Ellis Island
Ellis Island is a poignant place.
The great hall has been renovated to look very much like it did 100 years ago when 5000 immigrants per day flooded in carrying with them their meagre but precious possessions.
On our self guided audio tour we heard interviews from seniors who still remember when their parents bundled them up to travel halfway around the world seeking a better life. Often the children came with with their female relatives, the men having left years earlier to earn enough to send for them. One elderly woman wept as she recounted the reunion with her dad when she was only four. Her memory of that day is still vivid and she is very emotional when she tells how her Father sobbed as he knelt to embrace her.
One young girl of 11 travels alone from Hiroshima, Japan, to meet up with her parents.
There are sad stories, but luckily not too many, of people who were turned away because they had communicable diseases. When it was a child that was diagnosed with the illness, families were torn apart as one parent had to return with the ill child while the other was granted asylum with the remaining children. Luckily, this happened to less than 2% of the immigrants.
But there are many good stories. The staff processing the people were generally very kind and compassionate. One young gal had had a negative chalk mark placed on her coat, indicating there might be a problem. A kind staffer told her to turn her coat inside out since it was lined in a pretty silk pattern. Thus she was able to remain with her family.
And finally, this quote which comes from an anonymous Italian immigrant:
"I learned three things when I came to America.
1. The streets are not paved with gold.
2. The streets are not paved at all.
3. I am expected to pave them."
The great hall has been renovated to look very much like it did 100 years ago when 5000 immigrants per day flooded in carrying with them their meagre but precious possessions.
On our self guided audio tour we heard interviews from seniors who still remember when their parents bundled them up to travel halfway around the world seeking a better life. Often the children came with with their female relatives, the men having left years earlier to earn enough to send for them. One elderly woman wept as she recounted the reunion with her dad when she was only four. Her memory of that day is still vivid and she is very emotional when she tells how her Father sobbed as he knelt to embrace her.
One young girl of 11 travels alone from Hiroshima, Japan, to meet up with her parents.
There are sad stories, but luckily not too many, of people who were turned away because they had communicable diseases. When it was a child that was diagnosed with the illness, families were torn apart as one parent had to return with the ill child while the other was granted asylum with the remaining children. Luckily, this happened to less than 2% of the immigrants.
But there are many good stories. The staff processing the people were generally very kind and compassionate. One young gal had had a negative chalk mark placed on her coat, indicating there might be a problem. A kind staffer told her to turn her coat inside out since it was lined in a pretty silk pattern. Thus she was able to remain with her family.
And finally, this quote which comes from an anonymous Italian immigrant:
"I learned three things when I came to America.
1. The streets are not paved with gold.
2. The streets are not paved at all.
3. I am expected to pave them."
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