In February of 1991 Ramiro Fernandez immigrated from Columbia to the United States. Several of Ramiro’s family had been dying in Columbia and he felt unsafe. He made the hard decision and traveled to America for the chance at a better life. The first step was to apply for a visa. When he first arrived in the United states from Columbia he faced several unexpected challenges. English, Loneliness and prejudice were his three main challenges. After his flight to Miami international airport he faced his first challenge, English. Ramiro and his wife did not speak English, making communication difficult. They spent their first week hungry and struggling to communicate to obtain food and shelter in the Miami airport. After staying for seven days, they left the airport and moved to New York. Ramiro started applied for jobs, but with his last name being Fernandez, many employers offered him the lowest position in the company or not at all because of it. He did find a job and learned English but still struggled with the third challenge of loneliness. He said this was his hardest challenge. Having only his wife and eventually his daughters to talk to he grew lonely. Although it took time to form relationships, he eventually overcame this as he made relationships with other people. After living in New York for 7 years he decided to move to Rhode Island with his family. After living there for 10 years they moved to North Carolina in 2007. By some miracle, he said, they were able to buy a house in a good neighborhood. Ramiro and his wife settled down, raising their children and are still residing in North Carolina today. Although there were hard times he also had some happy ones. He said his experience immigrating to America was an amazing experience. He said the moving and thriving in a country that everyone speaks so highly of was exciting and he was happy he made the trip. Today, he helps other immigrants make the journey to the United States but strongly supports them doing so legally.
