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The term first generation is an ambiguous term in the English language as it either refers to the immigrants who became U.S. citizens or their offsprings but the Japanese had a much more clear definition. In 1913, California passed a Alien Land Law that only allow “free whites” and/or African descent to own land. During this time Japanese immigrants were not able to become citizen thus can not own land, this generation is called the “Issei”.
To circumvent the situation they would place purchased land in the name of their children who are natural born American in which they are called “Nissei” (Mackey 10). To this day we have many who are still immigrating to America in pursuit of the American dream. Whether it is in the 1900’s or 2000’s, the hurdles to overcome are difficult to and can span across many generations. My goal is to explore similarities and differences with the women and children in The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka to my life experience in growing up as a First Generation Born Asian American, comparing scenarios of immigrant parents, childhood, and adulthood.
Immigrant Parents
In Otsuka’s books the women are brides to be, going to America from Japan to be with their future husbands in promises of fortune and great opportunities but this is only a ruse as the real reason for these “Brides” is for California to bolster the numbers in laborers. The Chinese who came before them during the gold rush has Integrated in to America and now own competing business of their own. Just like the Chinese, the Japanese were no longer doing labors and becoming business owners so in 1906 The United States and Japanese Government created the “Gentlemen’s Agreement” to no longer allow anymore Japanese immigrants. but it still allows the wife and childrens of Japanese laborers to immigrate (Mackey 10).
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From this point on is where Otsuka’s book begins as mail order brides arrive to America in great numbers. My mother came here to the United States as a result of the Khmer Rouge in 1975, a communist movement that commence mass genocide on its own citizens. My family along with many others retreated to Thailand for refuge. From there they immigrated to America arriving in San Francisco in 1984. Even though they made it to the states their hurdles are ever growing. Just like the women in Otsuka’s book, my mother was in a foreign land with no prior knowledge of the language or customs and it did not get any better. According to an article written by Monica Kwok
Cambodian Americans as a group rank among the nation’s poorest, with some of the lowest educational attainment rates across demographics. According to the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, 23.9 percent of Cambodian Americans live in poverty. The Center of American Progress reports that fewer than 15 percent of Cambodian Americans hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. The Cambodian American population’s low educational attainment stagnates its social mobility and perpetuates the cycle of poverty for its younger generations… (Kwok 75)
Today I feel those numbers have greatly improved as I have seen many become successful but I have seen just as many still in poverty. In Otsuka’s book the Japanese did many jobs American wouldn’t do. Similarly Cambodians faced the same hurdle as many held multiple low wage jobs but over time some have gone on to own their own business such as donut shop, Cambodian/Chinese restaurant, or grocery stores that tailored specifically to Cambodians. It is around this time that many first generations were born only to inherit the issues from their parents.
Growing up Multicultural
The children of immigrant has a large set of hurdles similar to those of the parents. We grew up in a world in which it is Cambodia inside the house and America outside. Many parents still do not have a grasp on the full custom of the American lifestyle as such we had to learn to navigate the world on our own. Fortunately for me I grew up with many in the same situation in which our schools had Caucasian as the small minority. We became students and translator in one as many immigrants after so many years only learned a few English words such as “hello” and “my friend”
We tried not to draw attention to ourselves. We dressed liked they did…We made ourselves small for them- If you stay in your place they’ll leave you alone- and did our best not to offend (Otsuka 52).
This line from the book gives me an explanation as to why these were the most common learned words I often hear. They only learned what they needed to get by such as understanding the “X” for a place to sign your name (Otsuka 73) as they mostly retain their cultural values of home, seldomly do any fully assimilate into American Society.What happens to these kids who grew up in such an abnormal situation? First generation especially those from low income family tend to develop emotional and behavioral problems (Huang 1). Many growing up with guidance usually ended up in gangs, and there were more gang members then there were good students. Those that immigrated but could not assimilate become gang members and often recruit the new first generation. Those that seeked a higher education tend to perform poorly due to lack of support and an increase of obligations at home. This combination tend to create conflicting values and interest between parent and child leading to small retention rate.
