A Visa For A Dream

This text is part of The New Immigrants Series edited by Nancy Foner. This groundbreaking new series fills the gap in knowledge relating to today's immigrants, how these groups are attempting to redefine their cultures while here, and their contribution to a new and changing America.

In 1980, Syrian filmmaker Mohammad Malas traveled to Lebanon to film a documentary of interviews with Palestinians of the refugee camps around Beirut about their dreams. The Dream: A Diary of the Film is Malas's haunting chronicle of his immersion in the life of the camps, including Shatila, Burj al-Barajneh, Nahr al-Bared, and Ein al-Helweh. It also describes the filmmaking process, from the research stage to the film's unofficial release, in Shatila Camp, before it reached a global audience. In vivid and poetic detail, Malas provides a snapshot of Palestinian refugees at a critical juncture of Lebanon's bloody civil war, and at the height of the PLO's power in Lebanon before the 1982 Israeli invasion and the PLO's subsequent expulsion. Malas probes his subjects' dreams and existential fears with an artist's acute sensitivity, revealing the extent to which the wounds and contingencies of Palestinian statelessness are woven into the tapestry of a fragmented Arab nationalism. Although he halted his work on the film in 1982, following the massacres of Sabra and Shatila, he completed it in 1987, turning 400 interviews into 23 dreams and 45 minutes of screen time. Both diary and film present these people somewhere between present and past tense, but they are preserved forever in the word, magnetic tape, and now in digital code. The Dream is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of the Palestinians in the modern Middle East, and for students and scholars of Arab filmmaking, politics, and literature.

A National Bestseller! What does an undocumented immigrant look like? What kind of family must she come from? How could she get into this country? What is the true price she must pay to remain in the United States? JULISSA ARCE knows firsthand that the most common, preconceived answers to those questions are sometimes far too simple-and often just plain wrong. On the surface, Arce's story reads like a how-to manual for achieving the American dream: growing up in an apartment on the outskirts of San Antonio, she worked tirelessly, achieved academic excellence, and landed a coveted job on Wall Street, complete with a six-figure salary. The level of professional and financial success that she achieved was the very definition of the American dream. But in this brave new memoir, Arce digs deep to reveal the physical, financial, and emotional costs of the stunning secret that she, like many other high-achieving, successful individuals in the United States, had been forced to keep not only from her bosses, but even from her closest friends. From the time she was brought to this country by her hardworking parents as a child, Arce-the scholarship winner, the honors college graduate, the young woman who climbed the ladder to become a vice president at Goldman Sachs-had secretly lived as an undocumented immigrant. In this surprising, at times heart-wrenching, but always inspirational personal story of struggle, grief, and ultimate redemption, Arce takes readers deep into the little-understood world of a generation of undocumented immigrants in the United States today- people who live next door, sit in your classrooms, work in the same office, and may very well be your boss. By opening up about the story of her successes, her heartbreaks, and her long-fought journey to emerge from the shadows and become an American citizen, Arce shows us the true cost of achieving the American dream-from the perspective of a woman who had to scale unseen and unimaginable walls to get there.

A journalist chronicles the next chapter in civil rights—the story of a movement and a nation, witnessed through the poignant and inspiring experiences of five young undocumented activists who are transforming society’s attitudes toward one of the most contentious political matters roiling America today: immigration. They are called the DREAMers: young people who were brought, or sent, to the United States as children and who have lived for years in America without legal status. Growing up, they often worked hard in school, planned for college, only to learn they were, in the eyes of the United States government and many citizens, "illegal aliens." Determined to take fate into their own hands, a group of these young undocumented immigrants risked their safety to "come out" about their status—sparking a transformative movement, engineering a seismic shift in public opinion on immigration, and inspiring other social movements across the country. Their quest for permanent legal protection under the so-called "Dream Act," stalled. But in 2012, the Obama administration issued a landmark, new immigration policy: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which has since protected more than half a million young immigrants from deportation even as efforts to install more expansive protections remain elusive. The Making of a Dream begins at the turn of the millennium, with the first of a series of "Dream Act" proposals; follows the efforts of policy makers, activists, and undocumented immigrants themselves, and concludes with the 2016 presidential election and the first months of the Trump presidency. The immigrants’ coming of age stories intersect with the watershed political and economic events of the last two decades: 9/11, the recession, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Obama presidency, and the rebirth of the anti-immigrant right. In telling their story, Laura Wides-Muñoz forces us to rethink our definition of what it means to be American.

The Dream takes up the story of Lek, her family and friends from two years further down the line. In the past, it has always been Lek who issued the ultimata, but this story opens with her having received one and it throws her. She is offered the fulfilment of her oldest dream, but can she take it? The fulfilment of any dream requires sacrifices, but is Lek prepared to make them now that her goal is within her grasp? It is a tough one, which means a hard time for her, although her family and friends are behind her as always. Which way will she go? The instinct to follow her dream and the inertia of a comfortable life in the village, as she gets older vie for supremacy in her mind. As is usual in this series, nothing is hidden from the reader, we are privy to all of Lek's agonizing thoughts. The Behind The Smile Series is the story of Lek, a bar girl in Pattaya, Thailand. Lek was born the eldest child of four in a typical rice farming family in the northern rice belt of Thailand. A catastrophe occurred out of the blue one day – her father died young with huge debts that the family knew nothing about. Lek was just twenty years of age, and the only one who could prevent the foreclosure of the family farm, and allow her younger sister and two brothers to continue their education. However, the only way she knew how was to go to work in her cousin’s bar in Pattaya. Can a Pattaya bar girl ever go back to being a regular girlfriend or wife? 'Behind The Smile' is a look into one part of Thailand, a country known around the world as 'The Land of Smiles'. The Dream takes up the story of Lek, her family and friends from two years further down the line. In the past, it has always been Lek who issued the ultimata, but this story opens with her having received one and it throws her. She is offered the fulfilment of her oldest dream, but can she take it? The fulfilment of any dream requires sacrifices, but is Lek prepared to make them now that her goal is within her grasp? It is a tough one, which means a hard time for her, although her family and friends are behind her as always. Which way will she go? The instinct to follow her dream and the inertia of a comfortable life in the village, as she gets older vie for supremacy in her mind. As is usual in this series, nothing is hidden from the reader, we are privy to all of Lek's agonizing thoughts. Translator: Owen Jones PUBLISHER: TEKTIME

Synopsis At an early age, a young girl met and fell in love with a good looking boy who often visited the Kingston wharf to swim with other boys. It was close to this area that Doreen met and fell in love with this boy known to others only as Roy. This boy was the oldest of the pack of boys who he often hangs out with at the wharf. She had no idea what would become of her life. It did not take long before the two became really close. Although Doreen was under age, she failed to follow her mother's advise and was sexually involved with the boy she met. She became pregnant and later gives birth to a child with amazing capabilities. From the inception of his birth, Nigel, was deemed a child of mystery and remarkable talent. He had visions in the world that many people, including his family, could not believe. At a young age, he was able to tell vivid stories of his dreams and imaginations to his family that at times appeared to be seemingly real. Even in school he developed the ability to read and write much quicker than others who were not able to at his level. Who knew that one day this young boy would rise above it all. Only time will give an account to what kind of man Nigel would grow up to be, as he get over the spirits that followed the family for most of his young life. Incredibly, his family dug deeper to explore the visions and talent this youngster possessed. They would later realize that there is more to his talents that set him apart from other children. They would later find out most of his talents would stem from spirits teaching him the basic principles of learning to read and write. Soon enough, the thoughts of dealing and finding ways to evade ghost would overwhelm them. The spirits would haunt them everywhere they traveled. However, despite all their fears casted by ghosts, Nigel was the least fearful of the crack walls, the rising bed and the falling clock. Ultimately, their vision and hope to rise against it all will one day become a possibility.

This novel depicts the odyssey of an immigrant in the USA as he chased his American dream. His journey started from the day he acquired a US visa in his homeland, having undergone a gruelling grilling like a Hilary Clinton being put on the spot to defend her sanction of the war in Iraq. When he finally got the gold spoon, he felt like he was the burning torch in the hand of the Statue Of Liberty. Then just when he thought he was heading for a bed of roses in the mainland, he had to think twice in paradise. The work appeals to every emotion - sadness, joy, disgust and even loneliness. The protagonist uses flashbacks and his stream of consciousness to stimulate the actions in the story.

Get ready to make your dreams come true following the steps outlined in Why Dream but to Make Your Dreams Come True. Rosanne Martins was living with her husband and 3 children in So Paulo when her husband, after eighteen years of service, was unexpectedly let go from his executive position with an international company. To survive the next two years of struggle and support her family, Rosanne needed to embrace the challenges of life and through adversity, grow and succeed. Become inspired and realize that the universe has a greater plan for each of us. With confidence and determination, anything is possible. Why Dream but to Make Your Dreams Come True will teach you how to tackle lifes obstacles, live with passion and purpose, and realize your fondest dreams.

First published in 1991. An introductory guidebook to dream interpretation which will be of interest to analysts and therapists both in practice and training and to a wider readership interested in the origins and significance of dreams. This book should be of interest to dream psychology analysts, therapists, counsellors, and the general reader.