Inspiring Conversation: Real People. Real Lives. Women Immigrants of NYC

Our podcast series of interviews with a diverse group of immigrant women living in NYC has come to an end. A month ago, we came together to discuss some of the common themes and topics that came up.

On Sunday, March 7, New Women New Yorkers held an online conversation with the women featured in our podcast series titled Real People. Real Lives. Women Immigrants of New York. The series introduces a diverse group of immigrant women living in NYC. Our storytellers included frontline workers, educators, a journalist, a stay-at-home mom, an artist, and an entrepreneur. Each of them shares her experience as an immigrant woman and reflects on the ideas of home and belonging in the context of New York City during an extraordinary year marked by the pandemic, racial justice protests, and presidential elections. From December 2020 to March 8, 2021, we released weekly episodes and they are all available here. Our Program Associate for Community & Storytelling, Bruna Shapira, facilitated the discussion alongside a community member, Sara Martinez.

In 1987, Congress declared the entire month of March Women’s History Month. Since then, each March is dedicated to recognizing, honoring, and celebrating women. It was fitting that we held this event during Women’s History Month and, specifically, on the day before International Women’s Day, which celebrates women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements across the globe. Such celebrations remind us, women, how important it is to reclaim our space and speak up, even though we won’t always be expected to.

Throughout the interviews, some common themes arose. Interviewees explained how they ended up in the United States. Some came to study; some had a US visa in their passports; some had no outright intention to move definitively but ended up doing so anyway. They also expressed how the pandemic personally impacted them as both women and immigrants. During Sunday’s virtual event, we had the opportunity to discuss these major themes further.

Anastassiya’s share was an emblematic example of our community’s experiences. As she told us, while her coworkers join their partners, family, and friends after clocking out, she has often found herself alone at the end of the workday. When being and working in a foreign country far from our families, immigrant women often ask themselves questions such as the ones Keyla raised: “What is my place in here? What am I supposed to do here?”

This feeling was particularly vivid at the beginning of the pandemic. When the city completely shut down, the feeling of loneliness became stronger for many of us, and we found ourselves thinking of home. As Potri shared, her homeland was bombed to the ground, and she cannot go back home because she has no home to go to. Yet, although she’s not physically able to go back, “Home is a consciousness,” she said. “You don’t leave home, you carry it with you.” Similarly, for Bahar, “Home is the closest place to our heart, where we can keep our identity, integrity, and way of living our life.” For Leyla, “Home is where everyone else is also trying to find a home, in a way.” This past year has imposed a heavy burden on everyone. For immigrant women, this burden got particularly challenging as there was plenty of time to feel homesick, miss loved ones, and wonder whether there would be a return.

During the event, we also had the chance to listen to parts of the podcast episodes and discuss them. One of the themes that stood out is domestic violence. “Usually our reaction is to just move on, and not say anything,” someone said. Instead, NWNY feels like a safe space where immigrant women can share their private and painful stories so that others know they are not alone and are encouraged to share their stories too. Before doing so, we “don’t know what [we] can do, with the power that [we] have.” We need to “create a better representation of what humanity should be, what it can be.”

“I now know of a place that I can suggest to the other women I meet,” Tameika affectionately said. Every time I attend an NWNY event, I am reminded of how special this organization is and how fortunate I am to be a part of it. Here, I found a community that I belong to. Here, I am sincerely understood by others based on the similar experiences we share.

REAL PEOPLE. REAL LIVES. WOMEN IMMIGRANTS OF NEW YORK 2020/2021: ONLINE EXHIBIT. In occasion of Real People. Real Lives., Bahar Sabzevari was commissioned to create a self-portrait and facilitated a collage-making workshop where the other participants had the chance of making their own.