After my parents got married my dad needed to get a job. I have a lot of siblings so my dad needed to make money if he wanted all of them to survive. My dad traveled a lot of places and worked at a couple of restaurants. One day he left to America and he felt that here in New York City  he would have a lot of job opportunities. A couple of years later my mom came to New York after my dad. My parents left my siblings back in Yemen, leaving my older sister who was the youngest at the time in the care of my other older siblings who were adults. My mom says that the first thing she received when she first arrived was the Quran the my dad had bought for her from a Mosque. It is an average size book, green cover with blue designs, Arabic words written inside, and little bit worn out especially from the spine. I remember asking her what was the meaning behind it and she had told me, “ it’s the words of Allah (God), no matter the situation Allah should always be in your heart. If you remember and love Allah, Allah will love and remember you.”  My mom is very religious when it comes to Islam,  she reads at least one page from the book everyday. I asked her when she read the book the most and she replied with, “ after praying, Fridays, and Ramadan”. My mom has owned the book for nearly 15 years and. My mom says that even though here in America people have different thoughts of Islam, she will never let go of her religion and the Quran is her reminder. 

– SN

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