My Journey Across the Sea

1. My Journey Across the Sea The Immigration Experience of Giovanni Cascardi

2. On Our Way - June 22, 1908 • Wow! I can’t believe my parents have finally saved enough money for the trip to America for our whole family. For a while we were not sure that we would be able to go. I have four brothers and one sister. Papa said that maybe the oldest boys would go on their own and we would meet them later. It has been two years of extra work and a lot of sacrifice, but it is worth it to all be able to go together. Oh, by the way my name is Giovanni Cascardi and I am from the town of Limbadi in Italy. Limbadi is in the region of Calabria. Calabria is in southern Italy, the toe of the boot. I am twelve years old, tall and skinny with brown hair and blue eyes. My eyes are blue because I have ancestors that were originally from the north. I have been learning the trade of masonry for two years now. Sometimes I go to school, but when there is work for me, I go to the job. I can hardly wait to leave my country to go to America. There are many stories saying America is full of opportunity and that I will have a lot of work and we will have plenty to eat .

3. What I Will Miss - June 24, 1908 • There are many things about Italy that I will miss. It is my home country. I will miss my friends Lucca and Rosario. I hope that one day they will be able to come to America also. Italy is not a bad country but America seems to have more opportunities. I guess that is why it is called ‘the land of opportunity’. Italy is a poor country right now and we have a big family that is hard to support. There is not enough work near to our village for all of us to live on. We have no doctor in our small town either. We even have to share our teacher with other villages, and even when he does come to Limbadi, I have to work rather than go to school. My family was not sure if they would go to America at first, they thought about going to Argentina. We know some other people from the village that went there. Later on, we heard about the many jobs open in America so we decided to go there instead. I also hope to go to school in America every day. The education is free to all who live there. I hope Papa can earn enough money so that I can go to school and not have to work until I am older.

4. The Voyage - July 14, 1908 • We left Italy on June 26 and we just arrived today. This was the worst experience of my life! We had to stay on the very bottom of the ship where they sometimes keep the animals; I believe this was called steerage. On top of that, we had no privacy, no space, and diseases spread very fast. Whenever I could, on nice days, I walked around on top of the deck. My little sister got sick and we were all very worried, but she recovered a few days before we arrived. Sleeping was terrible. We took turns sharing a bunk every now and then. There were 250 people and only 50 bunks. Mostly I slept on the floor and used my bundle of clothes for a pillow. We brought our own food because the food on the ship was very costly, but we had to ration it carefully so that it could last through the journey. We hit some rough waves for a time and many people were seasick, I was one of them. When I saw the Statue of Liberty, I was so happy. We all celebrated and felt that no matter how bad the journey was, it was worth it now.

5. Ellis Island - July 14, 1908, P.M. • My whole family made it through Ellis Island! We are so happy we are crying with joy. We were told Ellis Island is also called the Isle of Tears because many immigrants are sent back to Europe because of poor health or lack of a job. That is why my parents were so worried when my sister got sick. If she did not make it through, would we have all gone back or maybe just my mother and my little sister? What a horrible thought. The 70 dollars it cost us to get here would have been wasted. When we first arrived, a ferryboat came to transport us to Ellis Island. It was so noisy in the Registry Hall, people shouting, babies crying, and guards telling us where to go once they put the tags with numbers on us. I was sent to the stairs of separation. I stood up as straight as I could and tried not to look tired. Next came the examination by the doctors. They had chalk in their hands to mark us with. They tested me cholera, influenza, heart problems, rashes, scalp infections, and hernia. They also checked to see if I had a stable mind. If they marked you with an ‘X’ you would be sent right back to your homeland. Next were the questions about job skills, education, and money. If the immigration officer was satisfied with your answers, you would move on. My family and I all met at the ‘kissing post’ to celebrate our acceptance into America.

6. In America - October 21, 1908 • I have been in America for over three months now. I can speak much more English and am beginning to learn how to read. I hope people will treat me better now that they hear me speak English. This is making me feel good about being here. We are all still working hard so that we can move out of the tenement as soon as possible. There is too much sickness that spreads too easily inside this crowded tenement. Some families are so poor they have given their youngest children to the orphanages because they cannot afford to take care of them. This makes me so sad and at the same time grateful that my family is still together. One family I know was persecuted just for being Irish. The natives of New York resent immigrants working for cheaper wages. Sometimes when I go to work people call me names and say “Go back to Italy and leave our jobs to us”. I feel like hitting those people, but I don’t want to lose my job. Although my life in America is not exactly what I had dreamed it would be, it is still better than starving in Italy. I still hope to get and education, if not for me then for the children I will have one day.

7. A Year Later - July 30, 1909 • Life in America is good, but it could be better. We are living in New York City because there is a lot of construction work for us to do. The whole family works except my little sister. Since there are so many of us working, we do have enough money for rent, food, and some clothes. It is very crowded where we live in the tenement and there is a lot of crime. We live in two small rooms and the only place to run around outside is in the alleyways, rooftops, and the streets. I miss the countryside of my hometown in Italy and all the olive trees I used to see growing there. Now what I see outside the window is the fire escape! It is very hard learning English, but my sister is teaching me at night after work. Since I was learning masonry, I work as a helper to the bricklayers at construction sites, two of my brothers work helping carpenters there too. Since we are Italian we get paid $1.25 at the most in one day, this is less than the other workers get, but we are still happy to have the jobs. My father and my oldest brother work together as tailors. My new friends are all from different countries, mainly Ireland and Germany. My friend from Ireland is also helping me to learn English. I think my life in America will be much better once I can speak better, read and write.