Second Blog Posting - CCQC
The Emotional Price Paid By A Displaced Family -
Ghada Karmi and her family had to take whatever punches where thrown at them. As they where put into England, they become comfortable with being mistreated. "I learned to adapt by clinging to the small routines of life." Growing up Ghada was over looked because she was Arab. Even though Ghada performed just as well as other girls. She had to deal with the fact that should would never be recognized for what she was worth. She was defined by her race and not her skills. "In point of fact, the little dark girl read the best, but I cannot in all conscience give the first prize for an English recitation to someone non-English (pg 246). Ghada was never given the chance to shine, and I believe that is emotional costing. When you are aways doing your best but never recognized for it. You grow up with a sense that anything you do will be disregarded, and in Ghada case it was true for a lot of things. Lucky for Ghada later in life she was given the chance to be recognized and shine. A lot of people never got that chance.
What I find really interesting is that Ghada almost expects to be mistreated or discriminated against because of her heritage. Ghada describes her experience with her Jewish friend Leslie and her parents as a positive thing, but does say that she experienced prejudice from her friends mother, "Only once did she betray any prejudice towards me. I was telling them that my parents had had ten people to dinner the night before, which was not unusual in our house as my mother had by then collected a motley group of Arabs around her, when she laughed in disbelief. 'Oh come on, don't tell awful whoppers, like Arabs do. Ten people indeed! You know that's not true." (197). Ghada says only once, almost like she was surprised that she was not discriminated against more. It really is problem how comfortable people become with being mistreated, its also really sad because no one deserves to be a victim of discrimination.
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ReplyDeleteYes, Anna I completely agree with your statement. I have also noticed that the emotional price paid by an immigrant family is that during this time (1950's) no one seems to agree with the Arabs, and makes an effort to exclude them. Ghada has been forced to live in a society that only sees her as a "Dirty Arab" and she is therefor not appreciated for the many talents she possesses. Then, when she tries to stand up for herself, she is only surrounded by cliques who have excluded her primarily due to the fact that she is not Jewish, "Zoe Steiner, looking particularly pleased with herself, was seated on top of her desk surrounded by an admiring group of four or five other Jewish girls. As soon as she saw me, her lips curled in a knowing smile and she began slowly to close a notebook which had been lying open on her lap. They all looked round at me and sniggered, watching until I had gone to my desk, finished my business and gone out again" (285). When entering the new school, Ghada didn't even have a chance to prove herself to the new surroundings. She instead had to be immediately judged based on the fact that she came from somewhere else. This immediate alienation is an emotional price no family or individual should have to endure, yet it has happened over and over again to the immigrants in every country because there is always someone that believes the "new kid" doesn't belong.