ALL
LIGHT IMAGINED IN THE SEA: GOLDEN VENTURE AND THE SMUGGLING SAGA OF A NEW IMMIGRANT, 1980 - 1993
ThiscollectionisplacedinthecontextoftheGoldenVenturecrash.Ataquartertotwoonthe moonlessSundaymorningofJune6,1993,aHonduranhundred-and- ty-foottrampsteamerran agroundinRockawayBeach,Queens.1NamedtheGoldenVenture,theship’scargowasnotbulk goods,butrathernearlythreehundredChineseimmigrantssmuggledfromFujian,China.Someofthe 286peopleontheshipjumpedintothecoldAtlanticcurrents,abouthalfoftheship’spassengerswere deported,andotherswereheldinI.N.S.detentionfacilities.2CriminalizedbytheBillClinton administrationonthefearof“gangbehavior,”3andassociationwiththeseoperations,mostpassengers hadtheirclaimstoobtainasylumdeniedandputbehindbars.4Iarguethatthesametoxicadmixtureof racialfear,partisanpolitics,andsocialpanicthathadpropelledBillClintontowardsponsorshipof harshwelfarereforminacontroversialbreakwithNewDealliberalismalsomadehimthearchitectofa draconiancrimecontrolregime–criminalizingpeopleofcolorandthesurveillanceofimmigrantslike thosefromtheGoldenVentureCrash.Coalitionscomposedofadvocatesandtownresidentscalledfor thereleaseoftheseimmigrantswhohadtraveledsome17,000milesin112daysandarrivedinNew YorkviaSoutheastAsia,Africa,andLatinAmerica 5Somewerereleased,andmanyoftheimmigrants relocatedtoethnicenclaveslikeFlushing,Queens,andEastBroadwayinManhattan’sChinatown Thesesmuggledimmigrantsshiftedtheclassdemographicsoftheselocalitiesandanationalpolitical landscapeshapedbyearlierimmigrationwaves
ALLTHELIGHTIMAGINEDINTHESEAexploreshowethnicenclavesandself-sustained economiesbothgivewaytoanddisruptAmericanmythologiesthatimmigrantshavedefended,labored towards,andresisted–intheactofmakingsenseofnewlocalitiesandtopographies.Whatarethe culturalandreligiouspracticesofethnicenclavesthatimmigrantshavedismissedorheldonto–that areoftendeemedforeignandtransgressive–astheyarenavigatinganewland?Withanexhibit showcasingashort lmandpoetrycollection,thisprojectexploreshowtheinstitutionsofethnic enclavesserveasalocustoreckonwiththemythmakingofcorruption,racialization,self-su ciency, andtheAmericanDream.Instead,weconstructourownstandardsandexpectationsofkinship,labor, andmutualaid.
MypoetryisinspiredbythearttheGoldenVenturepassengerscreatedwhileindetention includingmagni centfoldedpapersculpturesandbeautifulpoetry–andthemusicofthediverse coalition,ThePeopleoftheGoldenVision,whocametoadvocateforthem Ai,oneofthefewwomen GoldenVenturepassengers,wrotepoetrywhileintheLerdoCountyDetentionFacilitiesinCalifornia WrittenonSeptember20,1994,toherAmericanadvocateDemian,apartofherpoemreads“..How youopenedmyeyesandmademesee,,,thateverything’snotasbadasitsometimesseems,,,andthey cannevertakeawayaperson’sdreams.”Giventhenuancesofinformalinstitutionsandpoliciesin ethnicenclaves,includingimmigrationsmuggling,employmentagencies,revolvingloanfunds,and more,theyalsoserveasaframeworkforrethinking“self-su ciency”or“corruption”asamodeof transgressingnormativeconceptionsofhistoricalprogresswithintransitionalgovernance.Iwantto explorethepossibilitiesofembodyingalternativewaystoimaginewhataninclusivesocietyfor migrantsandworkerscanlooklike–whilealsonavigatingthroughthetensionsoftheseinstitutions
Asaresponsetothelackofwelfareandcodi edpolicies,immigrantsandworkershavedeveloped alternativemodelsofmutualcare,economicmobility,andwork –whichcanbegenerativeofnew codi edinstitutions. PerhapswhenAiwrites,“theycannevertakeawayaperson’sdreams,”sheis consciousoftheframeworksinherandtheGoldenVenturespassengers:lookingbeyondpolitics,but anindividualchangeamidhistoricaldevastation–notattachedtowork,topolitics,andthemythsand gripofhistory
纪念 1993 年 6 月 6 日在金色冒险事故中遇难的 10 名无名乘客。 Forthe10namelesspassengerswhodiedintheGoldenVentureCrashonJune6,1993
1RobertD McFadden,“SmuggledtoNewYork:TheOverview--7DieasCrowdedImmigrantShipGroundsoQueens; ChineseAboardAreSeizedforIllegalEntry,”TheNewYorkTimes,June7,1993, https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/07/nyregion/smuggled-new-york-overview-7-die-crowded-immigrant-ship-grounds-of f-queenshtml
2PatrickRaddenKeefe,"TheSnakehead:AnEpicTaleoftheChinatownUnderworldandtheAmericanDream"(New York:Doubleday,2009)
3BillClinton,"PresidentialDecisionDirective9-AlienSmuggling,"June18,1993,ClintonDigitalLibrary,National Archives,WashingtonD.C.
4CeliaW.Dugger,“DozensofChineseFrom1993VoyageStillinJail,”NewYorkTimes,February3,1997, https://wwwnytimescom/1997/02/03/nyregion/dozens-of-chinese-from-1993-voyage-still-in-jailhtml 5Maryalice Yakutchik,“PeopleoftheGoldenVisionUnlikelyactiviststakeupthecauseofimprisonedChineserefugees,”The BaltimoreSun,June23,1995,https://wwwbaltimoresuncom/news/bs-xpm-1995-07-23-1995204040-storyhtml Teng2
my altar in placement for my lost ones whyhavemyFOLDedboatsdrownedand/andthiefofmyskinthey/theyarebrownlikeathunderstormcan /can
dotothedirtandthe shmenarenever/neverhomebecausetheseahastotake/taketheirlaboringsouls buttheyhaveoatedaway/awayandwhyhavemyFOLDedboatsdrowneda/amileawaybutIfoundthem againnoproblemsinceaperson’s/person’sbirthshouldalwaysbeexcused noproblemandlongtimenosee I’lllearntosayformydreams /dreams
“..andtheycannevertakeawayaperson’sdreams.”
–Ai,oneofthefewwomenGoldenVenturePassengers,September 20,1994,LerdoCountyDetentionFacilities,California
奶奶 / 外婆 /and[大]奶奶
Ididn’tgrowuphearingghoststories Becauseallimmigrantshavebeen listen
I rstsawitwhenIwas8 Anothervariationof 奶奶 (NaiNai) Sheismymaternalgrandmother,soitwas ordainedtocallher 外婆 (WaiPo) But,sheismy 奶奶 Itwasthe rsttimeIsaw 奶奶 raisehervoice Sheraisedherfrombirth.Sheraisedit.
The rsttimeIsawhercommandtheroom.My 奶奶 onmymom ’sside,shedidn’tspeak,onlyourdialect becausesheneverstepfootintoaclassroom AndI,whocrawledmywayintotheivorytower’sclassroom, struggledtounderstand There’sadangertothinkingeverythingisyettobeintellectualized
See 奶奶 commandGrandpa.Ilaterlearnedshetooktheformofourgreat-grandmother.Placedinfrontof 奶 奶, she was a giant. 大 for big. I’m not sure how to explain the Chinese genealogy of my great [大] grandmother–mygrandpa’smother Shehadmynose,afragmentofwind,likeaheartbeatcarriedacrossthe