Monica Campbell

Observations and reporter's notebook from a journalist at The World, a co-production of WGBH, PRI and the BBC. Twitter: @monica_campbell. Email: [email protected]

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"My father, who had an ironic sense of humor, took a certain delight from the phrase ‘a Chinaman’s chance.’ People don’t use that nineteenth-century expression anymore, but most of us still know what it means: no chance in hell. Dad sometimes liked to jest, about prosaic situations like getting to the store before closing, that neither he nor I had a Chinaman’s chance. Of course, he tried hard all his life here to prove that saying wrong. So have I. So have nearly four million Chinese Americans."

"A Chinaman’s Chance" by Eric Liu. Looking forward to digging into this later today. (via monicacampbell) 

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Before pursuing stand-up comedy full-time, Hari Kondabolu was a human rights activist. At first telling jokes was a cathartic release from the intense work he did with victims of hate crimes and workplace discrimination. In today’s interview he recounts how he began to incorporate aspects of his work into his comedy: 

"I used to do a bit where I used to read the U.S. citizenship application onstage. I think that’s part of just being overeducated and wanting to do document analysis, but I’d actually bring it on stage and read questions. Because for people who don’t know, this is what immigrants have to go through to gain status in this country and it’s absurd and it’s something we take for granted as American citizens.

Sometimes that was hard in a club on a Friday night and it’s 10 o-clock and everyone’s drunk and there’s a dude on stage reading a form, it’s a strange thing to read a government form in front of a bunch of drunk people.”

Hari’s new comedy album is called Waiting for 2042. 

Photo by Kyle Johnson

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"An A to Z Guide to Being Undocumented" @ocweekly

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2014/04/illegal_immigration_undocumented.php And artist Julio Salgado is here.

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Twitter: Changes to immigration law happening without Congress

Some spouses of H-1B visa holders will be allowed to work as well. http://t.co/rKHo1092V1

— Monica Campbell (@monica_campbell) May 7, 2014

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"My father, who had an ironic sense of humor, took a certain delight from the phrase 'a Chinaman's chance.' People don't use that nineteenth-century expression anymore, but most of us still know what it means: no chance in hell. Dad sometimes liked to jest, about prosaic situations like getting to the store before closing, that neither he nor I had a Chinaman's chance. Of course, he tried hard all his life here to prove that saying wrong. So have I. So have nearly four million Chinese Americans."

"A Chinaman's Chance" by Eric Liu. Looking forward to digging into this later today.

[cnet-es]

De niño, usaba mis juguetes para hacer modelos a escala de aparatos imaginarios como helicópteros de tres o cuatro hélices y autos de ocho llantas. Otras veces, guiado por la curiosidad, desarmaba lámparas de mano y relojes de pared para entender cómo y por qué funcionaban. Siempre me ha...

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A Strangely Beautiful Map of Race in America - Emily Badger - The Atlantic Cities http://t.co/sde5J7vhEn— Monica Campbell (@monica_campbell) August 14, 2013

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Google Translate getting stung for not following the AP Stylebook. #undocumented @thisisjorge http://t.co/tSP9Th0i4E

— Monica Campbell (@monica_campbell) August 13, 2013

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First Days Project

I talked to Samip Mallick the other day about his "First Days" project at the South Asian American Digital Archive. Fantastic idea. People often remember, despite how many years have gone by, their first days, their arrival, to a new country with crystal-clear recall. Mallick is capturing that digitally. We're asking our listeners who are immigrants or have immigrant heritage to share their first days in the United States? Have your parents or grandparents told you about their first days here? Tell your stories here in text and/or images, or share links to audio or video recordings. Here's a link for more info:

https://soundcloud.com/theworld/mallick-family-first-days

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There is a lot at stake. Bertha Mejia left El Salvador over 30 years ago. All of her family is here in the United States: siblings, her daughters, her mom, grandkids. She now faces deportation. Her case also is not rare. America’s population of detained immigrants has ballooned to more than 400,000 as enforcement tightens. Most detainees are like Mejia: undocumented—but not violent criminals. Critics say there are cheaper, more humane ways to treat these immigrants while their cases are pending.

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Nannies, housecleaners, caregivers—they are sometimes called the world’s most invisible workforce. In the U.S. alone, it’s estimated that more than 2 million people do this type of work. Most are women and many are immigrants. And pressure is growing to address their working conditions. 

Link to filmmaker Theo Rigby's "The Caretaker" http://www.theorigby.com/index.php#mi=1&pt=0&pi=19&s=0&p=0&a=0&at=0 

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A network of Americans, including a growing number of veterans, are now helping those who have worked with America’s military get U.S. visas. It is urgent work, especially as troops leave Afghanistan and their interpreters behind, many of whom will live in danger for the work they have done. 

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Mitt Romney’s presidential run brought attention to the Mormon church. But there is a side to the religion that breaks from mainstream references like Broadway’s “The Book of Mormon” or HBO’s “Big Love” series. It’s the church’s international mix, especially fueled by its presence in Latin America and, especially, Mexico, which ties to Mitt Romney’s own family ancestry.