Bangladesh		Nepal
	China		Pakistan
	Georgia		Philippines
	Israel		Korea
	India		Sri Lanka
	Iran		Taiwan
	Iraq		Thailand
	Japan		Turkey
	Kazakhstan		Uzbekistan
	Malaysia

Asian Nations

In the 19th Century, immigrants from China, Korea and Japan came to the United States to seek a better life. But their features, skin color and language served as great barriers in a country primarily of European descent that did not understand them.

Times, attitudes and adverse government policies have changed, and now Asian countries provide some of the largest swells of immigration into Queens. Northern Boulevard from Flushing heading East, Jackson Heights, Corona, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park and more are brimming with Asian immigrants, the borough’s fastest growing population.

(photo caption pg18_1aisa.jpg) Asian women gather to walk in a breast cancer fund-raiser.

Bangladesh

Name: Mizanoor Biswas
Age: 37
Years in America: 17

As a 20-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh, Mizanoor Biswas said New York, at first, left a bad taste in his mouth, literally.

Leaving the Homeland
“I distinctly remember I could not stand the food. It was the most insipid food I ever had,” said Biswas, who was living at a college in Ohio when he first arrived. “I had to get out of my dorm because the food was so flat. And dinner was served 7 p.m. in the evening, where as usually I would eat 9 or 10. I can eat hamburgers and anything right now, but at that time, it was so flat. That was the biggest thing that bothered the hell out of me.”

As a young man striking out on his own, Biswas admitted, “My parents used to have to mail spices.”
Biswas, who came to America and studied political science, did some television research about his would-be new surroundings.

“My idea of America, not that it was correct, I know, I used to watch ‘Dallas,’ with J.R. and all those people. To me, that was America,” said Biswas, laughing. “When I came here, nothing looked like that. I figured this is a rich rich country and life would be easy. Nevertheless, it was quite the other way.”

In Queens
Now, 17 years later, Biswas said his taste buds have adjusted, but so have his surroundings. He lives on 74th Street, now called Little India, where Southeast Asian clothing, food, movies, jewelry and reading material are as plentiful as in his hometown of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

“Fortunately, after many, many years in New York, we don’t miss anything from Bangladesh. You can get the fish from your country, the rice, the special kind you like, and the jewelry, the clothing. But at that time [when I first came], it was tough. There was very few of us.”

Now, Biswas, as a husband and father of a 3-year-old boy, has advice for those making their way from Bangladesh to America. “I tell them learn English very well: buy some heavy coats. Garments are pretty affordable there. And when you come here, be the best you can be. And if you work hard, you can make it. No matter what people say.”

Without detailing the bumps in the road he faced and overcame, Biswas added, “Sometimes you will be facing difficulties. But if you go to school, and educate yourself, you wont’ have any problems. The problems you have, you’ll be able to handle it.”
- By Azi Paybarah

(photo caption pg18_2banladesh.jpg)

China

Name: Jimmy Wang
Age: 35
Years in America: 18

Jimmy Wang is a man of many morals and that was something the Chinese government did not admire in him, he said. Through hard work and little sleep, Wang achieved the American Dream as an entrepreneur in the food wholesale industry.

Leaving the Homeland
A youngster just in high school, Wang also worked with the government checking water toxins. He said he did not want to lie about polluted water being safe to drink to the public and the government didn’t want him around if he wasn’t going to lie. “I wouldn’t take their money,” he said. They let him come to America with ease and he was happy to leave. “I’ll never go back,” he said. “I can’t.”

In Queens
In 1986, Wang set foot in New York and lived in Smithtown, Long Island. He went to community college and worked two jobs as a cook in local restaurants. One day that year he went around asking people if they needed fish for their restaurants and he started his wholesale fish market, Happy Dragon Wholesale, Inc. “I slept only two to three hours a night,” he said. “I never stopped, never had a day off.” At first it was very difficult, but the longer he spent in the business, the easier it became.

Like a postal officer, Wang delivered come snow or rain. “In the big snow of 1989 - it was 28 inches,” he said, “I still picked up. People still need to have their order. You can’t say you can’t deliver.”

Now Wang lives in Bayside and has grown from a one-man show to a company of 25 employees and has branched his market to not only provide supermarkets and restaurants with everything from canned goods to fresh meat, but also started his own restaurant in Flushing with the same name. And he can tell you the price of any of his 3,000 items off the top of his head. “I don’t use computers,” he explained.

Wang married a Taiwanese woman that he met in Queens and together they have two children, a 3-year-old boy and a 6-month-old girl. He speaks to them in Mandarin, Cantonese and Fukinese as well as English.

As President of the Eastern Foowah Business Association and a volunteer translating for Chinese people in Flushing, he is in constant contact with people from his homeland. He also celebrates the Chinese New Year with a party every year and of course eats plenty of Chinese food.

“If you work hard, it pays off,” he said. “I love it here now.”
- By Lisa Spinelli

Georgia

NAME: Cimma Papismedov
AGE: 46
YEARS IN AMERICA: 12

Cimma Papismedov’s life is like a story out of Holocaust survivor’s novel, full of dangerous endeavors and the search for a better life.

LEAVING THE HOMELAND
Papismedov and her husband knew they had to get their family out of Georgia when the fighting became unbearable and children were being kidnapped. According to Papismedov, the streets were so dark that you could see bullets flying from building to building. As the conditions in Georgia began to deteriorate, Papismedov said there was no heat or electricity. “I couldn’t cook for my kids,” she said.

Although her family had visas, Papismedov said they had to wait for permission from Washington, D.C., which took two years.

IN QUEENS
When Papismedov arrived in Queens, she spoke no English and her Georgian nursing credentials were of little use to her. “I studied English for four months and started working in a beauty parlor,” said Papismedov.

While working at the beauty parlor, Papismedov picked up more English from the old Jewish women that would come to have their hair done.

She also started taking classes at the New York School for Medical and Dental Assistants on Queens Boulevard, and nine months later she was a certified medical assistant. “I spent a year and a half in the beauty parlor while finishing school,” said Papsimedov. Although graduation should have been a time for rejoicing, celebrating was the last thing on her mind because her oldest child died two months before graduation.

Papismedov pulled herself together and attended an open house at the Manhattan Ear Nose and Throat Hospital. She saw this as her only chance of obtaining a steady job and she did not want to stay on welfare, but when she arrived at the hospital, Papsimedov became discouraged because the other applicants were better English speakers. She did not let her competition get the best of her, filled out the application, and was soon contacted by the hospital for a higher position. Papismedov accepted the job, and worked there for four years.

“They gave me a chance. It was one of my lucky days,” Papismedov said.

When Papismedov looks back at her escape for war-stricken Georgia, she does not regret leaving her country, especially since it meant creating a better life for her family.
— Raynelle Cerica Bull

Israel

Name: Ofer Sharabi
Age: 55
Years in America: 34
Fresh out of the Israeli army, Ofer Sharabi was ready for a major change in his life. He left his homeland and parents to join his sister in Queens, New York.

Leaving the Homeland
“You can make an adjustment to anywhere,” Sharabi said, “but being away from where you grew up and your family is hard.” This angst for his family continues with him even today. The rest of his transition went fairly smooth, however.

He attended photography school at a private institution downtown and went on to open numerous stores of his own.

In Queens
After photography school, Sharabi started working in the printing industry. He quickly learned the ropes and opened his own business in 1977. After spending some time in the printing business and watching the demand for printers go down around town, Sharabi bought and opened a graphic design studio. Nowadays he still does some printing on the side, but his main bread and butter is a sign store - Sign Expo.

“I’m not very rich yet,” he said. “But I am doing OK for myself. We have a comfortable life.”

He is doing well enough to afford a spacious house in Hollis Hill, however, complete with a backyard and parking garage. “Queens is beautiful,” he said. “On weekends its almost like being 60 miles away from the city, but close enough to get in the car and go to a restaurant or to a show.”

Sharabi has no plans to leave Queens either, but he still keeps up with his culture and traditions. He and his wife have big celebrations and dinners for Passover and both his family and his wife’s come together for the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. “We try to keep traditions as much as possible,” he said.

Content to stay in Queens, Sharabi hopes to retire here in five to 10 years. “I don’t think I will be, but I hope,” he said.
- By Lisa Spinelli

India

NAME: Gulshan Chhabra
AGE: 50
YEARS IN AMERICA: 20

Unlike many people profiled in this edition, Gulshan Chhabra didn’t come to the United States to pursue the proverbial “American Dream.” The 50-year-old Bayside resident says he simply came to the states from his native Delhi, India out of sheer curiosity.

“America always fascinated me,” he said.

Twenty years later, Chhabra is a U.S. resident and has made a life for himself as an American.
And it still fascinates him.

LEAVING HOME
In 1984, Chhabra was 30 years old, married and – as is common in Indian culture – living with his parents as part of a traditional joint-family.

“It’s traditional in my culture to have the husband’s family live with the husband and wife in one home,” he said. “It provides for a feeling of togetherness and respect for your elders, but I wanted to go out and be responsible for myself. There was no push to leave. I didn’t say, ‘I must go and leave India.’ It was just something I wanted to do.”

He left his job as a corporate liaison in Delhi, and by the winter of 1984, he was living his own “American Dream.”

He was here.

IN QUEENS
With the help of his sister, who had lived in New York for a few years prior to his arrival, Chhabra and his wife settled in, despite a few minor glitches – namely, the weather.

“I got off the plane and it was winter and dreary and cold and I was shocked,” he said. “I said, ‘this doesn’t look like what I’ve seen in pictures!’ I wondered where all of the trees and greenery was.”
Though it was the early 1980s and the country was in a recession, Chhabra was able to find enough work to pay the rent in the early days.

“You do whatever kind of work you can get,” he said. “Here, it’s a matter of survival.”

As the years went by, Chhabra and his wife, who now have a son who is a student at Cardozo High School and a daughter, an investment banker in Manhattan, have integrated themselves into American culture more and more while still staying close to their Indian roots.

“I try to get the best of the two cultures,” he said. “I am an American, but I am also Indian.
— By Jack Buehrer

Iran

NAME: Reza Delghavi
AGE: 57
YEARS IN AMERICA: 22

Escaping Iran with his life, Reza Delghavi obtained more than just a second chance at life – he achieved the American Dream.

LEAVING THE HOMELAND
Delghavi left Iran the first time to achieve his educational goals. A few years after he had finished his degree at Queens College for urban studies, he returned home to Iran. “I forfeited all my opportunities here,” he said, “to go back to Iran and join the student movements.” Soon he was offered a teaching position with a “prestigious university.” He accepted and loved his job teaching urban studies in Iran. His girlfriend from college had come to visit him in Iran and the two got married. Not long after the revolution in Iran took shape and their lives were changed forever.

Being of Ecuadorian descent, Delghavi’s wife received a lot of harassment. “The fundamentalists took our country,” said Delghavi. “My students were being executed and I got fired from my university.” Being labeled “American” with an “American wife” left him with numerous death threats and “the pressure became enormous to leave.” He finally left with his wife back to New York City.

IN QUEENS
Desperate for work, Delghavi began babysitting while his wife became the full-time bread-winner. He finally got a job in his field when he landed a very “low level job” in the Department of Transportation. But Delghavi has worked his way up to being City Planner for the department, first in Queens and now in Brooklyn. He is satisfied with his job, but still yearns to return to Iran to help fix the social issues that continue to arise like political prisoners. “I am vigilant here for fair laws,” he said, “for ideals of humanity and for freedom for every level. For that, this is the best place to be.”

“Iran is an extremely rich country, filled with diversity,” said Delghavi. He is comfortable where he is now with his life, his new country and career, but he still has Iran in his heart and on his mind.

On March 21 every year, he and his family celebrate the Persian New Year. “It’s the most pleasant day to celebrate,” he said. “It’s the first day of spring.” Other festivals fairly common with other Arabic countries are celebrated in his household as well as reading poetry from Arabic poets.

Persian food is “a balance between vegetarian and non-vegetarian cooking and spices,” he said. Foods like gormen sabzi, seven different vegetables fried together, are therefore a staple in his household. “And of course kebab is an obsession,” he said.

And even if his stomach is loyal to Iran and his heart wants nothing more than to help better the social policies that plague his homeland, Delghavi feels there is nowhere better than he can be himself and help his people than right where he is now – in Queens.
— By Lisa Spinelli

Iraq

Name: Daoud Shohet
Age: 65
Years in America: 46

Escaping a revolution in his homeland of Iraq, Daoud Shohet came to New York City and never went back.

LEAVING THE HOMELAND
Daoud (David) Shohet was studying in England when the Iraqi revolution broke out in the late 1950s. He was tired of schooling and had to make a choice, either go home to Iraq or go to his sister’s in New York City. He chose the latter and is happy he did. “It’s a very nice place,” he said. “Freedom is all about the United States.” And since Shohet had already been living in England for a few years, the transition to the American way-of-life was not hard. He had the language, the Western culture and some family in town, moving here was the hardest part.

IN QUEENS
“I always thought Queens was a nice place to live,” he said. “Manhattan is a nice place to visit.” Shohet, in Bayside now, has been in Queens since he moved to America 46 years ago. He even showed his patriotism to America when the Vietnam War was in full effect and Shohet went out on the front lines for his new country. “I was not even a citizen, all I had was a Green Card, but the fact that they let me be an MP – I guess it says they didn’t discriminate against me,” Shohet said. “I always said I liked being in the Army more than being in school.”

But after Vietnam, he did go back to school, at the RCA Institute to study electronics. Since then Shohet has opened a number of his own businesses, including one he still maintains today that prints logos on T-shirts for restaurants and other clients. Mostly, though, Shohet remains focused on his work at the temple. “The temple is very rewarding work,” he said.

“I am 100 percent American,” Shohet said. Still, he does maintain his culture in his own way. He loves Arabic music and goes out to nightclubs in New York to listen to the music of his homeland. He also goes out to eat at numerous Arabic restaurants around the city as well to eat shish kebab, reliving the spices and smells of the Middle East.

His religion, however, is where his traditions lie. “The traditions I have are not that much different from the traditions of most Jews,” he said. “We have different foods, but for the most part we are the same.” And though Shohet may have been born in a different corner of the globe, he is the same as any other American
— Lisa Spinelli

Japan

NAME: Mana Hashimoto
AGE: 32
YEARS IN AMERICA: 11

Five years after Mana Hashimoto, 32, left her home in Tokyo to pursue a career in theater and dance, she was stricken with an optic nerve disease that took away her vision, but that didn’t stop her from her from reaching for her own American dream.

LEAVING THE HOMELAND
Having only half of her sight when Hashimoto left Japan and arrived in New Hampshire to study theater did not deter the dancer. She changed schools and majors a few times before settling at Queens College, studying dance.

In 1998, Hashimoto lost her sight completely, but she still pursued her career in the performing arts.
“Dancing becomes a more internal expression for me. I don’t have to worry about comparing myself to other dancers,” said Hashimoto, who enjoys contemporary, classical and modern dance music.

Using what she calls internal images, Hashimoto is able to create dance movements and use them when performing.

IN QUEENS
Hashimoto resides in an apartment in Forest Hills with her partner, Kogi, and her newborn daughter, Loy.
Through an agency, Hashimoto receives daily help for her blindness and her newborn and is learning mobility training and Braille. She said she is able to walk to the subway and can cook meals. This is something that Hashimoto says she would never be able to do had she stayed in Japan.

“I would have to be very wealthy there to get support,” said Hashimoto who added that life in Japan for women is very traditional where women are expected to stay home and take care of the children.
Hashimoto said, “To me it seems girls are giving up their lives,” who added that she loves the Japanese culture and still frequently travels to Japan, but would not be satisfied living there.

She said she considers herself in limbo when it comes to being an American or Japanese. Hashimoto has an upcoming performance in Williams¬burg with a friend that involves individual movements and she is excited about it. She practices daily and takes weekly classes in Manhattan.

In five years, she said, she knows that she will still be a mother and has a dream of sharing her talent as a career all around the world. “I want to make a living performing,” said Hashimoto.
— By Michael Rehak

Kazakhstan

Name: Duman Razdan
Age: 32
Years in America: 5

Born on the Chinese and Kazakhstan border, Duman Razdan life has changed dramatically in the 32 years since he was born. He now makes a living as a real estate agent in Rego Park with his wife and young son.

LEAVING THE HOMELAND
Having studied at the Xin Jang Medical University in China, Razdan moved from China to be closer to his family in Al Maty, Kazakhstan. After applying to different schools in the U.S. to teach, he settled in St. Paul, Minn., working as a teacher’s assistant at a high school in September 2000. Feeling homesick, Razdan returned to Kazakhstan one year later.

After a short stint in his homeland, Razdan returned to the U.S and learned how to speak fluent English at the N.Y Language School in Manhattan.

IN QUEENS
With his knowledge in the field of medicine, Razdan worked full time at the law office of Manhasset attorney Scott Wiss, dealing with medical records related to auto accidents.

After Sept. 11, Razdan said business slowed. A partner in the firm asked Razdan to cut his hours making him a part-time employee. He refused and started working as a real estate agent at Century 21.
Razdan said that he left Kazakhstan because there weren’t job opportunities like there are in the U.S. He said that although Kazakhstan is an independent government, it is technologically behind countries like the U.S.

“Here it is convenient. In Kazakhstan there is no credit cards and there isn’t a good monetary system.” He added that he would not be able to work from home in Kazakhstan, like he can here, which allows him to take care of his young son.

No longer homesick, Razdan married Peruvian born Cecillia Razdan, 29, and has a 4-year-old son, Samgar.

“There are very few Kazak people here, but I have met like 10 to 15 people from my country.”
— By Michael Rehak

Malaysia

Name: Harbachan Singh
Age: 65
Years in America: 35

Harbachan Singh truly believes you can accomplish all you want to in America - and he has. From a young junior professional at the United Nations headquarters in New York to Queens Borough President’s delegate to the Queens General Assembly, Singh has achieved his goals and then some.

Leaving the Homeland
Feeling limited in his homeland of Malaysia for how far up he could go in his career, Singh had it in his head to come to Queens. “In other countries you are limited by finances, distances and opportunities,” he said. “But anyone hard working can excel here, there is no one to blame - you can reach your heights, your aspirations here.” Chasing an American Dream, New York did not disappoint Singh. “This country has so much freedom,” he said.

In Queens
“Queens is well known all over the world,” he said, “It’s the melting pot from all over, but where you can find one of your own kind.” Singh had a friend who had already moved here and so he followed him - and he is happy he did.

He started his career at the United Nations as a junior professional, an administrative job in the general services division. Within months he became the Chief of Travel and then went on to be the Chief of Transportation and Procurement. He has also worked in local politics as a delegate to the Queens General Assembly and is president of the Sikh Friendship Foundation in Queens.

Much of Singh’s culture stems from his religion and he is very devout. During Guru Nanak’s birthday, in November, he sits attends temple for readings from the Adi Granth, the Sikh holy book. He also celebrates the Sikh New Year, which falls on April 13 or 14 depending on the year, by attending parties very similar to the Western countries’ New Year’s parties. But, for much of his way of life, he has acclimated to American culture. “When in Rome, do as Romans do,” he proclaimed. “I followed the American Dream and this is the American Dream. From the moment the Statue of Liberty welcomes you into this country.”
- By Lisa Spinelli

Nepal

Name: Abhishek Roka
Age: 20
Years in America: 1

With political uprisings, a poor education system and lots of strikes slowing down the economy, Abhishek Roka decided he wanted to move out of Nepal. And he is happy he did. Today he is a very involved student looking to pursue his American Dream when he graduates.

Leaving the Homeland
As the Maoist rebels, a pro-communist rebel group, tried to overthrow the constitutional monarchy rulers Nepal was left with blockades, uprisings and whole-city strikes. Education systems had slowed to a crawling speed. “The universities were affected,” said Roka. “Not a lot of classes were going on when I left.” Seeking a better education and a brighter future, Roka’s father convinced Roka to join him in Queens, and started at Queensborough Community College as a pre-engineering student.

In Queens
Roka was not prepared for the culture shock and changes he was about to undergo even if “it felt like home with all the different faces and immigrants here,” he said. America, even an international hub like Queens, is different in many ways, not least including Chinese food, said Roka. But mostly, he was shocked by the way people express themselves so openly and were even expected to do so in college. “I had never expressed my opinion,” he said. “Here you have a lot of participation.” That is proving easier and easier as Roka learns English and is able to express his point of view more clearly.

To keep his Hindu faith and Nepalese culture alive, Roka goes to the Satyanarayan temple in Elmhurst on Fridays. Recently, Roka attended a Dashain festival, the longest and most sacred festival for the Nepalese. Roka was amazed at how many Nepalese people live here, “I thought there were just 10 of us” he said.

And though he has started to mingle and feel more at home here in Queens, he is not going to start celebrating Christmas any time soon. Though he may not ever completely conform to commercialized America, he has transformed into a new person. “A lot of things have changed in me since coming here,” Roka said. “I have even grown a sense of humor.”
- By Lisa Spinelli

Pakistan

Name: Jawad Anwar
Age: 44
Years in America: 18

An owner of an ailing computer publication business to creating an award winning newspaper in New York City, Jawad Anwar is making his mark in Queens and a better life for him and his family. He left Pakistan as the technological boom hit and caused his company to crumble. Now he is a proud owner of an award winning newspaper - Muslims.

Leaving the Homeland
Always interested in journalism, Anwar started his first publication in Pakistan after graduating from the Alighar Muslim University in India. His magazine, Datalog, was targeted at large computer companies and their employees. As computers became a household commodity and no longer just a businesses necessity, Datalog started to lose advertisers to mainstream media. The money grew thinner and Anwar realized he needed to make a change. “The whole scenario there changed,” he said. “When business was good, the quality of life was good, but with the business bad, we suffered.”

In Queens
“I always try to do something no one else is doing,” he said. “My parents told me ‘why are you going to create a newspaper for a community that does not exist?’” But their words did not sway his decision to create a weekly newspaper for the entire Muslim community. The road was long and hard to get to where he is now, but his hard work has paid off. His newspaper, Muslims, has just received six Ippies, independent, small circulation newspaper awards and been a big source of pride for Anwar. “It has great respect in the community,” Anwar said. “More than 500 people showed up to our anniversary party; which shows they are interested.”

Part of one’s culture is their religion and this is the major concern for Anwar. “From my point of view, culture is not important,” he said. “Religious allegiance is more important.” He is a devout Muslim attending mosque, ensuring the dress code amongst his family members and keeping the sacred days observed. “If someone is a Muslim, he becomes our brother,” he said. “It’s based on faith, not culture.”
Another part of one’s culture is food, however, and Anwar does still love Pakistani foods like biryani, a rice and meat dish, and byia, goat leg meat. However, if given the choice, Anwar would not go back to Pakistan. “Why would I go to live in a slave country?” he asked. “Would it not be better to live here?”
- By Lisa Spinelli

Philippines

Name: Renee Dugena
Age: 47
Years in America: 19
Renee Dugena came to the United States from the Philippines in 1975, searching for freedom and a better income.

He arrived in Hawaii, then moved to California and in the 1980’s, moved to Queens for a better education system and health benefits.

In California, he sold computer chips for video games and electronic typewriters. When he came to Queens, he earned his Master’s degree in Health Care Administration at New School University in Manhattan.

Leaving the Homeland
He said he left the Philippines because, “During those days, college students were being monitored by the government because there was an uprising,” but he did not partake in any revolutionary acts.
He said that the Philippine government, which required all men to join the military, had enforced Martial Law. He said military life involved taking orders from strict sergeants who forced soldiers to do sanitation work.

“In the United States, we are in a country where it all depends on what you do and how hard you work to succeed,” said Dugena, who works for the Tribune as a retail advertiser.

In Queens
He said, “Queens is the greatest community because there is such a variety of everything.”
He added, “Absolutely, yes, it is a better life. I am enjoying the cream of the crop.”

Dugena lives in Kew Gardens with his wife Juliet, who works in nursing administration and also has a daughter Rachelle, 25, who has been recently engaged.

Dugena said an issue that concerns him is the Social Security system in the United States. He feels that selling social security to private institutions is a problem for our country.
- By Michael Rehak

Sri Lanka

Name: Sudath Rannulu
AGE: 34
Years in America: 2
Sudath Rannulu, who moved to the United States several years ago in the hope of pursuing a better education, is now a teacher himself. He works as a medical adviser at Kaplan Medical-Queens Center at Queens College.

Rannulu loves his job at Kaplan Test Prep and credits the organization with helping new immigrants, including himself, find their way through the complicated process of pursuing an education in medicine in the United States. But he has even higher aspirations - he wants to get his license practicing medicine in the United States.

Leaving the Homeland
Rannulu left Sri Lanka in 2002 much to the disappointment of his colleagues there. At home, Rannulu was a respected doctor with a civic mind and was regularly featured on national television. He managed blood banks across Sri Lanka and drove a mobile medical unit with his brothers out to remote villages to give free health care.

“It was a hard decision to leave Sri Lanka because I had a very good quality of life there,” he said. “I was socially accepted, I was a senior doctor and I was well off financially.”

But despite all this success, Rannulu felt he hadn’t received the best education possible. So it was with this in mind that he decided to give up his practice and leave Sri Lanka for the United States.

In Queens
“It was initially very hard to do,” Rannulu said. “But mainly when I think about my education, my research opportunities and my daughter’s education, I decided it was necessary to come here.”

And so with the encouragement of a friend, Rannulu moved his wife and 2-year-old daughter to Queens using a Green Card lottery he had won through the State Department.

Rannulu said he has no trouble maintaining his connections to the culture of Sri Lanka and although he knows his daughter will grow up as an America, he hopes she will retain some of the culture through the community in Queens.

“We have a Sri Lankan temple close so that helps,” he said. “Queens is very diverse. We will be able to take part in various Sri Lankan festivals and cultural activities available here.”

Rannulu loved Sri Lanka, its beautiful landscape and its famous hospitality. He speaks highly of the quality of life in his home country. But it is the educational opportunities in the United States that ultimately won his heart.

“I strongly believe this is my country now. I see people just like me around. I see so many different kinds of people. We all feel that this is our country. Especially in Queens,” he said.
- By Peter Gelling

South Korea

Name: Yu-Soung Mun
Age: 36
Years in America: 14
At the young and impressionable age of 22, Yu-Soung Mun was already a serious grassroots peace activist in South Korea. He had been through college, where he met his equally civic-minded wife, and was now embarking on a career helping disenfranchised minorities throughout the world.

Leaving Home
His wife moved soon after school to the United States and what is a man to do, if not follow the love of a woman half way across the world? Mun, with his wife’s help, secured work with the Korean Resource Center, which employed him in Los Angeles for three years.

Although Mun, now 36, was well educated and had the security of a job, he said the transition was hard, as he said it is for all recent immigrants. “Everything was new,” he said. “Especially the social system. I was very confused.”

Living In Queens
His perseverance paid off, though. He has since been promoted and is now working in Flushing as the executive director of the New York affiliate of the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium - a non-profit organization that helps new immigrants wade through the same American systems that once confounded him.

After 14 years of living in the United States, Mun considers himself a Korean-American. But he has managed to retain most of his Korean culture and heritage because he works so intimately with the Korean community in Flushing. He said he feels slightly out of touch with American culture for that reason, which he regrets.

But Mun is happy to have dedicated his life to helping minorities and new immigrants. And now, since Sept. 11, that role is even more important.

“Anti-immigration policy is the biggest problem right now for the immigrant community,” he said. “So many civil rights have been broken.”

What’s more, the funding available these days for immigration services is almost non-existent. Mun loves working with the Flushing community though and will continue to fight for immigrant rights. And what better place to do that than the most diverse county in the world?

“America is a nation of immigrants,” Mun said happily. “There is so much we can learn from each other, teach each other. But to do that we have to respect each other.”
- By Peter Gelling

Taiwan

Name: Cathy Hung
Age: 34
Years in America: 10
Culturally, Cathy Hung considers herself Chinese. Politically she’s Taiwanese. In reality, she says, “I’m myself.”

Leaving the Homeland
After completing her bachelor’s degree in English Literature at Tan Kang University in Taiwan, Hung decided she wanted to move to the United States to get a master’s degree. She moved to New York City and attended New York University for a master’s in Performing Arts Administration.

“I decided to stay after getting my master’s because I wanted to prove that I can do it here,” said Hung, who interned at the New York City Ballet and worked at a small independent record label, as well as volunteering at community centers after she earned her degree.

In Queens
In January 2004, Hung began working part-time as a coordinator of special projects at Flushing Town Hall. Now she works there full-time and lives in an apartment in Forest Hills with her husband, Eugene Sekelos.

Hung said she found a job that she really likes and hopes to some day start a family of her own here in Queens.

She says culture and family values are completely different in Taiwan, but she grew up watching American television shows and movies there so she had a base to start from.

She added that in Taiwan, women are second to men and in the U.S., Hung said she is able to be her own person.

“Ten years ago, I came here just to get a degree, then I struggled to get a job, but now I’m doing what I want,” said Hung

She added that she believes the American dream is following one’s goals through hard work and experience.

“You have to create your own path,” Hung said. She added that she treats herself as a tourist, always looking to explore new things. “If you don’t open doors, you don’t know what is inside,” said Hung, who added that she understands herself better because she insists on experiencing all that New York City has to offer.
- By Michael Rehak

Thailand

Name: Juttana Rimreart
Age: 38
Years in America: 9
Like many before and after him, Juttana Rimreart, better known as Moo, recognized the opportunities in America. “I wanted to get a better life and higher education,” he said. And that is what he got.

Leaving the Homeland
With a cousin already in New York and Thailand’s cost of living becoming inflated beyond what his salary could afford, Rimreart, who goes by the name Moo, decided to leave his country. He was set on making a better life for himself and through a lot of hard work, he was able to accomplish all he set out to do.
The process was not smooth, however. “ It was very difficult,” said Moo. “They didn’t give me a visa the first time - it took two years.”

In Queens
Rimreart studied English by himself and worked as a busboy in a restaurant to get himself started here. Without an apartment of his own though, there were nights that he was forced to sleep in the restaurant to avoid the harsh New York weather. But his hopes never failed him and he was well rewarded.
“You have to come here and study very hard,” he said. “You go to school: you go to the real estate school, you go to the restaurant school, you go to small business school and you work hard.”

Now Moo owns his own laundromat and a building on 71-26 and 71-28 Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights. He also teaches Thai at PS 11 and travels frequently.

He offers a word of advice and encouragement for his fellow immigrants, “If you don’t learn something, if you don’t plan something, you can’t do anything,” he warns. “If you just keep the job at the restaurant forever, you can’t buy the house, you can’t get better. But if you learn something in this country, you can do anything you want,” he said.

Moo feels completely at home in America now, with no inclination of ever going back to Thailand. “Queens is my hometown - Jackson Heights is my hometown,” he said. “I don’t call Thailand my hometown anymore.”
- By Lisa Spinelli

Turkey

Name: Gungur Soydan
Age: 60
Years in America: 31
Coming from Turkey just as he entered his 30s, Gungur Soydan turned his life into an American Dream.

Leaving the Homeland
Gungur Soydan’s only uncle was living in New York City, thousands of miles away from him. Soydan missed his uncle very much and after much convincing from his uncle to come and stay with him in America, he did. Though his move was a little lonely with no set Turkish community where he moved, he still has not regretted his move here. “When I first came, no one from Turkey had come to Queens,” he said. “There was no one for 10 or 15 years after I came. Some Turks were in Brooklyn, but none in Queens.”

In Queens
But the Turkish community started growing and so did Soydan’s dreams. As a waiter and a busboy at local restaurants, Soydan had visions of opening his own restaurant - he made his dream a reality in 1978. His restaurant, Hemsin, in Sunnyside has received glowing reviews from the New York Times and others. “Our kitchen, a Turkish kitchen, in my opinion,” he said, “is the richest kitchen.” Today his restaurant is booming, serving numerous kebabs and gyros, and Soydan was able to put his children through college with his success.

“If you’re going the right way, nothing can bother you,” Soydan said. “The people around you, they know what kind of person you are. The people around me, they never said anything bad to me or my family because they know us.”

Now that Soydan has retired, he is eager to visit Turkey more often, but he always is eager to come back to America too. “I am American, of course,” he said. “If you are born in the other countries, listen to me, you cannot forget that.”
- By Lisa Spinelli

Uzbekistan

Name: Vyaceheslav Shamalov
Age: 31
Years in America: 5

Vyanceheslav Shamalov of Uzbekistan said he came to America for medical school. What he found wasn’t just a new home, but a new identity. Shamalov, who understands how difficult his name appears to most English speakers, offers his nickname: Slava. He explains that through the immigration process, “everybody changes. You become more hardworking. I didn’t think I can work 16 hours a day in my home country. But I did it here.”

Leaving the Homeland
At 26, the college graduate surveyed his surroundings, and opted to follow his dream of becoming a doctor, and realized it meant leaving Uzbekistan.

During an immigration interview in the American embassy in Moscow, Slava explained, “The political and economic [situation] is not good for us. It’s impossible to live. There’s no jobs, there’s no money, and even the salary [of a doctor] is not enough to pay the food.”

Slava said recent graduates in Uzbekistan, like himself, could expect to make as little as “$7 a month as a doctor. Regular doctors made $10, $15 a month.

Because all medicine is paid by the government and the government has no money.”

The fact that Slava wanted to become a doctor, and work in America, fell short of immigration requirements. “You need to have direct relative here: mother, father, sister. You can’t come here if you only have an uncle here,” said Slava. “My sister married [a man with siblings here] and she emigrated to the United States. She sent our paper work. It took 2 years.”

In Queens
That tight-knit family chain led Slava to move to Forest Hills, where his sister and many other Uzbekistanis live. Five years after coming here, Slava said he has settled into the busy routine of a young medical professional: working and studying for various exams.

When asked how New York differed from his hometown, he said, “In my city we can watch the same movies, but there’s strict publication [rules]. They cut the part of the movie they don’t like. They just cut it out. Of course news, [too].”

Busy, working long hours, and happy, Slava said he now considers himself an American. “I live here more than five years, and I will live here until I die. I’m trying to be more like American, but I’m trying not to forget where I came from.”

Immigrants from northern Russia moved and opened stores in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, said Slava. Uzbekistanis and southern Russians, he said, are “here in Queens, Rego Park, along Queens Boulevard, and Forest Hills.”
- By Azi Paybarah