Immigration Stories from Upstate New York High Schools: Green Card Youth Voices

by Tea Rozman Clark (Editor), Julie Vang (Editor)

Overview

The Green Card Youth Voices series is a collection of books dedicated to sharing the immigration stories of young, new Americans from all over the country, with Rochester and Buffalo as our next stops. The upcoming "Green Card Youth Voices: Upstate New York High Schools" is a collection of personal essays written by 29 authors from Twelve Corner Middle School, Bilingual Language and Literacy Academy, Lafayette High School, and Newcomer Academy, and residing in New York State. The book includes a study guide, and a glossary to help teachers use the book as an educational resource when teaching about immigration. Included in the book are first perspective stories, full portraits, maps, 5-minute edited video links, a study guide, and a glossary which all adds a multimedia dimension to this already dynamic collection.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781949523164
Publisher:	Green Card Voices
Publication date:	03/16/2021
Series:	Green Card Youth Voices
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Tea Rozman Clark, PhD is the founding Executive Director of Green Card Voices. Previously, she has worked for Reconciliation and Culture Cooperative Network, a New York City non-profit working with immigrants from the Former Yugoslavia. She is an NYU graduate in Near and Middle Eastern Studies and has a PhD in Cultural History, specializing in oral history from the University of Nova Gorica. She is a first-generation immigrant from Slovenia and 2015 Bush Leadership Fellow.

Julie Vang is a writer and the Program Manager at Green Card Voices. She graduated from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities with a Bachelors in Family Social Science and a minor in Asian American Studies. She is Hmong-American with over six years of policy and programming experience.

Table of Contents

How to Use this Book i

Foreword ii

Acknowledgments vi

Introduction x

World Map xix

Personal Essays xxii

Muna Ismael-Somalia 1

Gunasekera Subasinghe-Sri Lanka 5

Katsiaryna Liavanava-Belarus 11

Bryant Pagan-Puerto Rico 17

Zainab-Iraq 25

Alex Tsipenyuk-Kazakhstan 29

Immaculee Mukeshimana-DRC 33

Manea Almadrahi-Yemen 39

Ayse-Turkey 45

Abdishakur Luhizo-Somalia 49

Mysstorah Shaibi-Yemen 55

Sebastian Antonio Berdecia Negron-Puerto Rico 59

Esma Okutan-Turkey 63

Mireille & Mery Nabukomborwa-Burundi/DRC 67

Abdulmageed Shaibi-Yemen 73

Anika Khanam-Bangladesh 77

Yanielys Marie Nieves Rivera-Puerto Rico 83

Estel Neema-Tanzania 87

Sultan Yahya-Yemen 93

Sekuye Bolende-DRC 99

Jeffrey Omar Cruz-Puerto Rico 103

Jonnoto Nor Ahmad-Myanmar (Rohingya) 107

Stela Ciko-Greece (Albanian) 113

Ca Arrive Rushikana-Burundi 119

Wanlee Arys Irizarry Pacheco-Puerto Rico 123

Flavia Kayitesi-Rwanda 127

Zadquiel Jose Ortiz Lopez-Puerto Rico 133

Stivia Jorgji-Albania 137

Afterword 140

Study Guide 141

Glossary 145

About Green Card Voices 149

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Green Card Voices Books
“Green Card Youth Voices records, preserves, and adds important context regarding the struggles and travels of families currently coming to our country. ough their origins may be different, their aspirations for a better life are the same as the millions who came before.” — John R. Tibbetts, 2018 Georgia Teacher of the Year, Worth County High School
“Beautiful, raw, authentic— this collection is needed for us to be a nation where our differences are seen as our collective strength.” — Carlos Mariani, MN House of Representatives, Executive Director of MN Minority Education Partnership

“I was moved to tears reading these stories. These are our children; their stories are our stories. Their voices crackle with hope and courage and humor and grit—they will make you laugh, they will make you cry, but most of all, they will open your eyes to see and appreciate more fully the humanity of our immigrant brothers and sisters. Thank you for this book. We need these stories.” —Dr. Andrew Haile, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General and Freelance Writer for the Washington Post

“Though independent testimonials, I see clear parallels in these stories to that of my own. Drawing these connections are how we begin to dismantle the structures and silos in our community and it gives me great pride in knowing that these voices of hope and resilience are our future generation. I applaud Green Card Youth Voices for maintaining the integrity of our immigrant youth in a piece that reminds us of the importance of inclusivity in an increasingly diverse population. At this moment in history, it is imperative that these stories of unforgettable strength, courage and humility continue to be shared.” — Faatima Khan, Director of Corporate and Community Engagement, United Way of Dane County

“Green Card Youth Voices helps amplify voices we might otherwise never hear. It gives us a rich human look at who we are as a modern society, and how we can learn to live better with those who have recently arrived in this country.” — John Noltner, founder, A Peace of My Mind

“A must-read for anyone who wants to go beyond the headlines and really see people for who they are. Youth voices always deserve to be heard. Without a doubt this collection of stories will leave you wanting to hear more.” — Jessica Thomasson, CEO, Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota, Lutheran Social Services Housing

From the Publisher