Luis A Lopez-Manan

           After I read "My New World Journey", I was amazed because I never thought how much Nola struggled to be where she is right now. When Nola was explaining what was happening between the Tutsi and the Hutu tribes, I understood why their parents moved out to Burundi, country in which Nola was born and raised with her other six siblings. As she was telling how life was grueling in Burundi since the rivalry between the aforementioned tribes, I realized how hard it is to move out from your country to another one to survive and have a better life. In addition, I was shocked when she pointed out that some people were asking her about her country and Africa in general in a humorous way. This confirms how some people's ignorance can hurt immigrants.

          However, I never studied every country of the world carefully. But I was in Nola's shoes all the time because I understand how struggling life can be, especially if you have to adapt yourself in a country that you have never been before. It is pitiful to witness some people having no respect towards immigrants. In other words, they are extremely xenophobic and show no empathy at all. It is a shame that some individuals do not understand how immigrants have to adapt to their countries' environments and lifestyles. For example, in America you have to apply for your Social Security card, if you want to live in America. Sadly, they also think that Africa is a country and they labeled it as a country with no technology. Besides, Africa is a continent and it has more than 50 countries. But this does not happen only to Africa, it happens to other continents and other countries. I always have the following question: Why some human beings have little or no empathy towards immigrants?