New Americans Making Cross Cultural Connections

Recently, Arab American Family Services (AAFS), in collaboration with our New Americans Initiative (NAI) partners, held a citizenship workshop in Chinatown.  Nearly 70 clients from the Arab, Chinese, Latino, Turkish, and various other ethnic communities came together to not only fill out paperwork for naturalization, but to connect with one another across cultures. Different languages filled the air, and there was an overall buzz of excitement as the various clients made a crucial step in gaining their citizenship.

Everyone woke up bright and early and drove from the city and suburbs to attend the workshop.  Many of the clients at the workshop were from the Arab American community in the southwest suburbs. For many of them, this was their first exposure to Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood, so they were referred to local restaurants and scenic locations to take in the beautiful surroundings and rich heritage of the Chinese culture.

As the New American’s Americans Initiative Coordinator at AAFS, I encouraged clients to step out of the bubble of familiarity many immigrants find themselves in and venture into new territory. I think it is important for the various immigrant communities to join efforts and celebrate their joint struggle and joint pursuit of the American dream. It is also important for immigrant communities to integrate into the broader American society, even if they chose to live in ethno-specific neighborhoods.

AAFS prides itself on building community and creating a family-like atmosphere, at the same time understanding the need for broader community engagement. The work of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and the NAI program is progressive in that it works towards creating intentional collaborations from communities that may have otherwise remained isolated from one another. ICIRR is an example of 139 organizations from across the ethnic and religious spectrum coming together for a common vision of unity and empowerment.  The immigration workshops held every month by our organization and every other day somewhere across the state of Illinois are a continuation of this vision.