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The airport has been my second home in the last 3 years of
my life. My job as a Case Manager's Assistant includes picking up new arrivals
from the airport, taking them to their new home and giving them a brief
orientation and so forth. It is pleasant but painful sometimes. It is pleasant
to tell them "Welcome to America!" although I know it will be one of
the toughest challenges they have faced; it is also painful to see them
physically tired. Some of the new arrivals come from Asia, some of them
include: Thailand, Malaysia, Bhutan, Nepal, Vietnam, and Laos. Other countries
include: Iraq, Somalia, Jordan, and so forth. Because I am a Burmese
Interpreter, I only pick up new Burmese arrivals therefore; I get to say
"Welcome to America!" in Burmese. It's the greatest feeling of all,
to be able to welcome them with a familiar language and a familiar figure.
After all they are in a country where most people do not understand their
language, traditions and etc. Sometimes I will have to go to
Logan International Airport in Boston if the new arrivals have serious
medical issues, in such cases we immediately transfer them to Children's
Hospital, or Mass General
Hospital for further medical treatments. Most of the time the arrivals will
come late at night and it is bothersome for me to pick them up but still, if I
don't go, who would? No one else in my office speaks Burmese therefore will not
be able to make the new comers feel welcomed. I remember once when I was
picking up a family, their flight kept delaying; midnight to early morning and
so forth. The flight was delayed for 4 hours and I had to wait and eventually
fell asleep at the airport waiting for the family to arrive. I was so exhausted
that I couldn’t even go to school the next day. The best way to have a friendly
relationship with the newcomers is to pick them up from the air port and that
way they will remember that I am the first Burmese person they say when they
came to Lowell. That is the most rewarding thing of all; recognition…
This is really nice helping people and welcoming them to a completely new world and try to give them comfort in their new home.
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