Letters An Immigrant’s Arrival I found this old photo from when my parents and I (Dad is at far right, with Mom carrying me next to him) and a few aunts, uncles, and cousins all traveled from Hyderabad to Madras (Chennai) so my father could apply for a visa to come to the United States. He had been recruited by the University of Wisconsin to enroll in a masters program in civil and structural engineering, along with a scholarship and teaching fellowship. I have so much respect for his courage in leaving behind his beloved wife and baby girl in India so that he could pursue higher studies and the American dream. I also admire my mother’s incredible strength and willingness to be apart from her husband while raising me alone for two years. This was during a time when it was not easy or remotely affordable to fly back to visit home. We didn’t always have access to a phone and calls had to be scheduled; besides, international calls were prohibitively expensive. Remember overseas STD (subscriber toll dialing) or trunk calls and telegrams?
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Instead, my parents wrote beautiful long loving letters to one another during the two years they were apart on those blue aerogram tissue-thin envelopes. Mom saved all the letters in a box, but she won’t let us read them until she and my father are gone.
After graduating and landing a good job, my father brought us here to join him. It was not exactly perfect or easy, and we most definitely faced challenges as immigrants, but what a beautiful rich life we have been blessed to create in America. Shruthi Reddy Chicago, Illinois Downwind of Chincha Guano I was particularly interested in the article in the last issue, “The Smithsonian, the US
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Navy, and Aquatic Avian Excrement,” by Paul F. Johnston. I was a young deck officer in 1954 in the regular service from Europe to the West Coast of South America on board MV Bieberstein of Norddeutscher Lloyd (now HapagLloyd). We discharged and loaded cargoes at Pisco, Peru, the nearest major port to the Chincha Islands, only thirteen miles off the coast. Even after many years have passed, I still recall the obnoxious smell as so eloquently described by Mr. Johnston. It would be of interest to know how the seamen and the Chinese workers survived their long stay in these very dry islands. The sailing vessels could not carry sufficient fresh water and provisions for up to eight months of waiting plus the very slow loading time. Was there any ship service from the Peru mainland to the islands to provide for the livelihood of the seamen? Football and rowing sports are good for passing time, but water and food are essential. Also, what happened to the hundreds of Chinese workers after the mines shut down? Armin W. Becker Daytona Beach Shores, Florida From the Editor: Historian Justina Hwang looked at the history of Chinese indentured laborers in Peru: “Between 1849 and 1874, more than 100,000 coolies arrived in Peru as a result of Ley China, which allowed for the importation of an indentured work force of Chinese laborers in order to meet Peruvian need for labor after [its] slaves were emancipated in 1854....However, between 1849 and 1876, nearly half of the Chinese brought to Peru, ages 9 to 40, died from exhaustion, suicide, or ill treatment.” At the end of their contracts, the majority of those who survived their ordeal continued to work on the plantations. “Some coolies also migrated to the cities after successful completion of their contract. In cities such as Lima, some Chinese men were employed as domestic servants or artisans; they had more freedom to form households with native Peruvians, resulting in children of mixed race beginning in the 1850s.” (“Chinese in Peru in the 19th Century,” Modern Latin America, 8th Edition Companion Website: https://library.brown.edu/ create/modernlatinamerica/) SEA HISTORY 164, AUTUMN 2018