erished family. I was required to take the FLEX and boards to get licensed to practice in the US. We had to find schools for children who looked different, were too well dressed and polite and called Chinks because of their eyes. We learned that my husband was“ overqualified,” hence had to dumb down his resume to be hired for a job. Those were but some of the many hurdles, obstacles and changes to be managed.
All immigrants leave the comfort of their homes, undergo trials of separation, uncertainty and discrimination, to better their lives. They flee from dangers of persecution, violence, political unrest, poverty and presumed dangers to their lives and future, for better alternatives. They do these with great deliberation and certainly not for the fun of adventure.
From the unschooled farmers who travel in droves to gather ripened tomatoes, cut maturing asparagus and other farm products going north and back again, fearing they may not have the legal papers and be turned back before they have finished; to others who work as laborers in order to send back money to their families and take any jobs that no one else will do: they all sacrifice their lives. They sacrifice their health and dignity. They disrupt or forego the education of their children, and experience other privations we might never hear of. Unfortunately, many of these problems do not spare even the more educated and financially fortunate. A physician who, fleeing drug violence in his province comes legally into the US, cannot apply for boards because he hasn’ t had a US residency. He may work as an orderly in a hospital but eventually ends up working for a motor company in a different field, to support his family. A lawyer waiting on tables at a hotel eventually is tapped to help run the security office. All start from scratch and work their way up.
To be sure, these are the go-getters, the ones who do not wait for calamity to befall them. They live the words that Wm. Ernest Henley penned in his poem“ Invictus”( Unconqerable):
“ I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”
When properly vetted, immigrants are not meant to be beggars to drain the economy of the receiving country. On the contrary, they transfer their talents, no matter how humble, to wherever they are welcomed. There, in helping themselves, they hopefully become assets where they come to rest.
I am an immigrant. Dr. Oropilla is a retired psychiatrist.
PROFESSIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT PACKAGE
Do you have a new physician joining your practice?
Are you opening a new satellite office?
Are you moving to a new office location?
The GLMS Professional Announcement Package provides mailings and printed announcements in the monthly publications to let your colleagues know about changes in your practice.
Outsource your next mailing to GLMS.
CONTACT Cheri McGuire, Director of Marketing 502.736.6336 cheri. mcguire @ glms. org
MARCH 2017 11