ms_bhon

Did anyone in the US watch this very compelling documentary over the last three nights on PBS? "The New Americans" ? I stayed up until midnight last night just to watch the conclusion...

It traces the lives over several years of a few immigrants and immigrant families. Two families from Nigeria, Dominican baseball players, a Mexican family, a Palestinian woman who marries a Palestinian-American man, and an Indian guy and his family who goes to the US on an H1-B visa. (click on the link for more details).

It could have been about any western country that accepts immigrants. My husband and I laughed about the fact that they wouldn't have wanted to show his story... pretty boring. For those that don't know me-he's the Britishexpat. His immigration experience is documented on our homepage which is linked in my profile His immigration to the US (for marriage and life with me) was fairly straightforward, and in comparison to the lives shown in the documentary, lacking in drama. We also joked that they didn't show the stories of any Canadian immigrants, either. We did however, know all about "affadavits of support" and all the documentation they needed when applying for visas- from our first hand experience.

It was produced by "independent lens" and over the three nights traced these people's lives through births, deaths and marriage and of course adjustment to life in another country.

There's a quiz on that link about immigration- test to see how much you know... I would have thought I'd do better.

Comments, reviews, opinions, impressions?

Manc

Seems to me that they need to show it in UK instead of the current "It's dead easy to move abroad" crap they've been showing recently.

Gross50

I got to watched bits and clips of the program. I was touched with what i saw. i felt sad just seeing how much the immigrants had gone through. How hard life can be, even to the honest and hard working. my prayer goes out to law abiding immigrants who are going through a hard patch. how we take life for granted!

NC Penguin

I watched the first episode and have recorded the other two to watch later. Haven't got round to seeing them yet.

I do find it interesting that the nationalities chosen to represent immigrants came from developing or not so developed nations.