rantlust

Posted by john on January 31st 2006 in History, India, Random, Raves, Society, Travel, USA
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A couple of years ago, we visited Ellis Island in NY harbor to see the Immigration museum there. It was part of a typical Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferry tour and the visit remains one of my most cherished personal experiences in America. Perhaps it is because I, like many of you on rantlust, am an American immigant and could identify with the history enshrined in that museum. It was truly a real step back in time looking at all the displays and the history that I could sense behind those silent artifacts was extremely moving. The people who brought them to the shores of America are long gone but the story of their dreams of a new life will live on in this museum.

There is also a very modern side to the museum where, for instance, there is this huge almost floor-to-ceiling LCD screen that is an interactive display. It allows you to look up ethnic and population demographics of the entire United States. For example, you could check to see which states had the highest concentrations of ethnic (East) Indians, the numbers, etc. It really is amazing.

Very beautifully maintained by the US National Park Service, the museum is housed in the former customs and immigration building on Ellis Island. The island itself has awesome front row views of lower Manhattan and the NY harbor. While we were walking around the grounds of the island, we came across a modern monument to the immigrants of this great country. People like me. It is called the American Immigrant Wall of Honor and is a stainless steel wall of names that people can add their own names or their forefathers’ names to. It is a wonderful idea conceived by a famous American son of Italian immigrants … Lee Iacocca, the former head of Chrysler Corporation. This is what he said in his own words.

It struck me that day that I would love my name on that wall for all posterity and if I am fortunate, one day maybe a descendant would be able to look for my name and touch his or her history, making an instant connection with their past. I see this not as an ego building exercise but rather a permanent tribute to the personal effort that fulfilled a dream to live in America. Most of us had a similar vision but took different routes here.

So after much procrastination, I recently went ahead and registered my name which was rendered longer by the fact that I prefaced it with my Kerala Syrian Christian family (clan) name. There are different cost structures associated with the type of name etching you can choose, with the standard one costing about $100 or so, per name. Details are in the link. The fee is considered a donation to the National Park Service and is tax deductible for us living here.

I did call in to ask how long it would take for the actual name to go up on the wall and the lady told me that if registered now, the name would go up on the wall only in Spring of 2008! So my friends, if this appeals to you and you’re interested in doing the same thing, it makes a lot of sense to do it sooner than later. Maybe one day we can all coordinate a reunion at the wall and celebrate our names, our histories, our roots and our routes to life in America.