There’s no two ways about it: I am an incredibly spoiled immigrant. There may be days when I gripe about French bureaucracy, bemoan the unavailability of certain food items, or melodramatically whine that “people just don’t understand how hard it can be” – poor me, right? I mean, I live in FRANCE, the land of cheap and delicious wine and cheese. True, France is full of the French, but hey, you can’t have it all. (Just KIDDING, you know I love you guys, berets and all.) ;)
The truth is that people have always been on the move, and despite what Marine le Pen might like to think, we are all the product of immigration. It’s kind of mindboggling when you think about all of the people throughout the millennia who have made their lives in a different country and culture, either by choice or out of necessity. I recently found out that one of my ancestors 14 generations back was born in Chinon, which is only an hour and a half from where I live now. Of course, as a Protestant in 17th century France (not such a good time for Protestants in these parts), Abraham Lefèvre ended up immigrating to the United States. But unlike my good old great-great (etc.) grandfather Abe, I have Whatsapp, Facetime, Facebook, Instagram, and direct flights from Paris to Seattle. Sure, living in a different country and culture isn’t always a walk in the park, but compared to many of my fellow immigrants past and present, I am pretty darn spoiled.
On that note, if you’re interested in reading something a little different, check out one of the most breathtaking comics I’ve ever read, Shaun Tan’s graphic novel entitled The Arrival (or Là où vont nos pères in French, but as the album doesn’t have a single word in it, language is totally irrelevant.)
“The Arrival is a migrant story told as a series of wordless images that might seem to come from a long forgotten time. A man leaves his wife and child in an impoverished town, seeking better prospects in an unknown country on the other side of a vast ocean. He eventually finds himself in a bewildering city of foreign customs, peculiar animals, curious floating objects and indecipherable languages. With nothing more than a suitcase and a handful of currency, the immigrant must find a place to live, food to eat and some kind of gainful employment. He is helped along the way by sympathetic strangers, each carrying their own unspoken history: stories of struggle and survival in a world of incomprehensible violence, upheaval and hope.” (http://www.shauntan.net/)
Check it out and let me know what you think!
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