Thread: Perspectives of an Immigrant’s Son

Exclusive: Perspectives of an Immigrant’s Son
M. Ray Arvand, MA
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/ho ... id=1279085

Author: M. Ray Arvand, MA
Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.
Date: August 28, 2007


Imagine waiting in line for hours to ride the hottest ride at an amusement park, only to have others cut in front of you when you reach the head of the line! FSM Contributing Editor M. Ray Arvand, MA, likens this scenario to illegal immigration, and gives us his unique perspective as the son of legal immigrants.

Perspectives of an Immigrant’s Son

By M. Ray Arvand, MA

I am the son of Iranian immigrants. My folks came to this country in the early 1970s before the Iranian revolution that brought the Ayatollah Khomeini to power. My father started out working in New York City in different jobs. Later, he worked in a theatre in New York City and ultimately made it to theatre management. For those of you old enough to recall Times Square in the early 1980s, he managed the Liberty and Empire theatres. He is currently a financial consultant and is working very hard to give his kids the best life he can. My dad wanted to leave Iran because he knew that Iran would only get worse and that it would be no place for him to raise children. He was proven correct.

He came to the United States in 1972. Shortly thereafter he was introduced to my mother by some of his family back home in Tehran. She came here to meet him and they ultimately were married. They had their first child in 1978. Later in 1982, my sister was born. She is currently a second year MBA student at the University of Connecticut in Storrs.

I am currently attending Columbia University in New York. I received my BA and MA in Criminal Justice in 2002 and 2006 respectively. I initially wanted to be an attorney, and it was only by the grace of God that I didn’t follow that path. I just don’t have the same passion for law as I have for political science, international security and counterterrorism. To enter a profession for which I have no passion would be worse than death itself. During my graduate study at John Jay, I met a fantastic professor (who shall remain nameless) who agreed to help me write my thesis. Along with him and a professor from John Jay’s psychology department, I wrote my MA thesis on suicide terrorism. I worked on my thesis for 15 months and I enjoyed every minute of it. I never saw it as work that I needed to complete for graduation. It was fun for me.

If you know anything about Iranian families, most of them raise their kids to be doctors, lawyers, dentists, businessmen/women, engineers or something along those lines. When my family and I go to Persian parties here in America, I hear all the folks talking about their kids and where they go for school: “My son goes to NYU and he is pre-medâ€

StandingOvation.....Clapping.....Clapping....

Clapping.....Clapping and now

whistling

WAY TO GO ARVAND !!!!!!!

PLEASE someone, make this a top story on our front page, this is an incredible article!!!

I plan to email this author and thank him for his very well put words, which describe this problem so well.

zeezil

Great Post you da man

Great find zeezil. I'm glad there are people like Arvand who speak aganist illegal immigration because they know it is wrong. God Bless Arvand and other legal immigrants who are standing up to fight.

thanks.

M. Ray Arvand

Welcome to Alipac

BRAVO!!

This young man represents the very best of attitude and committment that any legal immigrant from any part of the world can contribute. His statements are on the mark and yes, a standing ovation accompanied with a big 'Bravo' are in order. I applaud this young man.



ILLEGALS GO HOME, YOU ARE NOT WANTED HERE. LA RAZA IS LA RACIST

Welcome to ALIPAC Mr. Arvand. We will add this to our homepage to be proudly displayed on behalf of all of America's LEGAL immigrants that know that being an American is more than location.

W