In America, I hang bird feeders on trees in my front yard. My neighbors complained, “Why the ugly bird feeders and food for birds spilling onto the ground?  It's unsightly and unsanitary.  They cheapen the neighborhood. Why?"  When the Japanese invaded China, my father was taken to a labor camp where he died.  I was just four.  That left me and my mom alone to survive.  Our neighbors in similar predicaments could not help us.  Food was scarce.  I learned to climb trees looking for baby doves in their nests.  When I caught a dove, my mom could then make a broth.  This was about the only food with protein we could count on.  My mom at each meal told me to be thankful for the doves.  I promised I would feed birds for the rest of my life. The bird feeders fulfill a promise I made to my mother when I was small. 

– Choy Jung, Central Coast Chinese Association

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child