Advanced Essay #2: Opportunities

My goals for this essay are: to get as much writing time as I can, try to exceed the requirements and not do the bare minimum Have my writing be clearer get my essay proofread and go deeper into ideas that need it. I’m most proud of my essay is the part when I talked about the article because I feel like I went into depth and explained.

This is a picture of refugees trying to cross into another country. There are barbed wires that go from the ground and past their heads. When you look into the distance, it seems like the wires never end as if it’s a maze and what you can see past that is just barren land. It looks as though the people have been walking for a while. The man on the far left in the front is trying to squint to see how much longer the walk is for them. The child in red at the back looks like he or she has no clue as to what’s happening. Everyone is walking in pairs of three, probably because their traveling as a group or there isn’t enough room for everyone to walk together. Another thing is that everyone is wearing jeans and jackets. It’s nothing too heavy that might slow them down but no one is carrying luggage.

When it comes to moving to another country, it’s all about the different opportunities that you can have. The legal way of moving to America, getting a green card or an immigrant visa, can take more than 10 years. Some of the different ways of getting a visa are getting a family petition or an employment sponsor. Even with these options, people still have to get different forms and money. Another thing is that not everyone gets approved or don’t have enough time. That’s when people have to resort to sneaking into a country, which is dangerous and could put them back into the situation they once were or worse. After arriving and settling migrants need jobs and money to support themselves and whoever else might’ve arrived with them. Unfortunately, most jobs don’t pay as much and don’t give migrants the same respect as everyone else. The main jobs that people usually associate with migrants are agricultural workers, construction workers, drivers, tailors, maids, and housekeeping. What people don’t realize is that as long as they’re citizens and have working papers and some money to start with, they can be whatever want. It’s not uncommon for migrant families to have their own business because they do have a lot to bring to society and our economy.

The article, Immigration Must Be Considered An Opportunity For America Not A Problem by Steve Case says, “Countries are either open and growing — absorbing new ideas, people and ways of doing things — or they are closed and falling behind, trying to defend the status quo, exclude outsiders and shut out new thinking.” This quote relates to my topic of opportunities because if countries continue to evolve and let the idea of immigration become normalized then people won’t have to come here both illegally and legally just to worry about getting deported or getting treated as less of a person. It might also the immigration process easier. People wouldn’t have to worry about the types of forms they have and when they might expire, and they wouldn’t need immigration lawyers.

The book that I’m currently reading, Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue, starts off with a guy named Jende, who moved from Cameroon (Central Africa) to America with his wife and daughter, going to a job interview to be a chauffeur. He was able to get his job because a family member talked to the employer and recommended him even though Jende did have to lie about his work permit and driver’s license. A quote from page 17 says, “You think a black man gets a good job in this country by sitting in front of white people and telling the truth? Please, don’t make me laugh. I just didn’t want to tell you beforehand and get you even more nervous.” When moving to somewhere new, people should make sure that they have connections with others so that they can get job opportunities and things that would put them in a comfortable position.

In Exit West, the form of magical realism that the author used was portals for the people that needed it the most. There were numerous people that went through portals to go somewhere safer than where they originally were. Nadia and Saeed needed to leave their home country as soon as possible because of the ongoing violence and lack of resources that were there. In Chapter 6, they were successfully able to pass through a portal that took them to a restroom on the Greek island of Mykonos. I used this example because, without the portals, the refugees in the book would probably still be at wherever they came from.

In conclusion, opportunities are a huge part of migration. Without opportunities, most of us wouldn’t be where we are today.

Citations: “How Does the U.S. Refugee System Work?” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/how-does-us-refugee-system-work.

Case, Steve. “Immigration Must Be Considered an Opportunity for America, Not a Problem.” Vox, Vox, 3 Aug. 2016, https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2016/8/3/12362390/immigration-visa-policy-entrepreneur-immigrant-education-snapdeal-kunal-bahl.