ultimately decided to immigrate to America. He was a young boy who had no idea about anything that was going on. He didn’t speak English at all, but growing up he said “I just learned it on the street, starting with swear words because that’s what the kids did.” His family became US citizens right away and as he became more accustomed to everything he enjoyed his life in America. He got a job and eventually started a family. 

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Thien Khoc Pham was born into a modest family of sweet potato farmers in Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu, Vietnam. Soon after registering for college, Pham was drafted into the military and became a combat engineer. Thien Khoc Pham served in the south Vietnamese army from 1967-1975. After serving he spent a year in a reeducation camp that eventually took a major toll on his health. He was released since he was unable to work but was constantly harassed by the authorities. Pham did not feel at peace living in Vietnam so he changed his name and birthdate to avoid government officials. He found a way to escape and immigrate with his family but the process took almost a decade. A family in Utah sponsored Pham and his family which allowed for them to move. Pham’s oldest son decided to stay in Vietnam, but the rest of his children were able to start new lives in the U.S.

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My interviewee was Dr. Patrick Lam, he is an immigrant from South Vietnam who fled to the United States shortly after the Vietnam war. His early life was very chaotic with his father dying while in service and South Vietnam falling to the Communists. Living in a family with moderate financial resources and many relatives, Dr. Lam was sent away in a wooden boat after the war, From the interview ”They were paying boat captains―these shrimp boats and other boats, a lot of it wooden boats―pay the captains, and then they would sneak out of Saigon in the middle of the night.”. By sheer luck he was able to survive; saved by an American oil rig and was placed on a refugee island in Indonesia. From there he traveled to America and was sent to many cities with relatives until he landed in Chicago. There he faced discrimination in school, From his words “I didn’t speak a word, so they were picking on me, a lot of bullying”. Afterwards he finished high school, college, and Medical school to become a doctor and became wealthy enough to sponsor his family so they could also travel to the United States.

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Thien Khoc Pham was born in south Vietnam, on june 18 1944. He was raised catholic by his mother, father and Aunts. His mother provided for the family by selling sweet potatoes that they grew on their farm. If their family wasn't making much money they would sell their livestock. He was not allowed to attend school until he was about 9 years old due to the first Indochina war against the French. When he was finally able to go to school, he would ride horses connected to a wagon for school about two miles away. When he got to high school his mother saved up enough money for a bike. He graduated high school in 1966.

After  high school Thien Khoc Pham registered for college, but that was cut short because Vietnam started a draft for their next war. He served from 1967 to 1975, he then went to a reeducation camp to work. When he was no longer able to work in the camps he was released back to his family. Many failed attempts to flee Vietnam were unsuccessful until he came to America in 1998.

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Veronica Espina was born in 1970 in Rancagua, Chile. She has three sisters named Monica, Anita and Natalia, who were all very hardworking and determined to succeed at their jobs. When it came to her relationship with her parents, Veronica was basically treated as equal to them, and she claims that this was because she broke all the rules in their household. She also talks about the importance of music in her life, and how she grew up singing. She was constantly tested on her knowledge of music by her dad, and her daughter’s father Mauricio was a pretty famous jazz musician. They worked on projects together very often, and their daughter Alemendra is now also a guitar player. Veronica lived during the time of a dictatorship where the socialist government significantly harmed the economy of the United States. People’s liberties were being taken from them, and their freedom to elect their president was stripped from them. She attended the University of Chile for journalism and graduated in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree. She then received a post-graduate degree in 1994 in art history.

Veronica was 28 when she migrated to the United States in January of 1999. She applied for a Rotary International Scholarship in the United States, and ended up getting it. She then completed a Master’ Degree in Community Arts Management at the University of Illinois and began working in the Illinois Department of Human Services. She had planned to live with Mauricio when she arrived, but they weren’t really together anymore by the time she had received the scholarship. Mauricio left for Chicago a few months later to play music there and stayed for a few years. He didn’t like living there, and he missed Alemendera too much. He ended up moving back to Chile, and Alemendra started taking the plane from the United States to Chile by herself starting at 7 years old. According to Veronica, the schools here in the United States discriminated against people. She said that she was once asked, “why aren’t you cleaning bathrooms?” It was very hard for Alemendera to attend school in the United States because she was bullied and subjected to racist comments. She felt very out of place and experienced severe anxiety because of her experiences at school. Veronica says that she “can bet that the kids of immigrants go through very similar experiences regardless of social class or economic status…they are always reminded of how they don’t belong, instead of how wonderful being bilingual is.” Veronica says that her biggest regret was putting Alemendera in the position to be bullied so much by migrating to the United States.

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Lea Edelstein was an immigrant who moved from Alexandria where she grew up to the United states in the 1940s. She was born in Cairo, Egypt and grew up as a Jewish with her four siblings, her being the middle child. Her family moved to Alexandria due to a job her father needed to take and felt comfortable with the living conditions in the middle class. Her parents had a very healthy relationship and described her father as “a really wonderful wonderful father”. She also loved her mother who was strict at times but had to take care of five children on her own. The family lived in a Jewish society and both her parents followed the religion; however, her father wasn’t as spiritual. Her father cared greatly about their education and sent them to catholic school because it was all that was available besides an Islam school. Although she lived surrounded by Jews, she had friends of many backgrounds. Lea greatly enjoyed Alexandria and explained how every afternoon she always went to the beach. Her father was part of the military and often listened to the news. He was aware of Germany’s very close arrival to Egypt and because of the opposition towards Jews they possessed, Lea’s father made the decision to flee. Her mother wanted to settle in Israel but her father insisted that they move to the USA. Lea, her sisters, and mother all traveled in a boat to their new home; her father sent her to California to live with her aunt. She desperately wanted to leave and was constantly degrading her. She later went to school to become an “American” and fit in with society. Lea married and got a job, as did the rest of their family. She eventually became a US citizen and would settle happily as a secretary. When Lea is asked where she would like her grandchildren to remain, she responds by saying, “I want them to be here” showing the fondness she grew from America.

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Maija Rhee Devine was born in 1943 Manchuria, China, alongside her twin brother. Her parents were Korean refugees, who had to give her to a family friend when she was just a baby. She then moved to Seoul, South Korea, where she was adopted by a childless couple. Growing up in patriarchal Korea was a big influence of her life, mainly due to the fact that her father took in a mistress, in order to have a male heir. When the family had to flee from from the Chinese, Maija and her mother were separated from her father and his mistress. She moved back once it was safe, and went on to get an impressive education, which is part of the reason she moved to America. Once she moved in 1965, she majored in english literature at St. Louis University. She was later married to Micheal Devine, whom she had 5 kids with. Later in life, she taught english, wrote & published a novel about her life (the Voice of Heaven), and a poetry book (Long Walks on Short Days).

“One, he could have set her up outside the home somewhere, a separate household, and paid her expenses. When a child was born, especially if it was a boy, he could have just brought the boy in the house and given the boy to my mother”

“I am in the United States, and I want to live my life in the present and future.”

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Veronica Luz Espina is an immigrant from Chile, who came to the US in 1999. The Pinochet dictatorship is something that she went through as a child, so as a result of that, her childhood differed from what would be expected to be a normal childhood. There would be curfews set on birthday parties for example with a military siren to alert them it was curfew. Her father is a chemical engineer while her mother is a pharmacist; during this time, her mother owned around 3 phases because of the increase in customers as a result of the dictatorship that led to a lot of casualties as well as disappearances, and deaths. Music was also a big part of her life, and she grew up with a lot of jazz due to the environment she lived in at home. She understands that “when a dictatorial, authoritarian government wants to control the power, the first thing they do is to cut access to sources of information, control of the media, put a curfew in place—right?—and ban books”, which is exactly what happened.

She also said “It makes so much sense to me because he explained, in the United States, for example—he lived here in the United States—people reform”, where she gives a little of her insight on the idea that the US was a place for reform. She had to migrate in order to see that she wanted to teach, and that was a part of her identity. She was also a feminists, and it was okay to be a feminist in the United States, whereas it is the opposite under a dictatorship. She left because she was being persecuted. After immigration, she faced racism as a Latina in the US, and her daughter was also bullied in school. Veronica continued her studies in the US, got a degree, and a stable job. Although she experienced racism, there were also many opportunities after immigration.

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Aspasia Sonia Anyfantaki Long was born in the Greek Island of Crete. She remained in Crete until she was seventeen years old and went to the United States where she met and married a U.S. Air Force airman. Sonia Long says “life was extremely tough”,  before she immigrated. She lived in fear of being bombed, or being shot. She was given coupons for food and whenever she would have to stand in line to get it, she would get scared everytime an airplane flew over because she feared they would be bombed. There was also a firing squad on a daily basis in some villages. Long says in spite of the fear she had, she was loved, well-protected and guided when she was younger. Everyone in her village would watch over her and no one would bother her. She attended school at a junior high in Crete, Greece before she graduated and got a scholarship to come to the States. After she immigrated to the United States she married her husband and had a family of her own. Sonia Long had a talent for painting and implemented that when she came to the United States “Every place I am, I use my talents and my interests to volunteer to paint walls with art for plays, to go to schools and demonstrate how to do art, to read to children.” Long had multiple art exhibits featuring her painting and implemented her creativity into the various creations she made. A few exhibitions her painting and art made it into were the Municipal Art Gallery and the Prairie Art Alliance Exhibit. Sonia was given an artistic award by the Governor of her home village in Heraklion, Crete.

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Jose Alberto Lera was born in 1965 in Caracas, a coastal city in Venezuela.  Lera said that he had a simple childhood, and that his father taught him how to work hard when he was young.  His personal motto, which his dad told him years ago is "be the best you can be".  His father died when he was 19.  He became a mechanic, and specialized in boats, yachts, and other types of water vehicle engines.  When he was 30, Lera decided to immigrate to the United States with his wife, even though they didn't speak any English, and had very little money.  He wanted to pursue a career as a mechanic, and there was much greater opportunities in the states than in Venezuela.  They moved to Florida, where he worked for Yamaha, a popular boat engine brand, and he eventually became a master Yamaha Technician.  With some money saved up, and lots of experience learned along the way, Jose was able to open his own mechanic business down in the Florida Keys.  Today, the business is very successful, he and his wife are American citizens, and they have two kids.

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Interviewing Sonia Lang about her journey as a Greek immigrant to the United States allowed me to learn more about the process and the ups and downs many immigrants face on their journey to the United States. Sonia was born on the island of Crete in a town called Astrakoi. Sonia’s parents moved to the village of Astrakoi, and moved in with her grandfather, shortly after the war started. After the war, life was extremely tough and food was a big issue for all. Sonia remember’s eating bean soup most of the time and waiting on line for bread with coupons in her hand. Growing up, Sonia’s went to the Fourth Elementary School near her old church, where she attended for six years, and then went to business school which was more of a junior high. She was then offered a scholarship to come to the states and that’s when she immigrated to America. She applied to the American Field Service which was an exchange program and decided that she wanted to explore new opportunities. After moving in with her exchange parents, they grew really close and came to be like” real parents and daughter.”  She found that many people were more casual in the US and liked the “simplicity of life.” Sonia was also able to see new things that she never saw before whether it was roller skating or even something like celebrating Christmas. After school, she became a teacher and whilst teaching would tell her students about life in Greece and through this she could share what her world was like as a child.

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Gustav Speder is an immigrant hailing from West Germany who now lives in Springfield, Illinois. Before leaving West Germany and immigrating to the United States, Gustav Speder was born to Anna Fressdorf Speder and Johann Speder in November 27, 1941 in a transition camp in Rummelstein, Germany as a political pact between Germany and the Soviet Union had resulted in the loss of their homes in Lithuania. When Speder was around two years old Speder’s father would be drafted and later missing in action, leaving Speder, his brother Walter, and his mother to move with the fronts to flee the Russian front and survive by merely clothes, wagons, and begging. After the war, from 1945 to 1948, Speder would go to school for a relatively short amount of time and his family, living in a displacement camp at the time, would eventually be assigned to a two-room apartment in Burgsteinfurt, Germany where Speder states he grew up and started school again. Around 1956 Speder’s brother would show interest in immigrating to the United States for unknown reasons and eventually a sponsor that would support them would be found in Springfield, Illinois through an associate of their father and sign the paper for their arrival while Catholic Charities would pay for their transportation and in return would be paid back with no interest. Speder would recall his excitement regarding moving to Springfield, stating (in response to “So, you were excited about it?”) “Oh, was I ever. I’m in hog heaven. When we came here, then, of course, the next thing was finding jobs.”, as Speder had become knowledgeable about Springfield due to his books. In Springfield, Speder would gradually learn English in high school, and although his grades initially suffered aside from choir and PE, his experience with fellow students and staff appeared to be generally pleasant, recalling “But, you know, that’s what I’m saying. The kids were nice, but kids are kids. The faculty was very understanding, really.” After his arrival to Springfield, Speder would continue to live there, marrying in Springfield to his wife Katherine and raising three children there as well. In the 1960s Speder would serve in the U.S. Army and until retirement would teach history and German at Springfield High School.

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Before immigration, his family and he had experiences with the secret police and the Gestapo, who threatened them with arrest and death by firing squad. In June of 1941, the Germans occupied Lithuania, and mass arrests started. They arrested a number of people who they suspected of being in the undercover activity. He states that “a mass arrest and executions of the Jewish people took place by Germans in Lithuania,” and he “used to see the trucks loaded with arrested people being transported to the train station for deportation.”

In a town where he lived, Vilkaviskis, they had a prisoner of war camp full with Russian soldiers who died of starvation in the German camps. The Germans were exterminating the Lithuanian Jewish population.

In the summer of 1944, when the eastern front was collapsing, his family moved westward, towards the German border to get away from the front, where it was already in a battle zone.

There were thousands and thousands of people moving west. In some of the families, younger men were taken off the wagons and told by the troops to put them to forced labor, to dig the positions. The people in East Prussia and Germany fed them and shared their food and shelter with them. Then later on, Germans planned refugee camps, where they were fed and provided with shelter in Germany.

His family got permission to go to Bavaria, to a city called Würzburg. Close to the end of the war, in March of 1945, Würzburg got wiped out in an air raid at one night by British bombers.

Everything caught on fire. He and his family stayed in the air raid shelter and survived.

After that, the Germans provided trains for the refugees to channel them out into the smaller towns alongside in Bavaria. They went on a train to a small village. They found a farmer who had some room in a barn who took them in.

After the war, his parents found out about the Lithuanian refugee camp with a Lithuanian high school. He moved on to that refugee camp and went to Lithuanian high school in Eichstätt, Bavaria.

He stayed in the refugee camp until August 15, 1949. He boarded a troop transport ship, USS General Heintzelman, and sailed to America. He and his family got off the ship to Ellis Island and then took a train to a Lithuanian community in Chicago.

After he arrived, his cousin and his family let his family stay in their two bedroom apartment. He got a job in a plating factory, working with the metals and making eighty cents an hour. Then, he returned to high-school and graduated.

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Dr Patrick Lam lived in Vietnam up until 1979. He had three siblings: one sister and two brothers. His family live in the united states, with the exception of his dad, whom he had lost due to a roadside bomb. After the fall of Saigon, his mom and aunts decided to leave Vietnam. Dr Patrick Lam describes how he had little-to-no control of his life before he immigrated. He explains that the government “pretty much controlled every aspect” of one’s life, including finances, possessions, speech, and actions. Dr. Patrick Lam and his family wanted a way out of the corrupt government, and the only way was boats. People caught trying to leave were either shot down, drowned, or imprisoned. In order to sneak out without getting caught, Patrick Lam changed his last name, Bui, to Lam. Even though Dr. Patrick Lam was 7 at the time, he still explains how he vividly remembers a lot of the images that day. He states, “I remember a lot of people throwing up when we passed, just a lot of its images… a lot of people were already dead; they ran out of food. There were stories of cannibalism.”