Ogboh


 * Maria Ogboh**

Podcast
media type="custom" key="12084375"

BIOGRAPHICAL/GEOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Maria was born in Nigeria, in the late 1950s-early 1960s.On December 21, 1997, her daughter got married. The couple immigrated to the U.S. Maria wanted to see their children born, so she went to the U.S. as well in April of 1999. She saw all three children born. Maria left the U.S. in 2001. Then, in 2007, she officially immigrated to the U.S. Maria hasn’t done her citizenship test yet, but she has a green card. She came her because she wanted to live close by her daughter’s family. In 2009, Maria went back to Nigeria to visit family and see her mother’s funeral. . She came back the same year. Though it’s the 7th most populous nation in the world, Nigeria is small country; only about twice the size of California. That’s about 176 people per square kilometer! Many were poor and many still are. The jobs are few. The main is motorcycle taxi. Some people can’t even //afford to get// a motorcycle, so they just grow and sell food. The top religion, Muslim, is mainly in the north, while Christianity, the second most populous, is mainly in the south. The school life expectancy is only 9 years, and the life expectancy is only about 48 years. As a republic, the unemployment rate is only 4.9%, while the population below the poverty line is 70%. The main drugs are heroin and cocaine. The currency is 150 //naira//=$1 U.S. dollar.

=Creative Writing=

By: Omena Mushale
Get off the plane Atmosphere gives a welcoming feel A hand reaching out.

The process So time-consuming Felt like years had passed.

The first days Blurring red, white, and blue Home of the free.

Government Provides Even though not through college.

Gives rations to the poor Soup kitchens, helping the homeless Unlike the Nigerian government.

Economy Quickly surpassing Nigeria Currency abroad.

Nigerian money 150:1 here The 150 expensive //naira// to the 1 easy dollar.

Water Unbelievably crystal Blue, clear America to murky, brown Nigeria.

Happiness Keeping these Americans alive All too rare back home.

Peaceful, joyful, smiling America Sorrowful, unhappy moanings of Nigeria Completely different.

Cleaning hospital floors Kept alive for now Though not a citizen.

Better Than trading for little In the crowding streets of Nigeria.

Feel That America is best Best for me.

America Land of the happy Home of the peaceful.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
Omena Mushale

Maria Ogboh

Mushale: What country are you from?

Ogboh: Nigeria.

Mushale: What was life like before you came here?

Ogboh: Life wasn’t easy at all.

Mushale: What stirred you to come to America?

Ogboh: Because my daughter is here. She is the one that brought me here.

Mushale: Do you like the government here compared to the government there?

Ogboh: Yes.

Mushale: In what ways?

Ogboh: The government here, they make things easy. Any money they get, they share it within the whole place, that is, they share it for everybody. But in my country, the government would just, you know, share the money between themselves. They don’t help the poor.

Mushale: What is your job like here compared to your home country?

Ogboh: In my country, I was not working; I was just a trader. And here, I’m working.

Mushale: Do you like the job here compared to the job there (trading)?

Ogboh: Yes.

Mushale: In what ways do you like your job here?

Ogboh: Eh?

Mushale: //In what ways// do you like your job here?

Ogboh: I like it because even though I didn’t go to school [here], I have something to do. They (the government) pay me every month.

Mushale: What was your home like compared to here?

Ogboh: My home?

Mushale: Yes.

Ogboh: I say here is better, compared to my home in Africa.

Mushale: What was education back then compared to here?

Ogboh: Auhhhh. Education aspect-no. If you don’t have money, you can’t go to school. I did not have-I did not go to school because my parents did not have the money, even to train me.

Mushale: What do you remember most about your home country?

Ogboh: Things are very bad, because the jobs there are just for few people. And it’s hard for people, you know, the way they live, things are really, very difficult for them.

Mushale: Did you have American fast food restaurants or products in your home country?]

Ogboh: Yes.

Mushale: What are some examples?

Ogboh: Well, we have something like all these Mr. Big’s (ice cream), er, you know. We have all those ones, yeah.

Mushale: How did you come here?

Ogboh: I come here through my daughter.

Mushale: Like, what transportation route…?

Ogboh: Oh, plane.

Mushale: Did you have any trouble becoming a citizen?

Ogboh: No.

Mushale: If you could change the process, how would you change it?

Ogboh: Changing to become a citizen, right?

Mushale: To become-to be allowed to come here. If you could //change the process// of coming here.

Ogboh: Eh?

Mushale: So, if you could //change the process// of becoming, uh, an American, how would you change it?

Ogboh: Oh, yes. The way I would change is that I would like to go there the very day, and get everything, like my visa, my passport…everything the same day.

Mushale: Is it better in America, or is it worse than your home country?

Ogboh: It’s better here.

Mushale: What is your favorite memory in this country?

Ogboh: My favorite memory is that…I love the way, you know, I love the way the government do things. Imagine, at the end of the year, tax returns, all those ones. In my country, we don’t have things like that. And…government makes sure that everybody is taken care of…here. But it’s not like that in my country.

Mushale: If America became no more, would you go back to your old country or go to another country, to find a safe place?

Ogboh: I wish wherever they’re going (the Americans) I’ll go there with them, too.

Mushale: What was the first thing you saw when you came here?

Ogboh: The first thing I saw when I enter-when I came off the plane is…the environment is nice.

Mushale: Did you know English before you came here?

Ogboh: I speak a little bit, yes, before I came over here.

Mushale: Was it difficult to completely learn the English language?

Ogboh: The way it was difficult was that, they can’t hear me, they can’t understand me. And sometimes I can’t understand them, too.

Mushale: What is the food like here, compared to your old country there?

Ogboh: What?

Mushale: What is the //food like here//, compared to your old country there?

Ogboh: Ehhh, here, you know, that’s American food. Like, I want to-even when I’m here, I want to eat a little bit of American food and eat a lot of my own food. But for me to get //my// food, I go a long, you know, it takes me a long time to get to where I can get my own food.

Mushale: Do you miss your old country?

Ogboh: Ehhh, really, it’s not like-my children are there, so I can say that I miss them, but I like it here.

Mushale: Do you like your home culture better or worse than American culture?

Ogboh: If it’s for culture aspect, one thing I love most is that, in my country, parents can, you know, you can talk to your child in a way you want it; but here, you’re scared to talk to a child because a child can call, eh, 911 for you, that’s the only little thing that I feel that, you know, is a little bit different.

Mushale: Do you think the rights you have here are better than the ones in your home country or not?

Ogboh: The what?

Mushale: The rights you have, here. Is it better here, or worse than in your old country?

Ogboh: Oh, it’s better here.

Mushale: Do you like the transportation here, compared to your old country’s?

Ogboh: Yes.

Mushale: Have you ever visited your home country, since you came?

Ogboh: Yes.

Mushale: What did you do when you visited?

Ogboh: Just to go out to my family, make sure I see everybody, you know, spend some time with them.

Mushale: Did you see your relatives?

Ogboh: Yes.

Mushale: What was the emotion that you had?

Ogboh: To visit them again? Ehhh, well, it’s good to visit them again, and it’s very expensive, so you can’t just get up and, you know, and go.

Mushale: Did you feel very happy to visit them?

Ogboh: Yeah, I’m happy when I visit them…You know, I miss them, you know, for a long time.

Mushale: Did you see your childhood home?

Ogboh: Everybody, yes.

Mushale: How did that make you feel?

Ogboh: I was happy.

Mushale: Are there any words, phrases, or scents that make you think of your home country?

Ogboh: Eh? What?

Mushale: Are there any //words, phrases, scents, or events// that remind you of your home country?

Ogboh: Yeah. When it comes to the aspect of the snow, when it’s very cold for me to go to work, I would say, “Ohhhhhhh, my goodness!” In Africa, in everywhere in the //world//, that’s the one thing that makes me, that makes me remember my country.

Mushale: What do you think the American character is?

Ogboh: Character?

Mushale: What do you think the American //personality// is?

Ogboh: Ohhhhhh! Ohhhhh, I love American because it’s a, it’s a, a, a country of freedom. They allow everyone to come [to the United States]. And when you come in, they allow everybody to work.

Mushale: What do you think the American Dream is?

Ogboh: It’s good. (She didn’t understand the question.) You mean the treatment? The treatment here? It’s good!

Mushale: No, what do you think the American //Dream// is?

Ogboh: The American Dream, everybody wants to, you know, make sure they go to school, want to learn-if you want to become a doctor, if you want to become a doctoral-whatever you want to be: a lawyer, anything you want to become, //here!// you can go to school and achieve that. And after that, you want a big house, you can achieve it; if you want a big car, you can still achieve it; so that’s the American Dream.

Mushale: Do you think that immigrating to the U.S. was a good decision for you?\

Ogboh: Yeah.

Mushale: How has it benefitted you?

Ogboh: It benefitted me because it allowed me to go to work. I can do whatever I want to do.

Mushale: In your old country, how did you vote for laws?

Ogboh: //(pause, look of confusion)//

Mushale: In your old country, how were laws //passed//?

Ogboh: I voted for my own person that I like to be voted. When I vote for sometimes, the person that I think is going to be president will not be the one. So, you know,…

Mushale: Were there any uproars in, in any decisions?

Ogboh: Eh?

Mushale: Were there any rebellions or uproars in any voting decisions?

Ogboh: Huh?

Mushale: Like, any people fighting back? Like, when people didn’t get what they want, did they fight back?

Ogboh: Many have fought back, yep. They do that, mmhmmm.

Mushale: Do you think America has that here?

Ogboh: No; that one is not here.

Mushale: If you could change one thing in America, what would it be?

Ogboh: If I could change one thing in America is that the area of the children-that’s what I would have changed. The children should be, you know, humbling themselves to their parents, to respect their parents. Not to call 911 when the parent has done something. That’s not good.

Mushale: How would that benefit America?

Ogboh: It’s going to benefit America because if the family is not one, it’s not stable, the community will not be stable. And it will affect the government, too. It will make everybody look scattered, everywhere scattered.

Mushale: Do you think that will slowly and gradually break apart America? Bit by bit?

Ogboh: Yeah. If the house-yeah, yeah, if the children, you know, call police and there are problems in the home, it will affect everywhere.

Mushale: Do you think that will stop people about thinking about coming to America?

Ogboh: No, no, no no no no! It will not stop things. (a bit bewildered) America is the best place to come to.

Mushale: Thank you for sacrificing your time to do this.

Ogboh: You’re welcome.

ANALYSIS
Immigration is hard for many people who know very little or nothing about America or anything relating to it, but the prior knowledge that some people have before coming to America helps during the process. Causes of immigration include political [persecution], a better life, search for better education, and family. Effects of immigration include job decrease, conflicts and arguments about immigration [policies], overpopulation, and name changing.There are separations that are caused by ethnicity and separations because of religions and jobs being lowered by the increasing number of immigrants. Some, like Maria, knew a bit of English, so it helped them in the process of immigration. It was frustrating for her because the process took more than a day. “I wish everything was done in just //one//day," was what she said. The causes of her immigrating was because her daughter was here and that she perceived that the U.S. was " a country of freedom. They allow everyone to come [to the United States]. And when they come, they allow those immigrants to work." The effects were: she saw her grandchildren grow up, she always has support from her daughter's family, and she has a decent job and home. Causes and effects may differ, but the immigration experience doesn't.