In the Ted Talk Why Children of Immigrants Experience Guilt and Strategies to Cope, spoken by Sahaj Kaur Kohli, it discusses how a lot of immigrants experience immigrant guilt. “If we think about an immigrant's journey to the West, they may not speak English well, so a lot of children of immigrants may act as a translator, may help pay the bills, may help take care of younger siblings, so caretaking, and we know that immigrating and immigration can lead to a lot of family and generational conflict, as everyone in the family is navigating their own acculturation journey, creating a sense of belonging in the host country. So a lot of children of immigrants are often mediators for cultural conflict within their family.“ (1:20 ). This guilt causes them to feel responsible for not just their own success, but for their parents as well due to the fact that they sacrificed a lot to get their child to the promise land they immigrated to, which Sahaj realized while working as a therapist for immigrants.
In the novel Girl in Translation, written by Jean Kwok, the author focuses on Kimberly’s hardships and her issues with not just assimilation, but generally trying to better herself as a person and student in order to provide the world for her and her mother. It is made clear that Kimberly feels she has to take care of her mother, which she does in a multitude of ways. This includes being her translator and even helping her out at the factory to try and make enough money to keep them afloat. Kimberly pressures herself and is pressured to feel like these are her responsibilities. “...’most people never leave this life. It’s probably too late for me…’...she hastened to reassure me. ‘That’s all right. That’s what a parent is for, to do whatever is necessary to give her child a good life. But you, don’t forget you were the smartest student our primary school in Hong Kong had ever seen. Nothing can change how bright you are, whether your current teacher knows it or not. Most importantly, nobody can change who you are, except for you’...I understood what my task was now… ‘I’m going to get us both out of here, Ma, I promise’. I had to go back to school on monday. Pa was dead and no one else could save Ma from this life. The image of Ma cutting thread as an old lady in the factory was unbearable” (chapter 3, pg 50-51). With this pressure held over her head, Kimberly experiences a lot of hardships and is stressed in this foreign world full of opportunities that feel out of her grasp due to the fact that she is an immigrant.
Based on your book: What kind of connection can be made between the issues of assimilation and the pressure of becoming something great which ultimately caused immigration guilt, such as does assimilation impact or cause this pressure and stress?
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