What types of things should non-immigrants be doing to support immigrants around them? Where are you seeing this in your novel?
In Kyle Quinn’s Ted Talk about cultural bias, he’s from the US, went to Brazil for an exchange program. There, he met his future wife. After moving to the US, she meets his parents, who are concerned about her intentions. They believe all she wants is to get her permanent green card. But even after three years of marriage, they still can't get it. Because of this, she is discriminated against and mistreated by some Americans, which makes her husband really mad.
“The purpose of this story is to portray to you all that her tune changed entirely when she found out that I was an American. She was nicer. She was more accommodating. She was more patient. When she thought we were both foreigners she had little to no patience at all to deal with us. And I imagine in that very moment I was getting a small taste of what it might feel like to be discriminated against as an immigrant in this country.” (Quinn 2) Sometimes, all people need is to be treated with respect and dignity, so they can feel more at home. It might not be the only thing non-immigrants can do, but it definitely helps and makes people feel better.
In Out of Nowhere, Maria Padian tells the story of Tom Bouchard, a high school senior living in a small town in Maine. Tom’s life is relatively quiet and revolves around playing soccer for his school team. However, this changes with the arrival of several Somali refugees, particularly one named Saeed. Tom becomes curious about him, and he admires his soccer skills. Although Saeed doesn't speak much English, Tom, as captain of the team, offers to help him. Over time, they become close friends. However, things take a turn when Tom and his friend Donnie are caught sneaking into another high school to paint over their rival's rock. Tom is sentenced to 100 hours of community service and must repaint the rock. Meanwhile, as more immigrant groups arrive at school, communication becomes difficult due to language barriers. This leads to segregation based on culture, religion, and language. However, Tom is a very social person and is always trying to talk with immigrants and understand their situation. Another place he does this besides school is the volunteering place for his community hours, where he helps a little Somali kid to get his school work done. There he also meets Myla, a girl in College who loves volunteering and helping immigrants. Tom starts having feelings for her, and takes her out for dinner a couple of times, even though he already has a girlfriend, Cherisse. Tom is learning a lot about Somali people and their tradition. There’s one in particular that he is a little concerned about: Ramadan. This is because he made a bet with the Maquoit school for their next soccer game. Back then, Tom didn’t know it was scheduled during Ramadan, which means their best players won’t be at their maximum condition.
“That’s when I knew I wasn’t going to ask Saeed and the other guys to break their fast the next week.” (Padian 199) It also helps when people try to understand you and comprehend the significance of things like traditions or religion to someone. It's important to respect everyone as they are, without asking them to change just to fit in.
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