MY LIFE IN SHORT STORIES: 9. AMERICA, STARTING FROM ZERO

It was December 1995 and I was preparing to relocate to the United States of America and join my children. This time I was not going there as a tourist but I was entering with a permit allowing me to live and work there and a wonderful American immigration lawyer was guiding me through the whole legal process. I had always dreamed of living in America and sending my children there, and here we were.

In the papers I had received it was stated that I was eligible to live and work in the U.S. because I was an alien with extraordinary abilities. This by definition meant that I was among the small percentage of people who have risen to the very top of their field of endeavor. After all, I was a graduate nurse from an American university; I was an educator with graduate and post graduate education; and I had more than a decade of experience in international health as a consultant with the World Health Organization.

In my mind I was pleased and proud of myself for being recognized for my 30 years of education and hard work and, consequently, I developed high expectations and imagined a very heart warming welcome to the U.S. job market! Alas, I was wrong and soon I realized that here I have to start from zero again.

What I was hearing from most of the recruiters and employers was not so promising or encouraging. I was told:

• You have no work experience in the U.S.
• Our employees have seniority over you
• You need to get a license to be able to work here
• You need U.S. references
• You are over qualified for the job
• Etc.

Feeling disappointed and overwhelmed I started to reorganize my thoughts and prioritize the big challenges that were ahead of me. I needed an income, a place to live in, a license to work with, and all the help that I could get. Who I was, and what I did before, was irrelevant here.

As a parent who went through an Islamic Revolution in Iran and who single handedly left the country and supported the upbringing and education of her two children, it was not the time for me to get worried now; it was time to work harder and to succeed, even if it meant to start from zero.

I believe that parents and children whose countries go through political upheaval and revolution have no time or chance to deal with or even acknowledge the traumas they endure. In fact being separated from friends, family, and country, and adjusting to culture shocks and social changes are not even addressed and talked about because we are too busy to make it and to succeed. My children and I, together with many other Iranians are in this category.

Marina Del Ray Fishing Village

Marina Del Ray

I remember that upon arrival in the Los Angeles airport I had to fill out a short questionnaire and the last question was about my affiliations with any of the two political parties. Having been born and raised in a country with single party elections or no elections at all I was quite amused with the question and I did not know what to answer. I finally wrote: I do not have enough political education and thus have no affiliations at this time. That was my true answer.

I chose to reside in Los Angeles, CA because I had a number of family and friends who lived and worked there. I also loved the weather and the combination of ocean and natural beauties. As a renter I lived and worked in a few nice locations such as West LA, Palms, and Marina Del Ray and I visited many places in California such as San Diego, San Francisco, etc.

Marina Del Ray

Marina Del Ray Apartments

I obtained my nursing license in February 1997 and my first job as a staff nurse was for a few hours a day with minimum hourly payment. I should add here that I had already worked as a staff nurse, head nurse, supervisor, and department head in my own country and as a senior educator and consultant with the World Health Organization in the South East Asia Region.

In the same year I was recruited again by WHO for a short-term consultancy in Indonesia and when I completed my assignment I used the opportunity to go to Iran and visit my father who was ill. Upon arrival in the Tehran airport my Iranian passport was kept by the immigration counter and when I questioned it they told me that they will return it to me when I want to leave Iran again. I stayed in Iran for three weeks but when I went to the airport for departure they did not give me my passport back and they told me that I have to go back to the immigration office in town the next day and pick it up myself. I was devastated thinking that I am trapped there for ever. Fortunately I had my United Nation’s passport (Lesser Passer) and I presented it to one of the supervisors and he gave me my Iranian passport back and they let me leave. That was the last time I went to Iran and the last time I saw my father before he passed away.

In July 2001 my application for naturalization was approved and, in a special ceremony, I, together with 2500 other people, took the oath of allegiance before a judge and were sworn in as U.S. citizens. The ceremony was quite touching for me and brought tears to my eyes. However, to my surprise, there were a number of people sitting around me who did not stand up, who did not repeat the words after the judge, and did not hold the flag in their hands. This was a proud moment for me, and I found their behavior quite disrespectful. However, there were no objections from the authorities concerned.

San Diego

After getting my citizenship I continued to work as before but I kept changing my place of work for better positions. I also worked for a few years in Arizona where my daughter lived. Being a breast cancer survivor I had to have another surgery in 2001 and after that I left the nursing job and switched to teaching at a college of nursing and a university as a part-time lecturer. The sad thing is that when I look back at my work history within the United States I feel that I have always been underutilized and I have never been able to use my creativity in ways that I get job satisfaction.

In August 2011 I lost my job the same way many others did at that time, but I have never stopped looking for my dream job and I hope that one day, the recruiting processes change and the employers look for, recognize, and value creativity in job-seekers especially in seniors. Despite our age and because of our years of experience and wisdom, we have so much to offer but are easily overlooked.


To be continued......