The East Indian Presence

The last name Thompson Is one of Scottish decent. But the person who owns the name has absolutely nothing to do with the Scottish, This Is a common scenario for the many that Inhabit the small Island of Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad, where the population of â€Å"just over a million people,† as it is colloquially recited, is a large mosaic of different ethnicities from different parts of the world, and immigrants from each ethnicity came many different reasons.These reasons, over time, have come to include slavery, indentured servitude, slave ownership, better lives, private businesses, and eventually leisure. The majority of the Trinitarian population Is comprised of people from East Indian parentage. L, along with my maternal side of the family fall into this category. East India refers to the country on the Asian continent where many know the natives for exotic spices, colorful tapestries, and art crafted by hand that creates a sense of the far and mystical land of India ma ny imagine as unreachable.But in the United States they are reachable, for almost 100 ears now, and today we share the America we all love with them as friends, colleagues, business partners, and neighbors. But It was not so In the beginning. East Indians came to the united States to create a foothold In the American dream of all. Instead of welcomes, though, they were met with the prejudices of the â€Å"white men† that rule the land with their unjust and racial hands. They were accused of being lethargic and detrimental to the country despite their contributions to the economy of the Pacific Coast.The East Indians began their movement out of India by first landing In British Columbia. The Immigrants came from many different areas of India such as Bengal, Gujarat, and the united Provinces. The propaganda pushed by Canadian employers created the impression of opportunity and success in working on the railroads. L The treatment the Indians received in British Columbia, however , was less than suitable for a hardworking employee. Many arrived there with verbal contracts for work that were never acknowledged, and living conditions unsuitable for the severe winters they encountered.From there, around 1907, they found their way down to the Pacific Coast of the united States In search of friendlier employers and better wages and weather. 2 They settled largely in Bellingham, Washington, and parts of Oregon, working in lumber mills. In these areas, it was easy for Indians to feel more comfortable at work since mill owners were indifferent to their turbans or their skin color. 3 Soon, there were around 1,072 Indian immigrants in the United States. 4 When eventually Euro-Americans caught on to how Indians may be endangering their Jobs, hundreds of them complained to the mill owners about being replaced and workers.As a result of these actions, Euro-Americans were able to convince employers that it was dangerous and unpredictable to have the â€Å"rag-heads,† as they called them, working for them and taking Jobs away from white workers. One can see the hypocrisy in the situation if one revisits the lethargic and volatile nature of these Euro-Americans themselves. In response to these injustices, the East Indians were forced to move further south into California. 5 As Indians entered California, in about 1907, their numbers again increased to around 1,782.Many moved to the port of San Francisco and the small city of Chic, Just north of San Francisco, because of the favorable treatment they received. Many set to work with the West Pacific Railway where eventually there were as many as 2,000 Indians working on the Pacific Railroad. As more time went by, less Indians worked the railroads after 1908 but they completed the construction of many bridges, tunnels, and railroad section work between 1907 and 1909. The Indians then turned their attention to agriculture in 1910, during Californians agriculture boom.This provided many Jobs for the Indians. 6 But in another unjust response to their hard work, Indians were now faced with opposition by different organizations. One of the organizations that proved determined to keep out Indians was the Asiatic Exclusion League. The Asiatic Exclusion League used their influential status to write Congress on several occasions about the â€Å"detrimental† effect that they believed Indians had on the American people. These â€Å"detrimental† affects included everything from industrial effects to moral effects.The Asiatic Exclusion League worked to its fullest to inhibit success for the â€Å"Asiatic† (Asiatic also included the Japanese, Korean, and Filipino people of Eastern Asia) as much as possible in order to ensure their removal and deportation if possible. In 1910, the Asiatic Exclusion League further propelled the removal of Indians by describing the way they live as a disregard for â€Å"the decencies of life†. 7 In the later months of 1910, the num ber of Indians admitted into the United States began to decrease and by June 1910, some were turned away and had to find ways around the main ports to get into the country.Indians tried alternate routes through Hawaii, Mexico, and even hiding until they could go unnoticed with those who were tot deported. 8 When one thinks about what the â€Å"American Dream† means, is what the Indians experienced what comes to mind? For most it is not so difficult. Many may see a definite struggle, until a great opportunity presents itself that can set one's destiny on the perfect path that one can be successful and pass that success onto further generations.But what Indians endured in coming to the United States, seems to be more difficult than one usually anticipates in trying to live out the â€Å"American Dream. † What can be said for the Indians and their so-called â€Å"American experience,† is that hey accomplished what they needed to in order to push past all the injust ices encountered and move forward. But I cannot say that they were able to enjoy the results of all their efforts. Nearly 100 years later, not many are aware of either their efforts on the Pacific railroads or the hardships they endured before and after that time in the United States.While many other ethnicities are able to look back at history books and read about their ancestors' endeavors and contributions to the United States, those of East Indian decent are unable to do so as easily. East Indian he efforts of the other Asiatic who came in search of the same work. Only they are outwardly credited, while the East Indian presence in United States history seems almost nonexistent. However, as one walks down the diverse and multicultural street of Devon Avenue, one encounters many different cultures and peoples.But one culture in particular that is prominent and well-known is the section known as â€Å"Little India. † This section is filled with many different places that one might hope to only see in India itself. Shops that sell saris, the traditional clothing worn by women, and salary zamia, the rotational clothing worn by men, restaurants that advertise their many Indian foods, and even Jewelry stores with the most precious and elaborate Indian gold. These shops line the avenue in the most ornate way. This section of Devon Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, is a good example of the presence and story of the East Indian peoples. Devon Avenue is home to many different cultures and ethnicities on several streets, but where the Indians mostly inhabit is on and around Mohammed All Zinnia Way and Mahatma Gandhi Mark. This section is also known as â€Å"Little India†. Here one sees an entirely new environment, one that completely envelopes the culture, lives, and surroundings of native India. I have been to India before and was surprised to feel as though I had returned. Everything looked real and authentic. As I looked around I expected to see Indians wh o may look and dress as though influenced by the American society, but this was quite the contrary.There were men, women, and children walking around dressed as if they Just arrived from India. Women wear brightly colored saris, ones that, according to Mrs†¦ Patella, a woman I stopped outside one of the sari-selling stores, â€Å"†¦ Re exactly, if not better than those in India. And the jewelry is some of the most wonderful there is. â€Å"10 Redcap, author of Ethnic Routes to Becoming an American: Indian Immigrants and the Cultures of Citizenship describes the exact same scene in the sass's when she first comes to America.There are, surprisingly, also many video stores that proclaim their Plywood contents and vociferously advertise with â€Å"film tunes† and, as Redcap illustrates, â€Å"window-hung Indian movie posters, featuring red-lipped, voluptuous women leaning against bare- cheated, brooding men in skin tight leather pants. 11 One man, Visual Ramparts, we nt so far as to say that â€Å"Devon is like an India away from India†¦ When my mother misses India (my father) takes her here and lets her spend the day, then she feels better. â€Å"12 All this and more contributes to the Indian story here in America.The story of the Indian peoples is an arduous one. They had to fight for a long time so that America could hear their voices. And when eventually they did, the Indians could feel more comfortable and accepted in their surroundings. Because they were now comfortable and more of them had better reasons to stay and bring heir families, in 1985 they accounted for more than 500,000 within the United States population. 13 Many of the immigrants settled in urban areas like New York , Miami, Anaheim, Washington D. C. , Houston, San Francisco, and of course Chicago. 4 With the settlement of these immigrants in these areas, they created sections with great diversity which attracted many other ethnicities, or encouraged them to create sec tions for themselves. But over time, some of these cities' diversity has dwindled diverse neighborhoods in the country such as Brooklyn and Queens in New York and Rogers Park in Chicago. 5 And in these communities, Indians play a significant part. These communities have helped make their presence known to the American people, because now there are people who are willing to speak out and educate the American people about their culture, lifestyle, and history.In the world today, people want to know more about them and are genuinely interested because of the diversity of the culture. As Helsel so puts it, â€Å"In the early sass's one could count on his or her fingers the number of articles and books about Asian Indians†¦. By 2003, the number had increased to more than 300. 16 Therefore, the evidence presented clearly supports and enhances the story of the Indian ethnicity making it more interesting and fascinating to others. It creates a will to understand their culture among ot hers from different backgrounds, especially when one exposes themselves to an environment like Devon Avenue.It sparks curiosity as to where these people came from, what their customs are, and what are the foreign things seen in the shop windows of Devon. When the East Indians came to the United States, looking for the American Dream, they found close to none of it. Though as time went on, some of hose who were not deported in 1910, found ways of living in hiding while working at the same time. And quite some time after that, they began to find work more easily in the United States. While still being part of a group plagued by prejudice for a long time, many soon came to accept them and their culture. 7 Many decided to move to other states that offered a lot of opportunity like New York, New Jersey, and Illinois. These places offered many Job opportunities like factories and other industrial work. New York was also a place where they could settle and await the arrival of their Emily who might immigrate later. In these places, Indians established small communities where they could all find comfort in one another. Soon these communities became known as â€Å"Little Indians,† like on Devon Avenue. 8 Today, there are East Indians in all fifty states. But the most populated are still New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, Florida, and of course, California where it all began. 19 Today, the East Indian presence in the United States is quite noticeable, but their presence is not enough to say that they have truly influenced the American fabric or the essence of America. They are here, and many know of them, but they and their culture are still seen as significantly different from what many know the average American culture to be.In closing, East Indians have made it into the American society and today fit in very well. They live alongside us everyday in workplaces, schools, and businesses. But as the presented evidence supports, this was not an easy goal to ach ieve. East Indians do not get the credit they deserve for their role in the construction of modern America and their part in United States history. History reedits many other ethnicities that worked beside East Indians on the railroads with its construction and omit the existence of the East Indian presence.This creates the illusion that East Indians are part of the groups of immigrants that moved to the United States in fairly modern times and did not contribute to making America what it is today. The goal of history is to educate others about different peoples and who they influence different times and places. This courtesy is not shown to those of the East Indian parentage in the United States history, although they, much like many muggy into the modern United States. They do not deal with a lot of prejudice, and many find their culture interesting and exotic.If anything, many more Americans are more interested in knowing about their culture and practices rather than bashing or b elittling it. In the America we live in today, a lot in the culture is commonplace and Americans are always trying to find something new and attractive to create a hybrid of to fit into the American lifestyle. One can see an example of this back in the sass's with the artist Gwen Stefan. She marketed her style with an East Indian flare wearing he decorative â€Å"bind'† on her forehead and sporting henna tattoos on her body.

Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology

Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology The Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology (JSLIST) is used to protect soldiers from chemical, biological, radioactive and other weapons and fallout. It is used with the Chemical Protective Mask for fully protect the body. JSLIST was developed by all four Defense services to provide a common protective suit. The suit includes the suit, overboots and gloves. JSLIST was developed to reduce heat build-up, allow for long wear, be washable and work with masks and other protective gear. The front of the suit opens and is designed to be worn over the soldiers uniform. JSLIST includes a hood, suspenders, high-waist pants and waist length jacket. Zippers have Velcro fastening covers to seal the zipper openings. The left sleeve has a pocket with flap for storage. The JSLIST suit liner has charcoal infused in the material to absorb chemical agents. The charcoal is high-tech activated carbon spheres making the suit lighter and less bulky. The fabric is designed to allow for movement of air and perspiration for added comfort. The overboots have buckles and go over the soldier’s boots. They are designed to protect the feet from contamination as well as water, snow, oil, mud and they are even flame resistant. JSLIST weighs less than six pounds and is available in wood or desert camouflage patterns. In uncontaminated areas the suit can be worn for up to 120 days if not washed. It can be worn for up to 24 hours in contaminated areas. JSLIST costs about $250 each. It can be stored up to 10 years and can be washed up to 6 times. Over 1.5 million suits have been produced to date. JSLIST first entered service in 1997. JSLIST comes in 11 sizes. Manufacturer’s Group Home Foundation in Belfast, ME Creative Apparel in Belfast, ME South Eastern Kentucky Rehabilitation Industries in Corbin, KY Peckham Vocational Industries in Lansing, MI

Leaellynasaura - Facts and Figures

Leaellynasaura - Facts and Figures Name: Leaellynasaura (Greek for Leaellyns lizard); pronounced LAY-ah-ELL-ee-nah-SORE-ah Habitat: Plains of Australia Historical Period: Middle Cretaceous (105 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 10 feet long and 100 pounds Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Slim build; long tail; relatively large eyes and brain About Leaellynasaura If the name Leaellynasaura sounds a bit odd, thats because this is one of the few dinosaurs to be named after a living person: in this case, the daughter of Australian paleontologists Thomas Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich, who discovered this ornithopod in 1989. The most striking thing about Leaellynasaura is how far south it lived: during the middle Cretaceous period, the continent of Australia was relatively cold, with long, dark winters. This would explain Leaellynasauras relatively large eyes (which need to be that big in order to gather in all the available light), as well as its relatively small size, given the limited resources of its ecosystem.   Since the discovery of Leaellynasaura, many other dinosaurs have been unearthed in the southern polar regions, including the vast continent of Antarctica. (See The 10 Most Important Dinosaurs of Australia and Antarctica.) This raises an important question: while the weight of opinion is that meat-eating dinosaurs had warm-blooded metabolisms, might this also have been the case for plant-eating ornithopods like Leaellynasaura, which needed a way to protect themselves from plunging temperatures? The evidence is inconclusive, even given the recent discovery of ornithopod dinosaurs bearing feathers (which are generally evolved by warm-blooded vertebrates as a means of insulation).

The Difference Between Complacent and Complaisant

The Difference Between Complacent and Complaisant The Difference Between Complacent and Complaisant The Difference Between Complacent and Complaisant By Sharon Its easy to mix up these two words, but theres a world of difference in their meanings. Complacent means self: He felt complacent about his excellent examination results. Complaisant, on the other hand, means eager to please or obliging. An example of its use is: He had thought she might oppose him, but found that she was surprisingly complaisant. Here are some quotations from newspapers: announced Thursday along with other Council committee assignments for the next four years, as focused on prodding a â€Å"complacent bureaucracy† to better provide city services and dig â€Å"deep into the operational failures of city (www.nytimes.com) Coming from San Francisco, I had feared that I would find L.A. too complacent about healthcare issues that were important to me. After 20 years working in the San Francisco Health Department (www.latimes.com) In fact, the fast way to $100 a share is the kind of deep cost-cutting that this relatively complaisant company has never been known for. This includes, as an order of magnitude, what knowledgeable insiders report is a call to slice $100 million out of CNNs annual budget of nearly $750 million. USA Today Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:75 Contronyms (Words with Contradictory Meanings)Running Amok or Running Amuck?When to use "an"

Letter to David Mitchell Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Letter to David Mitchell - Assignment Example I believe that boring teachers should reconsider their approaches of teaching. While teaching the same curriculum becomes boring, year in and year out, making the subject interesting is the challenge for the teacher. It becomes easier for the teacher to teach the same subject after each year passes by; and most teachers take the easy option. While it does become easier, it becomes more challenging in the way the teacher should approach the topic. Christine Gilbert by making the proposal of sacking boring teachers is jolting them awake and pushing the envelope further for these boring teachers. She is shocking them into action and I believe that it is high time someone did that. Did you know that high school dropout is increasing at an alarming pace and more than 50 percent of the students cite boring teachers and lack of interest in the subject taught at school as the primary reason for leaving school? In one sentence you suggest that that, "one of the reasons for this may be that th ey are bored themselves†. I agree that the teachers may become bored but this is no excuse against teaching boring lessons. The teacher can stimulate interest by involving students in the lesson. However, as I say all this I realize that teachers cannot do this all the time. They are pressed for resources and time. They have to teach so much in so little time with the principal hounding them to maintain discipline in class. Schools are becoming boring, it is not the teachers but the school that is becoming boring by being too rule oriented. Teachers, however, can change this by asking the school authorities to be more accommodating. Did you not have any teacher whose lessons you looked forward to? I know I have had such teachers. I also have had my share of boring and interesting teachers. Some teachers are boring because they have no interest in teaching. They take their job as just a job. They take a responsibility of teaching students and they just do that. However, there a re teachers who understand the essence of being a teacher. They engage us. I think boring teachers are only churning out students who are ill equipped to handle higher education such as colleges and universities. Even though I understand that teachers are not very highly paid, I do not think that I would want such teachers to be paid to teach me. I want teachers who are passionate about their jobs and are ready to accept the challenge of fighting the boredom of the same subject.. For me, the best teacher should have the following qualities: She should be passionate about her job; She should be able to communicate with the students on their level; and She should come up with lessons that activate the minds of the students. You state that Christine Gilbert's ideas ‘ignores the fact that some of the things children really ought to learn are boring...Are we going to phase out math in favour of more media studies and dance?’ Here again I disagree, Math is not boring. When yo u say that ‘quadratic equations are boring the first time’, it makes me wonder what boring teachers you have had. Some subjects are dry but they can be made more interesting in the way they are caught. Even media studies and dance can be made boring if the teacher focuses on too much technicality and theory. I understand that theory is boring and needs to be taught. But when a teacher focuses too much on theory and less of practical knowledge, students lose interest. You state that students

Why 16 year olds should not get their driver license Essay

Why 16 year olds should not get their driver license - Essay Example Given the current statistics on accidents related to teen driving, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the issuance of driving licenses to teenagers needs to be reviewed. A sixteen year old is still not an adult and is not able to make critical decisions when required to do so. There are several reasons to support the fact that a sixteen year old should not be issued with a driving license as discussed below. For a good driver, anticipation is very vital in making correct judgments on the road while driving. A driver needs to look beyond his/her bonnet in order to drive according to the surrounding and be able to make quick decisions in accordance with the prevailing factors around him/her. A teenager of 16 years cannot quickly comprehend the happenings around him/her and will not look beyond the bonnet while driving. The fact that they cannot react quickly to any changes around them that can potentially be risky makes them very vulnerable to accidents and, therefore, not fit to hold driving licenses. Teenagers like taking unnecessary risks in almost everything that they do. A good example is in video games, where after playing street race games, they will normally want to do the same practically on the road. For a sixteen year old kid with a driving license, imitating video games will lead to overspending. One fact about driving at very high speeds is that getting to control the vehicle becomes a big challenge. According to recent reports, most deaths of teenagers between the age of 15 and 18 are caused by crashes that are, as a result, of overspending. Most teenagers at sixteen years cannot make out the difference in the working principles of a vehicle and what they play on video games. Mastering the rules of the highway may also be a problem for most teens at sixteen years. Consequently, this may lead to accidents that may cost lives. Most teenagers are fans to loud music and other channels of entertainment. They are characterized

Employee Privacy Rights in the Workplace Research Paper

Employee Privacy Rights in the Workplace - Research Paper Example Many employees stealing from companies send the purloined data to their personal e-mail account held at home or on the web. 21 percent burned the information onto CDs.† Due to these technological security issues, employers feel the need and have the capability to monitor their employees. E-mails, voicemails, the Internet, telephones, computers, etc. can be used for unregulated monitoring. Employees say this is an invasion of their privacy. Companies say this is a protection of their assets. The law is not clear on whether companies are invading employees’ privacy rights regarding information technology so policies must be set and employees must be informed on what is considered to be an invasion of company confidentiality or employee privacy rights. In cases of lawsuits and investigations of regulations, instant messages and e-mail messages are used as the main source of evidence. However, according to the 2004 Workplace E-mail and Instant Messaging Survey, â€Å"employers remain largely ill-prepared to manage e-mail and instant messaging risks.† It is still not common for businesses to have policies set regarding information technology. Studies have found that 35 percent of companies have any policies set in place and a mere six percent of businesses save electronic business records. However, among those businesses that do â€Å"The failure to properly retain e-mail and IM reflects employers’ failure to educate employees about e-mail and IM risks, rules, and policies. The fact that 37% of respondents either do not know or are unsure about the difference between an electronic business record that must be retained, versus an insignificant message that may be deleted, suggests that employers are dropping the ball when it comes to effectively manage e-mail and IM use.† Company data is not the only thing that is at risk when policies are not in place and implemented.