TRANSCRIPT
Can you state your name please?
My name is Israt Jahan Tasnia.
What city and country did you departure from?
I departed from Dhaka, Bangladesh.
And what city and state did you arrive in, in America?
I arrived in Queens, New York, in JFK International Airport.
What was the year you came into America?
The year was 2011, and I believe the month was May 31st.
And how old were you during this time?
I was 10 years old.
Why did your parents choose to come to America?
My parents chose to come to America because, well, I would say it’s because they wanted to be closer to their families more. And, you know, live a better life and have more opportunities—I guess, yeah, living the American Dream that everyone dreams of.
Why did you leave your country?
Why did I leave my country? I personally didn't have a choice. If I were to say for my parents, I guess because of opportunities, and they wanted to be closer to their own family members. They had more families in America than they did in Bangladesh, so they wanted to be closer to their families.
What was the first thing you ate in America, and where was it?
The first thing I ate in America was, I believe, rice and chicken. Like, chicken curry. My aunt made it, and I was so thankful because after the 12 hours of flight and eating the airplane food, I was so thankful to have a nice, hot meal. And, yeah—very, very nice.
Who was your first friend you met in America?
The first friend I met in America was this girl that was sitting next to me in class. It was very awkward, because the girl—she spoke my language, so it was very helpful—she was trying to help me get settled in, in the middle of class. They brought me in, in the middle of class, and everyone was looking at me, and I felt so scared and so awkward at the same time. But she was there with me and she helped me out with everything, so that was really nice of her.
I didn't speak any English or anything, so it was very hard for me to understand what the teachers were saying. When I came into the classroom in the first place, the teacher told me to put my bag and stuff in the closet. I thought she was telling me to put the bag inside the little cubby in the desk. I started putting it in over there and everyone just kind of started laughing at me and I didn't really understand. It was just very awkward.
Were you treated any different when you came to America as an immigrant?
Yeah, I was bullied a lot. Just because I didn't speak any English, they would just make fun of me all the time. Now that I'm older and I understand English a lot better, I see it myself how people make fun of other people that don't speak English and call them the derogatory terms like “curry muncher” and stuff that I see all the time. I'm pretty sure I got called that.
One time, I was walking home with my mom after school and this boy—I still remember his name, his name is Christopher—he literally hit me with a basketball in front of my mom. But we didn't speaking any English, so we couldn't do anything. I just stood there and cried. And, you know, they just made fun of me and laughed and walked out.
How did you get to America? What was the transportation form you took to get here?
Airplane. It was a very long flight! [laughs] So the first, from Bangladesh to Dubai, it was about five or six hours. And then from Dubai to America was about 12 hours. That's the longest flight I've ever taken and it's so boring—like, my feet literally hurt so bad from sitting down. I just wanted to walk. I was so thankful when we landed. It was just so much. I was so thankful when we landed.
So overall, do you think after that time, would you go on a flight again?
Oh yeah, I went back twice. And every time, I feel like after a couple of years, you think, “Oh, it's fine, it’s whatever. I can do it.” But once you're in that 12-hour range, there's nothing more you want to do but to walk around. So, I would love to, but to somewhere that's closer, I don't know. Maybe go to another country that's closer, so it's not like 12 hours.
Thank you for taking part in this interview, and I hope you have a good day.
Thank you.
