[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 144 (Thursday, October 23, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11013-S11014]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          FIVE IMPRESSIVE WINNERS OF IMMIGRATION ESSAY CONTEST

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, a few months ago, the American 
Immigration Lawyers Association held an essay contest entitled 
``Celebrate America'' for children in grades four through seven. The 
children were asked to write on the subject, ``Why I Am Glad America Is 
a Nation of Immigrants.'' Hundreds of children entered the contest, and 
I congratulate all the participants.
  The winner of the contest was Veronica Curran, a fifth grader in St. 
Mark's School in Shoreline, WA, who wrote about her family's 
extraordinary immigrant history--she and each of her brothers and 
sister were adopted from different countries. Eric Eves of Goulds, FL, 
Crystal Kohistani of Plymouth, MN, and Joseph Opromollo of Morris 
Plains, NJ, wrote other top essays. All of the essays reflect pride in 
America's immigrant heritage, and emphasize the benefits of immigration 
for the United States.
  I congratulate each of these young writers, and I ask unanimous 
consent that the five winning essays from the ``Celebrate America'' 
essay contest be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the essays were ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                            Coming From Afar

                          (By Veronica Curran)

       Most immigrants are not famous people. They are just 
     regular, ordinary people, like my family and me.
       In America, people have opportunities. They have a chance 
     to use their talents to improve America. My family is a good 
     example of why immigrants are good for this country.
       My father's family immigrated from Ireland. They lived on a 
     very poor farm which was too small to support everyone. They 
     came to Montana and worked long hours in a dangerous copper 
     mine. They saved their money for their children to get a good 
     education. My father is now a teacher. America helped their 
     family and they helped America.
       My mother's family were printers who moved from 
     Switzerland, then to America. They were in trouble for 
     printing books against the government. They were looking for 
     freedom to express themselves. They helped America by being 
     good thinkers.
       Many students have immigrant stories like these. But my 
     family's story is different because my brothers, sister and I 
     were adopted from different countries. We all have our own 
     stories. My oldest brother immigrated from Colombia. My 
     sister's ancestors immigrated from Portugal. My other brother 
     and I immigrated from India.
       If America was not a nation of immigrants, my family would 
     not have been created. Because America welcomes people from 
     all over the world, our family members have come together to 
     become American citizens. I hope we will grow up to help 
     America.
                                                                    ____


                              Like a Tree

                             (by Eric Eves)

       Like a tree, America is supported by many roots. Long ago 
     Vikings used to tell tales of an enormous tree that supported 
     the entire universe. The roots of this mighty tree grew down 
     into the underworld. Its trunk held the earth and its 
     evergreen boughs reached beyond the sky. When I think of the 
     United States, I can't help but think of the United States as 
     that tree. We are one of the most powerful nations on earth 
     today, much thanks to our many roots that have come

[[Page S11014]]

     from all corners of the world. Our evergreen boughs reach 
     beyond the earth to space itself. It has taken many different 
     people and many different kinds of people to make the United 
     States what it is today.
       Like a tree, America had to start from a seed--this seed 
     being the natives, the Indians. It is believed that the 
     Indians migrated from northeastern Asia, thousands of years 
     ago, when there was a land bridge that linked North American 
     to Asia. As we know, after the voyage of Christopher 
     Columbus, Europeans started to immigrate to North America. 
     This was the birth of our nation.
       Like a tree, America started with a seed, was born, then it 
     started to grow its roots--immigration. These immigrants have 
     come and made the nation strong with their many strengths. 
     Immigrants to the United States are people who have left 
     their homeland for many reasons: war, social upheaval, 
     economic calamities, political and religious persecution, but 
     the greatest reason for people to come to America has been 
     the desire to find greater opportunities. The United States 
     has been known for a nation of immigrants. Since its birth it 
     has taken in more than 55 million people, from every corner 
     of the world. These people are welcomed and many have made 
     enormous contributions to the culture and to the economy of 
     the United States.
       Like a tree, America has become a mighty nation with its 
     roots grown from immigrants. Roots, anchor a tree in the 
     ground, holding it firmly in place, so, that it doesn't blow 
     over when storm winds blow. The roots of America, like a 
     tree, has thousands of different people branching from it, 
     spreading out in every direction. It is the roots of a tree 
     that have more growth than its trunk or leaves, and, this we 
     see here in America. Immigration has fed our country and made 
     it what it is today--A Mighty Nation.
                                                                    ____


                      The Long Journey To America

                         (By Crystal Kohistani)

       My story begins in 1983 when I was born. I was my parents 
     first child. Both my parents were born and raised in 
     Afghanistan, where I also was born. The religion in 
     Afghanistan is Islam. The language is Farsi.
       I was one year old and my brother, who was also born in 
     Afghanistan, was eleven months old, when a war broke out 
     between the Russian and Afghan communists against Muslim 
     Afghans. The Russian communists wanted to overpower the 
     Afghan country. Many people died. Innocent people. They 
     bombed homes and shot people who would not side with them. 
     One of those people was my grandfather. He was a highly 
     respected, wealthy man. The communists wanted him to side 
     with them, but when he refused they shot him to death. They 
     thought since he was a leader to people, that the people 
     would do whatever he did. When my parents heard of this they 
     became scared and decided to leave the country. We started 
     our Journey in 1984. My father had to leave a day earlier 
     than us. He got on a bus that would transfer workers from and 
     to the University of Afghanistan. My father was good friends 
     with the driver so he agreed to drive him one hour out of 
     town to a village. The next day a jeep came for us at 12:00 
     A.M. We had to leave at dark so no one would see us leaving. 
     The communists would not let anyone leave the country. If you 
     were caught, they either arrested you or shot you. We had 
     sold our belongs and took our clothing and some food with us. 
     The jeep took us to the village and we met with my father. 
     From there, four armed men with horses and donkeys met us. We 
     had to pay these men for the donkeys and horses. We also had 
     to pay ten thousand dollars for each one of us to be 
     transferred. These men were to take us to Pakistan. They took 
     us from village to village. My mother held me on her horse 
     and my father held my brother on foot. We had some family 
     with us so there wasn't enough horses or donkeys for my 
     father. Then early in the morning we reached another home. 
     This home contained many people; a tiny room for two people 
     were given to us. We had about ten people with us. We spent 
     the night there. The next day we all got sick. Luckily my 
     mother had medication with her. Then we set out again. We 
     came to a bombed out house and spent another night there. We 
     were all wet from the rain storm that had hit. We were so 
     tired and hungry. Most of the places we stayed in were very 
     dirty and smelly. They had rats, lizards and bugs. We had to 
     sleep on the bare floor. We changed our clothes and got our 
     rest. Later we headed towards a desert with little food and 
     water. We saw many snakes. When we came out of the desert we 
     were greeted by a wet and muddy path. Because of this we had 
     to pass through the mountains. On the way a man tried to 
     kidnap by brother from my mother, but when they saw the armed 
     men they ran away. After the mountains we reached a dangerous 
     valley, where many had died. After seven days we had reached 
     the border of Pakistan. The officers at the border asked us 
     some questions and then let us through. We thanked the men 
     that helped us. The men returned to Afghanistan, perhaps to 
     help another family. We got in touch with our relatives in 
     Pakistan. They came, picked us up from the border and helped 
     us look for a house. We lived in Pakistan for two years. 
     After two years, my uncle, who lived in Minnesota sponsored 
     us. We went from Pakistan, to Japan, to California, to 
     Colorado, and finally to Minneapolis, Minnesota. I was three 
     and half years old when I came here. I did not know any 
     English. I am thirteen years old today. I am glad that I am 
     here today, safe with my family. It was very hard for me to 
     have two cultures. It confused me. But now I have learned to 
     maintain two cultures. Some day I do hope I can go back to my 
     country to visit. Although America will always be my country, 
     for I was raised here. Right now there is war in Afghanistan 
     still, but this time it's with the Tallibans. They are taking 
     the religion Islam too far. They make it seem like a horrible 
     religion, but it's not. What the Talliban are requiring of 
     the religion is not what the Holy Quran is requiring. I am 
     glad I am here today to tell the story of my dangerous 
     migration. So that my grand children and so on can tell the 
     story of their ancestor's migration. And some day I hope that 
     the world can live in peace.
                                                                    ____


            Why I Am Glad America is a Nation of Immigrants

                         (By Joseph Opromollo)

     Red, yellow, olive,
     Black, brown, white.
     Splashes of color from God's own brush.
     Splashes of color upon
     Blue, green, brown,
     Grey, red, beige.
     Splashes of color which form an
     Endless rainbow,
     Which bleed together and blend into one.

       The above symbolizes the diversity that is found in the 
     United States of America. I am glad that the United States is 
     a nation of immigrants. God has created all different 
     nationalities of people to live on this world. For what 
     reasons? For war? To fight each other because of our 
     differences? No. I believe it was to live together in harmony 
     and peace. This is why America is considered a melting pot.
       In school I have learned many interesting facts about 
     America's past. Although life was often hard for the 
     immigrants, their fight for freedom allowed all to live 
     peacefully together. I know if my great-grandparents did not 
     dream of the freedom they would find in the U.S. and had not 
     immigrated, I would not be here today.
       Where else in the world can you find friends of every race, 
     color and nationality? Like the colors of nature, the colors 
     found in America add variety to our lives. Like the colors of 
     an artist's palette, they can exist side by side and can also 
     blend to form new colors. I am proud to live in America.

                          ____________________