Article Summary:An Immigrant’s Silent Struggle
Robert Kosi Tette’s article “An Immigrant’s Silent Struggle,” explores the challenges of migrating to a new country. Many immigrants, especially from Africa, believe that reaching America means ultimate success. However, this is not the case. Through Tette’s piece, it becomes clear that many immigrants have inflated expectations as they relocate but easily find that survival in America requires years of exhaustion and hard work.
The piece makes it evident that many immigrants leave their countries with high expectations of what America can offer. Tette argues that when he was leaving Ghana for the United States, he was driven by naïve ambition (Robert, n.d.). He thought that when he set foot in America, he would immediately be successful because it is a country of opportunities. However, he soon realized that was not the case and started missing his simple life back in Ghana. Tette claims that people like him have helped perpetuate a false image of Africans living abroad. They come back home dressed in elegant clothing such as the designer clothes he is wearing. In reality, he is broke and does not have enough money to offer his family and relatives in Ghana.
Another realization that Tette makes is that survival in America calls for sacrifice, exhaustion, and years of hard work. Though America has fulfilled his ambition, it was exhausting. He had to work multiple minimum-wage jobs, keep continuing his education to prepare in case of layoffs, and spend many stressful hours seeking permanent residency in the U.S (Robert, n.d.). Tette realizes that it was essential to learn to blend the two cultures to survive in America. He learned the need for hard work to gain the success that had brought him abroad.
Conclusion
Tette piece shows the challenges of immigration to the U.S. While many immigrants come with hopes for a better future, they find it is challenging. Tette was conflicted about whether to remain in the U.S. or return to his simple life in Ghana.