[Editor’s Note: During the next three days, one of our favorite correspondents, just returned from her most recent trip to Paris, where she formerly lived, will analyze the differences between American and French attitudes toward immigration.]
I was asked to give my view on differences between American and French immigration and integration.
I am not an expert in the subject. These articles are based on my personal experiences.
As I have lived and mingled with different layers of the population of both countries, almost for an equal amount of time, I know both languages and customs well.
Therefore I think I can somehow be objective on the subject.
Invisible Pain
It is important before discussing the subject to recognize that anyone, for any given reason, who leaves his/her original country faces a permanent personal trauma and psychological shock.
The person leaves behind his roots, his intimate memories, friends, relatives and most of his belongings.
In a short time, he/she finds himself in a completely new country, surroundings that have nothing to do with his past life experiences.
In old times, most immigrants spent days and months in traveling until they reached their chosen cities to settle in.
Had You Thought of This?
That period allowed them to adjust to the changes.
Nowadays, people take the airplane or their cars. They arrive at the desired city in a very short time.
Most people leave their countries for different reasons; political asylum, religious discrimination or they are looking for a better future for themselves and their families.
The majority of the immigrant population in America and France arrives from the countries that geographically are closer to the country of migration.
We Needed Help
After World War II, the economies of France and America flourished, augmenting the need for labor beyond the homegrown kind — especially if it cost less for the employees to hire.
In the past, most immigrants who experienced extreme traumatic conditions in their countries made the United States their first choice.
They arrived emptyhanded but with hope. They worked hard, and they achieved social and economical heights.
Thinking Back
Months ago, I was driving to participate in the post-death Jewish ritual of Shiva for a well-known and generous person.
He had come to America by ship. He had lost his entire family and all he had in the death camp at Auschwitz. He only possessed a huge bundle of horrible memories as his luggage and a weak but youthful tiny body supported by equally fragile legs.
I am not sure how long it took him to strengthen his body and spirit.
He worked hard. Little by little, he built an empire of his own. His name entered the top lists of the most successful people in the country.
I know he never forgot the horrors of his past. Instead, he helped by reaching out and creating many programs.
One was for the betterment of public school students.
Mixed Feelings
While driving to his house to share the mourning with family and other friends, I was sad for his loss. But at the same time I could not stop having a smile on my face.
I looked the mountains and the beauty of the natural surroundings where my car was traveling. Huge homes reminded me of French chateaux.
I asked myself about that young, scared, hungry child in the barracks 66 years ago who was probably only asking to have a bigger portion of bread and a warm bed.
But How Did He Feel?
Then I was wondering what the same boy was thinking after he grew up and became successful beyond what he could have envisioned.
What did he think when he was driving through this beautiful environment in order to reach his house?
Everyone at least knows of one or more people who have achieved in America.
This is actually one of the main reasons immigrants come to this country.
They have hope that if not they at least their children will have a better life in the future.
How France Is Different
The reasons for emigration to France is similar — but with one major difference.
For many immigrants, France has been their first choice because of the shorter distance from their country of origin, and also because of the old colonial reasons.
Double Hitch
But there are two major difficulties. One is to become a French citizen. Second, it is more difficult to achieve financially in France because business practice is more closed than in America.
Immigration is the basic factor of American life.
America is built on immigration.
So what has happened to the immigration nowadays that has everyone talking and worrying about it?
(To be continued on Friday)
Dr. Rosemary Cohen, who lives in the Fairfax District, received her Ph.D in sociology from the Sorbonne in Paris. She lived in two other countries before moving, with her husband and children, to Los Angeles in 1984. She has published three books in America, and is working on her fourth. Since 1985, Paris, an international art business. Her email address is rosemary@atelierdeparis.com.
