The American Dream
As the interviewers prepared for this project, we thought a lot about the American dream.
We wanted to ask our narrators about it--whether they had heard the term, whether they had a vision for the life they'd build in America. Whether they know it by name, the "American Dream" is what brings people all over the world to the United States--the promise of a better life, a place where, ideally, there is no limit to success. In large part, our narrators had not heard the term before, but once explained, they articulated very clearly what their dreams were. They dream big, and believe they can achieve here as they could not in their home countries.
We believe this shows a lot about how refugee narrators see themselves versus how the world and Americans tend to see refugees. The unfortunate and horrific realities of life for the world's millions of refugees mean that most of our attention on refugees is in response to the obstacles they face and the horrors many have witnessed. But this typical focus on obstacles is antithetical to how refugee narrators themselves described their lives and dreams! Rather than focus on their status as refugees or the obstacles they have overcome, narrators tended to illustrate their many successes and dreams. America is a land of opportunity to them.
We wanted to ask our narrators about it--whether they had heard the term, whether they had a vision for the life they'd build in America. Whether they know it by name, the "American Dream" is what brings people all over the world to the United States--the promise of a better life, a place where, ideally, there is no limit to success. In large part, our narrators had not heard the term before, but once explained, they articulated very clearly what their dreams were. They dream big, and believe they can achieve here as they could not in their home countries.
We believe this shows a lot about how refugee narrators see themselves versus how the world and Americans tend to see refugees. The unfortunate and horrific realities of life for the world's millions of refugees mean that most of our attention on refugees is in response to the obstacles they face and the horrors many have witnessed. But this typical focus on obstacles is antithetical to how refugee narrators themselves described their lives and dreams! Rather than focus on their status as refugees or the obstacles they have overcome, narrators tended to illustrate their many successes and dreams. America is a land of opportunity to them.
Stephanie: Have you heard of the expression “the American Dream”? It’s the idea that if you work hard then you can do anything you want? Do you know that idea?
Celestin: I don’t know yet.
Stephanie: Do you believe that’s true?
Celestin: Yeah, I do.
Stephanie: So what’s your dream for life in America? What would you like to create for your children?
Celestin: Especial my children, I need them to be extraordinary. Like, be exposed to the world and do better than what I made—what I have never done, they should be the one to do it. If maybe I were thinking to be someone in the future and I did not reach that goal, I think most of my children should be able to do that. Because if I can’t do it, then my children should do it. Yeah. Like, maybe I dreamed to be a doctor. If I did not be a doctor, my children—at least some of them—should be doctors. Yeah. If I needed to be someone in the top officials in maybe government—if I did not do it, then my children must do it. Yeah. If I was supposed to be maybe a teacher or a lecturer at the university—if it was my dream and I didn’t achieve it, my children must be.
Megan: Do you know what the American dream is? Have you heard of the American dream?
Bahati: American dream. Can you explain me all that?
Megan: Well, let’s ask, what is your dream for life in America?
Bahati: Oh, my dream for here—oh my dream for here is, I can say—Before when I getting here, I was dream to become, like, to sing! To sing. I would like to sing.
Megan: You wanna be Beyoncé? (both laugh)
Bahati: No Beyoncé! No Beyoncé! But I like her, I like her the way she sings. But I don't need to become like her. I need to become, like, to sing the gospel—gospel music. That was my future, like my dream. And then I would like to be—to have a good life, a good life. To have my salon: that was my dream too. And then to see my family, to be feel comfortable when we are. To have a good job, good life. I can say good life, only.
Megan: What does America mean to you? How do you feel about America?
Bahati: I don't feel bad! I feel good! I feel good like the way I can feel with my family or with my friends from my country. I feel good if I am with them. I feel like this [America] is my family. This is my friends. This is the sister, the brother—you know? I'm comfortable.
Taylor: Do you have a dream for your life in America?
Benis: Yes I do, I have a big dream here, so… I have a big dream, big, big dream to be here. Because now I have a baby here. Yeah, first I’ll have to finish my school and then I have to buy house because I have all my first generation here so I have to buy a house and then, yeah I have to live here and to be good with everyone, to make my own company that’s my big goal. Yeah, so to own my own company...I would like to do something that I can be there for it by myself, because some time you can put someone and then the person doesn’t understand your dream, he doesn’t understand your goal, where you need to reach your company. So I just need to start something that I will start myself - the beginning, yeah.
Stephanie: So you didn’t really believe it until you got here?
Elizabeth: Yeah. I couldn’t believe. Because I could see how people—even where we were waiting for the days to come, people were—every day they were doing medical check-up, and then you take medications—every day, every morning you go for medical check-up and you find some people, we will find some people have spent three weeks in hotel and I was saying, “Oh God, I don’t know if we are going.” Because before we came, my mom and my young sister, they went first and they remain with my dad. Because my brother had came before us. So they took my sister and my brother for TB test. My sister and my mother for TB test. And I was like, Oh my God. If they’re taking them first and then they find that they have the TB, we are not going. Because they have to be recovered before they allow us to go. I was praying so hard asking God to help us because the situation we were living in, it was no good. But I thank God that he answered our prayers and they didn’t find anything. Then we found them there and we found so many people have spent, like, two weeks, three weeks, four days, and then the flight—the flight went and they’re still treating them and asking God to help us and come over that. And that’s when we saw ourselves here. And we couldn’t believe we are here until we got out at the airport. We saw our caseworkers and everything, that’s when we believed that we are now in the United States. Because I was saying, maybe something could happen to us, and they say, “Oh, now we are in Kenya or now we are in Europe and we need to go back.” I was not believing anything before we get here.
