POV+-+An+Incredible+Journey

=An Incredible Journey=

What's the longest journey that you have ever made? Maybe you have traveled 10 or 12 hours on a flight or even 24 hours if you have traveled really far. Can you imagine traveling for 2 years to reach someplace? This is exactly what Mrs. Chandler's, an 8th grade math &science teacher, grandparents did.

In the late 19th century Vera and Abraham Kessler, or Davidowitch as they were known, began a long journey in the hope of immigrating to America. Mrs. Chandler was kind enough to tell me, face-to-face, about the amazing journey that they took.Vera and Abraham lived in Southern Russia, in small town near Odessa. They were content and quite happy farming their own land. Then, in 1895, Russia began a drive to take over land and money that was owned by the Jewish minority. As it became more and more dangerous and with the threat of pogroms and continued religious persecution, they were forced into exile and fled the country. Many people of the same ethnicity were in the same situation and in an effort to escape the discrimination, be free and continue to be Jewish, they decided to immigrate to America. Although they wanted to be Jewish, and remain in Russia with their child, they didn't want to be killed.

So in 1897, Vera and Abraham left Russia on foot. They walked until they reached the Black Sea and then sailed on a boat to Northern Turkey. From here they again took a long walkto the Mediterranean Sea. This time they sailed to Amsterdam, and then managed to catch a boat to New York City. So, for a period of 2 years, without their child and with only a few pieces of clothing, they rode three boats and walked for unimaginable distances in ther hope of a better life. When they eventually reached New York City, they were sent to Ellis Island to be processed and allowed into the country. Surprisingly and because of the fact that America needed so many people to work there, it only took 2 hours to be accepted into the country. The people treated them well and they knew that they had made the right choice.

After they arrived in New York, they lived in the Bronx for a year and then moved to Yonkers, their final home. They bought their house and raised a family there. They had their first job working in a store. There were many other Russian Jews, so it was like a town for Jewish Russians.They all worked together to build a better life. Vera and Abraham had four children born in America, and Herietta, the first-born child eventually managed to join them when she was fourteen. She couldn't come before because the journey would have been too long and hard for her. After Samuel, Abraham, Harry and Victor were born, Vera and Abraham saved enough money to send all five children to college. The parents' biggest problem was speaking English. They were living in a group of Russians, so they didn't learn or speak English. They just communicated in Yiddish. But their children were able to speak Yiddish and English. However, the family lived a normal life and eventually one of the sons married. Harry and Miriam married and had a baby, Mrs. Chandler!

Later, they had the opportunity to return to Russia. They chose not to because they had a far better life in America than they could ever have in Russia. Now, although Mrs. Chandler's grandparents have sadly passed away. all of their children are still living in America. They are all thankful for the wonderful thing they did and and for the sacrifices that their parents made to bring them to America and give them the happy life they now lead.

I knew nothing about immigration when I lived in Korea, because it's hard to immigrate to Korea. I just knew that many Korean people try to immigrate to other countries and some people immigrated because of the war. But I didn't know how hard it was to immigrate and why. I didn't know about the Jewish struggles and how they were forced to move. When Mrs. Chandler told me about the amazing journey that Vera and Abraham had made, I felt like I was in the story. If I was them, I would have just tried to stay in Russia and not to be Jewish. That's because I'm not brave. But Vera and Abraham wanted to be Jewish and have a happy life.They worked hard and had hoped to be happier in America. I can't imagine travelling for 2 years and think that it is an incredible thing that they achieved.