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The Battalion
Page 3 • Tuesday, December 9, 2003
A brave new world
Children of immigrant parents fuse two cultures to find own identities
By Nishat Fatima
THE BATTALION
Resham Deeptavarni sat at a table in a posh Dallas restaurant
yith a group of her friends, as they were passing around pictures
Tom their senior prom the night before. As the photographs of beau-
iful dresses, elaborate dance moves and classy settings were
jxchanged, the friends had their own special story to share about
vhat they claimed was the “most magical night of their lives.”
Everyone but Deeptavarni.
Although she told her friends that she was not allowed to go to
he prom due to an ankle injury she got earlier that month,
® )eeptavami knew that was not the truth.
“My parents are traditional Bangladeshi immigrants that came to
America during the late seventies,” said Deeptavarni, a Class of
998 A&M graduate. “The idea of attending something like the sen-
>hofe-M)r prom, with dancing and close intermingling of sexes was so
ehieb'iBsque in our home, 1 didn’t even bother to ask them if I could go.”
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Since its beginning, America has been a society in which immi-
;ration has been a staple throughout the decades. While early 20th
Jentury immigrants faced problems such as world wars, unemploy
ment and segregation, the latest wave of immigrants face new chal
lenges in cultural assimilation.
I Changes in immigration laws from 1965 to 1990 led to a large
lumber of Americans being bom in families from another country.
According to the United States Census Bureau, 28 million of the
Jurrent United States population are immigrants who were bom
Iverseas. The children of these immigrants grow up with a duality
T)f cultures.
I As a result, these second-generation immigrants are caught
balancing the American culture in which they grew up with the
Iraciitional native culture of their parents. Many have to learn
[bout their culture on the basis of meager trips to their parents’
lountry of origin.
faci.llK-B Deeptavarni said she made an excuse, as she had done on
ale® lany occasions before, to avoid explaining her cultural restraints
to her prom-going friends.
J “When I was in middle school, people didn’t care why I always
wore conservative clothes or didn’t have a boyfriend,” Deeptavarni
laid. “But in high school, explaining my parents’ thought process
liould always lead to my friends saying things like ‘that’s crazy.’ To
■void feeling angry and misunderstood, I started to make unrelated
Ixcuses about why ! couldn’t do certain things.”
I Some activities common to most young Americans, such as
Ittending a high school dance, are experiences that certain sectors of
American youth will never have.
I In many cases, such as Deeptavarni’s, this balancing act can lead
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to a struggle to find a cultural identity.
“My parents and relatives would always
tell me that I was Bangladeshi, and the
American culture that I was experiencing in
everyday life was not a part of who I was,”
she said. “This would always confuse me
because I was born and raised in South
Carolina and have only visited Bangladesh
three times my whole life. (My parents)
would also expect us to know certain things
about native Bangladeshi culture as though
we were born with an innate knowledge of
it. Every time I was told to behave like ‘a
good Bangladeshi girl’ I wanted to yell and
ask ‘and how is that?”’
Deeptavarni said many times her attitude
gets mistaken for a denial of her back
ground.
“I don’t want to deny my Bangladeshi
heritage, but the fact is, it’s the culture of my
forefathers,” she said. “My individual cul
ture has parts of both Bangladesh and
America in it.”
Kathryn Neckerman, Jennifer Lee and
Prudence Carter, professors in the
Department of Sociology at Columbia
University, conducted extensive research
on assimilation patterns among immi
grants and the generations that follow them.
In their studies, they found that immigrants who avoid assimilation
may not meet their children’s expectations of adopting mainstream
culture. This may discourage their children from adopting their par
ents’ native culture. As a result, the children may turn to an opposi
tional lifestyle, or reject one culture.
Jessica Lock, a junior journalism major, said children of immi
grants face a struggle of clashing cultures, especially those whose
parents come from backgrounds vastly different from the American
culture. Lock’s parents have a background that can be considered a
cultural mosaic — they are immigrants from Peru, but are Chinese
in their ancestry.
“Since my parents are Chinese-Peruvian, they have a hard time
understanding American youth culture,” she said. “Chinese culture
is extremely different than Peruvian, Peruvian is extremely different
than American and in the end, just finding a balance between them
is the hardest thing to do. Making them understand what it’s like
growing up in America has always been an issue because they have
high expectations of me in every field of life.”
Mahesh Neelakantan • THE BATTALION
Lock said certain aspects perpetuate the thread of misunderstand
ing that constantly looms around her attempts to lead a normal
American life.
“Getting any kind of independence has always been a struggle. In my
parents’ culture, it isn’t proper to stay out past midnight,” she said.
“Growing up, I always had to be extremely careful when I hung out with
my friends. Even the smallest slip-up could result in parental disaster.”
With the difficulties of growing up mounting everyday. Lock said
peer pressure can be compounded by obvious differences.
“You always feel weird when talking about your culture. When you
are younger, you don’t want to be a loser and say ‘my parents don’t let
me do this,”’ she said. “Not everybody is understanding about cultural
differences.”
See Immigrants on page 4