I am from Colombo, Sri Lanka. I came to the United States when I was 18 in 1978. Although my family had money, both my parents and I knew that if I stayed in Sri Lanka, as a woman, my opportunities would be limited. Thus, in 1978, I was at a fork in the road in terms of my transitioning into adulthood. And I was not going to settle for being under the umbrella of a man. I had dreams and aspirations, and due to the corruption and social stratification system which marginalized anyone who wasn't a wealthy man in Sri Lankan society, I knew my home country was not going to provide me with the means for the opportunities I wanted for myself.

Before I left Sri Lanka, I decided it would be beneficial to pursue training in early childhood so that I could find employment more easily in the States. Thus, I got training at the Maria Montessori school in Colombo, Sri Lanka, which provided me with the means to get a teaching job in California, which is where my brother and family friends were living at the time. My brother had, like me, gone to the United States in pursuit of employment and education. We both knew that the education system in Sri Lanka was very corrupt in that regardless of one's individual merit, money was the most important factor in getting an education.

Luckily for me, I had some very important factors which helped my entry into the U.S. go smoothly. For one, as I mentioned before, I was able to find a community as well as housing fairly easily because my brother and family friends had already moved to the U.S. before me. Additionally, due to British influence in Sri Lanka, many Sri Lankans were required to, or voluntarily chose to, learn English as a second language.

Nevertheless, even with these helping factors, I certainly still encountered my fair share of difficulties in terms of adapting to the United States culture. For example, because Sri Lanka did not have an freeway system, I was completely--and, am still to this day--confused and thrown off by our freeways and roads in the U.S. Another difficulty I encountered was learning how to adapt to U.S. fashion and food. I remember saying to myself when I first came here "I have no idea what to order."

In addition to the difficulties I encountered in my assimilation into the U.S., I also encountered discrimination and prejudice because of my skin color. When my family and I were living in Indiana, I was once spat at by what I assumed to be a Ku Klux Klan member. I knew that there was a huge demographic of KKK members in Indiana, but I did not expect to encounter one in such a nasty way. To make matters worse, it had also come to my attention that my children were getting bullied in school. At that time, I knew I had to do something to protect myself and the safety of my family. After getting the advice from others, I decided it was time for us to move to a more cosmopolitan area of Indiana: Indianapolis. We figured that a move to a more cosmopolitan city would allow us to feel more welcome.

It was an awful experience, but despite it all, I must honestly say that other than that, I was genuinely surprised at how welcoming everyone was to me. In fact, it's quite funny actually because a part of the reason why I was so surprised by the acceptance I received here was because prior to my arrival in the U.S., I stopped in London, and had a terrible experience with discrimination. I had been ignored and denied service because of what I can only assume was the color of my skin. I remember calling my family back home in Sri Lanka and being so upset. I said to them, "If this is what America is like, I'm coming back to Sri Lanka!" Thankfully, other than my time in Indiana, I have not come across anything like that again.

In fact, my experience in the U.S. has been, for the most part, an incredible experience for which I am forever grateful. I have been given the means to stand on my own as a woman. I can work wherever I want, go wherever I want, and truly be who I want to be."

The first and perhaps most important finding I discovered in my interview with Laki was the role of the historical Sri Lankan history on her life. In order to give context to Laki’s story, I’d like to share some key aspects of Sri Lankan history, as well as some background information on Sri Lankan social and political issues. 

First, It is crucial in the context of Laki's story to understand that in Sri Lanka, a social stratification system developed historically. It is comprised of four key elements: gender, caste, class, and ethnicity (Riswan,2014) . The reason it is so keen to understand this historical development is that the belittling treatment and limited opportunities for women in Sri Lanka played a central role in Laki's migration to the United States.

Furthermore, it is also important to understand that depending on one's ethnic background or community, these forms of stratification are very different (Riswan, 2014). Specifically, there are two historically dominant ethnic groups which have made up the majority of the population in Sri Lanka and thus have their own way of structuring their respective caste systems: the Tamil and the Sinhalese (Riswan, 2014).

The reason the Tamil and Sinhalese have such distinctive customs is, in large part, due to the historical ethnic tensions between the two groups as a result of Sinhala nationalism in the mid 20th century. Hundreds of lives were lost as a result of the tensions, and thousands of Tamils were displaced. Thus, given that Laki is of Sinhalese descent, it is clear that had she been born Tamil, her experience may have been much different.

Similarly, if she had been born male, her story would certainly be very different as well. Perhaps she would not have even migrated at all. Laki described to me what would have been her main opportunity for social mobility as a woman as "being under the umbrella of a man." She and her parents alike decided she had more potential in her which she wanted to manifest. In her eyes, migrating to the U.S. allowed her to do that.

Another key finding I discovered in Laki's story was that, although Laki admitted that she saw many forms of inequality in the United States, she nonetheless felt that, in comparison to Sri Lanka, there were much more opportunities for upwards mobility. When I asked her if she felt as if the United States policies on immigration had in any way adversely affected her opportunities here, she replied with the upmost confidence, "No." She told me she felt that, as long as a person is willing to work hard, "they can be whoever they want to be." Even when I brought up some of the articles we had read in class about the myths of migration, or how many immigrants feel disillusioned when coming to the U.S., she seemed adamant in her conviction that the U.S. was a true meritocracy and offered much more equality for her as a woman than in her country of birth. Careful not to cloud the interview with my bias, I did not press any further.

The reason these findings were so significant to me was that, as seen in this course, there are many myths and misconceptions as to why people migrate, and how much "better off" migrants are once they come to the U.S. For example, in "Rethinking Migration," author Douglas Massey argues that contrary to popular belief, the reasons for migration are not simply due to things like "lack of economic development in their home countries" or "in response to differences in wages." In fact, he argued "international migrants do not originate in the world's poorest nations, but in those that are developing and growing dynamically" (Massey, 2005). In the case of Laki's migration, this is certainly true. Laki did not come to the United States because she wanted better wages or simply "a better life." She came here in search of a better educational opportunity than in her home country--which, although it did offer decent education for some, it was not for all.

In conclusion, Laki's story offered many insights about migration, including, but not limited to 1) the role of historical oppression in Sri Lanka and 2) perceptions of meritocracy in the U.S. While Laki's story does offer a more complex understanding of reasons for migrating than the tired phrase "in search of a better life," it is interesting that Laki truly believed her life was better here than it would be in the U.S.--even with the evidence illustrating the struggles the U.S. has for equal opportunity.

Massey, D. (2005). Five Myths about Immigration: Common Misconceptions Underlying U.S. Border-Enforcement Policy." Immigration Policy in Focus. Vol 4, Issue 6.

Sassen, S. (1993). "Why Migration?" Race Poverty, and the Environment. 

Sassen, S. (2001). The City Strategic site/ new frontier.

Riswan, M. (2014). A historical Survey of Social CLass and Caste System in Sri Lanka. International Jorunal of Faculty of Arts and Culture, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka. Retrieved from http://www.seu.ac.lk/researchandpublications/kalam/vol8/5%20KALAM%20VIII%20(1)%202014%20%20(Page%2040-47).doc14.11.2014-3.pdf

Roque, P. (2014). "19 Reasons Latin Americans Come To The U.S. That Have Nothing To Do With The American Dream" Huffpost. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/18/immigration-latin-america_n_5168356.html