Guest workers are hitting the headlines in the U.S. I haven’t sifted through every report, but this article warns U.S. lawmakers of the very problems that caught Germany unawares. (Alas, I haven't managed to buy the full version yet. But I'll try, try again.)
The problem seems to stem from the word “guest”. In other words, the workers expect - and are expected - to leave one day. But they end up staying. In Toprak’s book, one young man says: “My mother always says, ‘One more year, then we’ll go to Turkey’. … But that’s what they always say. They always say that. Man, they’ve been saying that since I was in elementary school.” (p. 59)
Now, I’m too ill-informed to pontificate further. But I want to learn more. Most of us have been immigrants, so you might know of a good book on immigration. If so, please put it in the comments.
One caveat: if it’s not in English, I can’t afford to read it. Got to keep my edge, you know.
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3 comments:
Well, I am one of these children that were brought up in two cultures simultaneously just because we were to leave "every minute" or so. I can therefore understand the guest workers in the US. Once you have gotten used to "their" way of life you can hardly move back to your country of origin. I am still holding my parents' nationality although I will probably never go back.
As they say, "Once they've been to Paree, they won't come back to the farm."
Or: "Once they've been to a farm, they won't come back to Paree."
Neither seems to apply to me. I've been to Paris. Six months later, I was at a farm, catching sheep and handing them off to an itinerant Amish sheep-shearer. A year later, I was back in Paris.
And yet, the saying still exists...
On a more serious note: I'll have to pick up the nationality issue in a post later on. I do have something to say about it. I just need to find out what it is.
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