Arame Richardson
IntroductionImmigrants come to the United States for different reasons; to find a better life, better schools, escape political turmoil, or even to reunite with lost family members. Like many others I know, I immigrated to the U.S. to join the American workforce. I left my country, full of hope, dreams, andyouth.The unfortunate truth is that some of us may never go back to our home countries. Even though it’s not where we’re from, we call America our “promisedland.” Those who were born here have dreams of their own, too, just as their parents did before them. Among all these people, however, how many get to achieve their dreams? This novel tells the story of an immigrant and her struggles adapting to a foreign world. Although immigrants can become citizens, what they don’t realize is that they will only be able to assimilate to a certain point. There will always be a part of their realhome that will never leave them. For me, one hundred percent assimilation is utopia. I see myself in a dichotomy of space, identity, and culture. My life has become a chronicle of social circumstances full of contradictions, fears, doubts, courage, andrejections; a tension between love and hate; a never-ending struggle to find a space that I never thought would be a problem before setting out from Senegal for a new life. Through this work of autobiographical fiction, I hope to reach the heart of other immigrants and their hosts. I wrote the Immigrant’s Chroniclebecause I believe that immigrants have important stories that need to be told. I thinkthat by writing this book, I will shed light on a few aspects of the dichotomy of immigration. Most immigrants struggle with sociopolitical isolation. Despite constructive achievements and contributions to society, still,immigrants are continuallytrying to gain entry to spaces where the doors are barriers of steel. Because of that, some immigrants face a deep hunger for hope, a desirethat can never be satisfied, a longingthat is hindered by the schism of life: The people who helped us make life possible, the ones who blocked our paths are all part of our journey. Most of us eat, breathe, and swallow hope. Hope becomes a fuel we digest just like gas in motors. Without it, we cannot go anywhere. Without hopewe lie flat in despair. 3
