Candy Modeste has been working to become a U.S. citizen for 12 years. Khalfan Abdulrahman moved to America 11 years ago. Now 22, he is also working toward U.S. citizenship. Both Sinclair Community College students are waiting to take the citizenship oath.
Applying for citizenship
Abdulrahman moved from Machakos, Kenya to New York City when he was 11 years old. He and his family stayed in a homeless shelter before moving to Ohio on a Greyhound bus. Through a network of friends, Abdulrahman’s family found a house in St. Anne’s Hill, a neighborhood in east Dayton.
“It was very challenging for my family to get back on its feet when we moved to
Dayton because we didn’t have any documents to show (employers) that could be used to apply for jobs,” he said.
Modeste spent seven years in Trinidad, her home country, waiting to become a permanent resident before moving to America. When she received her green card five years ago, she moved to America and applied for citizenship. However, she had to leave her son in Trinidad with his father until her citizenship was approved. She said it’s hard to be away from her son, and she talks with him every day when she can afford it.
“I came here to get a better life for (my son), knowing that I’m going back to get him eventually,” Modeste said.
Transferring education
Both Modeste and Abdulrahman had difficulties transferring their education from their home countries to Dayton. Abdulrahman had to repeat 6th grade even though he had already passed the grade level in Kenya. Modeste had to take the General Education Development test despite graduating high school in Trinidad. She believes she was more advanced in her education than other students earning their GED; she finished the process in only six weeks.
“For some reason they just wouldn’t recognize (my high school education) here. That’s why I had to take the GED exam,” she said.
Sharing their stories
Abdulrahman likes to share his story, but he feels that people have a lot of misconceptions about his culture because he is African. He said some people have even asked him if there are lions in his backyard.
“People will be really ignorant with it…so I’ll educate them a little bit,” he said.
Modeste thinks that sometimes she is treated differently because she is an immigrant. She said that even though immigrants pay a lot of money to come to America, some people still think there is an incentive for immigrants to come here.
“When (people) hear my accent or hear me talk or realize I’m not from here, they automatically assume I’m illegal,” Modeste said.
Abdulrahman thinks that students at Sinclair should be more aware of the cultures of the people around them. Modeste said that not everyone who is an immigrant is an illegal immigrant.
“We come here as immigrants and most of us are very shy,” she said. “We’re leaving everything behind…Some people are not sensitive to that.”