The Ever-changing Life of a Child Immigrant | Mariana Piemiento | TEDxSamfordU
The speaker, originally from Medellín, Colombia, recounts how life evolved from comfortable normalcy to constant fear due to drug trafficking cartels, culminating in immigration to the US where family members lost professional stability and identity, ultimately finding power through the belief that small, persistent efforts can change the world. ## Speakers & Context - Speaker is originally from Medellín, Colombia. - Medellín is described as a city with *"exuberant kind in ever so genuine"* people but also a *"dark past"* tied to cocaine trafficking starting in the 80s. - Family lived in a *"very comfortable life"* in a nice apartment with a housekeeper. - The life changed due to the threat of cartels, leading to constant fear of bombings and shootings, with *"no peace"* until the *"bomb of the day was heard."* - After an incident involving a house visited by the father (an architect) and the discovery that a person on the phone knew private details, the family became targets. - The father relocated to Alabama in 2002 seeking political asylum. - The speaker, who was six years old at the time, later moved to the United States in August 2004. - The US provided physical safety, but not normality, forcing successful business owners to clean offices and work in construction. - The overall theme is that immigrant experience is leaving not just belongings, but *"who you are"* and one's *"entire college career that you worked for its leaving your identity."* ## Theses & Positions - The story of immigrants is incredible because they manage to make something of *"absolutely nothing."* - Power comes from believing that *"whatever you do even small is going to change someone else's life."* - Believing that *"the word impossible has I'm possible in it."* - Belief in persistent effort can overcome profound obstacles, like learning English in four months when the predicted time was over two years. ## Concepts & Definitions - **Cartel:** Implied reference to drug trafficking organizations that provided power, ambition, and fear in Colombia. - **Political Asylum:** The action taken by the father in 2002, leading the family out of Colombia. - **Normalcy vs. Safety:** The US provided physical safety but stripped away the routine and professional expectations of their former lives. ## Mechanisms & Processes - **Evolving Economy:** Colombia's top export shifted from coffee to cocaine by 1983. - **Threat Mechanism:** Cartels used private knowledge (e.g., a brother's swim practice schedule) to make threats, forcing extreme caution. - **Asylum Process:** The movement through various immigration stages, including the wait for pending requests. - **Skill Atrophy:** The shift from professional roles (architect, business owner) to manual labor (cleaning offices, construction) post-immigration. ## Timeline & Sequence - **1980s:** Colombian life begins with cocaine trafficking as a top industry. - **Pre-2002:** Family lives a *"very comfortable life"* in Medellín. - **Unspecified Period:** Period of daily bombings and weekly shootings. - **2002:** Father moves to Alabama seeking political asylum. - **Two and a half years (post-2002):** Family moved over five times. - **August 2004:** Family moves to the United States. - **Six years old (at the time of moving to the US):** Speaker's first experience in the foreign country. - **High School Career:** Setting a personal goal to complete the English as a Second Language (ESL) program in four months. ## Named Entities - **Medellín:** The city, nicknamed for its *"eternal spring."* - **Colombia:** The country of origin. - **Alabama:** Location where the father moved for asylum. - **Atlanta airport:** Place where the speaker reunited with her father. - **Hills Elementary East:** School attended after moving to the US. ## Numbers & Data - Year cocaine became top export: **1983**. - Age of speaker when first moving: **six years old**. - Age of brother: **nine years old** (at the time of father's move). - Brother's current age: **24**. - Duration of family moves after asylum: **two and a half years**. - Duration of ESL program: Predicted over **two years**, completed in **four months**. - Years since ESL goal was set: **six years** (total time elapsed from early trauma to later opportunities). ## Examples & Cases - **Favorite Hobby:** Going to a big pirate ship in the mall. - **Initial Comfort:** Having a housekeeper in a nice apartment. - **Loss of Stability:** Going from having a housekeeper to the mother performing all housekeeping jobs. - **The "Impossible" Achievement:** Completing the ESL program in four months when the predicted duration was over two years. ## Tools, Tech & Products - Pirate ship in the mall (used for leisure/escape). - Mobile phone/communication (used by the cartel to gather intelligence). ## Counterarguments & Caveats - The initial life was comfortable, but the constant threat of violence made it unstable. - The initial perception of the situation was that the US move would solve all problems, but it only changed them. - The narrative is challenged by the transition from physical danger (cartels) to existential/economic danger (loss of identity/career). ## Methodology - Narrative recollection of trauma and resilience. - Personal commitment setting a goal (English program) and executing it under intense pressure. ## Conclusions & Recommendations - Believe in the power of good and the power of change. - Believe in the power that even a *"small"* effort can have. - Believe that *"whatever you do even small is going to change someone else's life."* ## Implications & Consequences - Immigration is not just losing physical items, but one's entire identity and professional self. - The hardest journey is rebuilding self-worth and purpose after extreme loss. ## Verbatim Moments - *"The city nicknamed after its eternal spring never cease to amaze with its beauty and its people included exuberant kind in ever so genuine."* - *"by 1983 Colombia's top export was no longer coffee it was cocaine."* - *"there is no going out late into certain parts of town and fear that we would die that night."* - *"the man across the phone was also a member of one of the biggest cartels amazing Colombia I didn't notice it until really I was holder I'm 18 years old right now."* - *"my mom became a single mother for two and a half years and in this two and a half years we moved over five times."* - *"leaving your country isn't just leaving your belongings it's leaving who you are it's leaving your entire college career that you worked for its leaving your identity."* - *"I know this power is believing believing is power power and believing that whatever you do even small is going to change someone else's life."* - *"the word impossible has I'm possible in it."* - *"I'm done with the program."*