Baqar Mirza 

Professor Chin 

Sociology 

21 August 2025 

                                                            My Story; Our Story

   The object I chose is a decorative rug embroidered with Ayatul-Kursi, believed to hold protective powers, which my grandmother brought from Karachi, Pakistan when she came to the United States for the last time to watch my mother get married. This rug, with its intricate red details threaded into a beige background, was more than just something to hang on our walls—it carried memories of home and served as a reminder of Pakistani artistry and Islamic tradition. Using the sociological imagination, I can see that our story is not only about my grandmother giving her daughter away to a new country, but also about the broader experience of families sending loved ones to the U.S. because of political instability and corruption in their homelands. The rug allows my parents to preserve their cultural and religious heritage while adapting to American society. Its delicate threads, shaping a red border around the verses of protection, symbolize resilience, separation and tradition. In this way, this object holds experiences connecting the private struggles of my family's migration story to the larger public issues of immigrant families who carry pieces of their culture across borders for a hope of a better future. 

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Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant