INTERVIEW AND IMMIGRANTS
Students’ name
Tutor
Course
Date
I visited one of the refugee camps in the United States to seek someone who migrated to the United States from another country after the age of 15. I was, therefore, lucky to find one who was willing to share hi\her life experience with me. The informant desired to use a pseudonym to reduce any possible embarrassment or concerns about his\her privacy. He\she agreed to be interviewed at least an hour. When being asked whether he\she is okay with his\her statements being recorded during the interview, he agreed to be okay with it, and therefore I proceeded with the recording. o you can focus on the conversation without having to write extensive notes. If so, ask beforehand if your informant. Do not pressure anyone to be recorded. Offer to give your a copy of your final paper.
I: Hi, am (Student name).
Respondent: Hi to, am Daniel, how may I help you?
I: Am a student at (institution name) and would wish that you assist me in conducting some research. If I may also ask, are you an immigrant?
Respondent: Yeah am an immigrant. If I may ask, what is it about that you want to ask?
I: Thank you for the question, I am surveying anthropology, and I need someone who can at least provide information about his\her cultural background.
Respondent: That seems to be much engaging, how long do you intend to take on asking the questions.
I: Ah the question may take a maximum of one hour, would you please bear with me?
Respondent: Though the time is lengthy, I will just manage for your sake as a student.
I: Thank you for your understanding and consideration, is It okay if I may record our conversation?
Respondent: It is okay, but I have issues with privacy, is there any way you can preserve my confidentiality?
I: Yeah, allow me to give you a pseudonym. I will also give you a final copy of the paper.
Respondent: Alright.
I: Which pseudonym do you prefer?
Respondent: Brian
I: Okay, Brian, we can start. Where did you grow up, and at what age did you come to the United States?
Respondent: I grew up in Kigali, Rwanda, and came to the United States at the age of 19.
I: If I may ask, can you explain your original culture briefly?
Respondent: I am of the Tutsi culture. In terms of religion, we are Christians but combined with traditional beliefs. Our culture is widespread to DRC and Burundi. We were initially cattle herders. The Tutsi people were considered the wealthier people in society.
I: What language do you speak back at home?
Respondent: My native language is Kinyarwanda
I: How many people do live together in your immediate family, how do you relate, and how did you get along?
Respondent: We are 8 in number, father, mother, two siblings, aunt, and cousin. We are united and care for each other.
I: What was their home and neighborhood like- physically and socially?
Respondent: Physically, my home neighborhood is made up mostly of hills and forests with a cool climate. Socially we embraced culture in most of our normal living.
I: Have you experienced any weddings, funerals, coming-of-age ceremonies, or other life-cycle events?
Respondent: We have only experienced wedding so far from my parents here in the United States.
I: How did you immigrate to the United States?
Respondent: Due to political unrest in our country, we were brought to the United States by the red cross society as refugees seeking shelter and protection.
I: What did he or she expect of the United States?
Respondent: I expected peace and better living conditions, together with specialized care in this country. I can say that the expectations are not too far from being reached.
I: Are there multiple ethnic or racial groups in your homeland?
Respondent: Yeah, there are several ethnic groups in our homeland, including the Tutsi, Hutus, and Twa ethnic groups.
I: How did race and or ethnicity affect life in your homeland?
Respondent: Ethnicity brought disunity among our community members, which escalated to civil wars among the tribes accompanied by known war effects. Up to today, the bonding of the different ethnic groups is not easy due to varied cultures and ambitions.
I: What were their religious beliefs and practices?
Most of our ethnic groups believe in Christianity, with a small section believing in traditional religions or Muslim religion. The cultural practices of the other ethnic groups differ to a smaller extent with ours/
I: Do you have any particularly good memories of home, or bad ones?
Respondent: I have both good and bad. The good one is the rich culture and love that we used to enjoy at home. The bad one is the war tragedy that occurred back at home to result in deaths, separations, and poverty in our nation.
I: What was your life like, how was it different from here?
Respondent: My life back at home was full of joy and happiness as we lived like a family and exercised brotherhood. We understand each other well and felt free with each other. Here in America, I still do not feel comfortable since my culture varies greatly with the Americans.
I: What are your experiences and views of the American culture as an immigrant here, like how did you learn English, that is, if you did, and how does American culture differ from the culture that you came from?
Respondent: My transitioning to American English was quick since I used to speak English in my original homeland, though not as fluent as it is supposed to be. Our culture and America differ in a lot of ways such as dressing, speaking, marriage, singing and dancing, and so on.
I: Did you experience anything like culture shock on first arriving here? If so, what was it like?
Brian: Yeah, I experienced culture shock. The culture of dressing is very different from our home culture. Here some women do wear tight or short fittings, which is a taboo in our culture. The kind of foul language being spoken here is unacceptable in our society.
I: Was there anything that seemed particularly strange, confusing, funny, or hard to get used to about Americans?
Respondent: Yeah, their culture seemed funny and strange to me. Like the surging of the men’s trousers and tattoos to some of the locals.
I: Have you had any particularly good, bad, or exciting experiences as an immigrant?
Respondent: I have enjoyed the support the United States government is showing to us the refugees. I have experienced peace contrast to my home village that was faced with lots of political tension. However, we have been discriminated against by other American citizens as refugees.
I: Is there anything that you particularly like or do not like about Americans?
Respondent: I like the hardworking, intelligent, brave, and democratic characters of the Americans. I dislike their ego, racism, and unreceptiveness of visitors on some of the Americans.
I: Do you still feel connected to your original culture?
Respondent: Yeah, a lot. I do miss the memorable joy moments of our culture. I miss the foods in particular (Expresses according to his smile).
I: Then what do you do to maintain that connection or identity?
Respondent: We practice some of the cultures such as singing and dancing and speaking of our native language in this camp among my fellow tribes and countrymen. We also try to make some of the traditional foods of our culture.
I: What do you notice about American culture that Americans do not seem to see themselves?
Respondent: The American culture has been significantly influenced by Western culture. As a result, there are a lot of bad vices in the culture than the gods.
I: How would you describe American people to a friend in your home country?
Respondent: Some of the Americans are receptive and do care for others, whether they are the original residents or not, while others are racists who feel superior to the people from the other races.
I: Thank you so much for your time and your answers, they will help me a lot in my research studies. (Handshaking the respondent).
Respondent: Welcome and come again any time you feel like, but next time it would not be for the research’s sake. (Both laughing).