They are strangers in a strange land: men and women who make the bold choice to leave behind the only country they've ever known to seek out a new life thousands of miles away. Every year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants enter the U.S. Some are fleeing war-torn homelands, others are reuniting with family members who are already here or simply seeking out new opportunities in a new place.
Regardless of the motivation, the change can be drastic for transplants who are starting over without their familiar support system, and without knowledge of their new home's native tongue. But lucky for those who land in the Lehigh Valley, there's a safe haven, of sorts, on Allentown's Hamilton Street. The Literacy Center has opened its doors to adults in search of English language and other life and career skills for more than 40 years. Currently, students from 57 countries speaking 28 native languages attend the center. “We have people from all over the world, but everyone gets along,” says Christine Bauder, the center's community engagement and outreach coordinator. “Everyone helps each other. They're all working toward the same goal.”
Jhancarlo Veras, 32, wasn't planning on moving to the U.S., but fate had other plans. The Dominican Republic native had traveled to the Allentown area many times over the years to visit family. “I used to come like a tourist,” he explains. “One week, two weeks, 30 days, 50 days.” But, on one of those trips, the tourist found his bride-to-be; she was a friend of his cousin's. Veras kept in contact with her after returning home and, in May of 2017, made the decision to uproot his life in the Dominican Republic and move to the U.S. permanently to make the marriage work. “It was very, very difficult,” he says. “It changed everything in my life.”
An IT professional with PepsiCo Foods Caribbean in the Dominican Republic, Veras knew he'd have to learn to speak English to keep his career flourishing in America. A family member's wife studied at The Literacy Center; Veras decided he'd give it a try. “I was between excited and intimidated,” he recalls. He needn't have been apprehensive; Veras says he quickly found his footing in his twice-weekly English classes. His only complaint: He wishes he could spend even more time at The Literacy Center. “I would like to come all days!” he says.
Veras says the know-how he gleaned from his classes helped him land a job in January as a general administration clerk at Wakefern Food Corp. in Breinigsville. In his spare time, he enjoys dancing at local clubs. He can escape to the big city whenever he wants to—his mother lives in New York—but Veras says he prefers the quiet of the Lehigh Valley. While there are things he misses about the Dominican Republic, he has no regrets about making the move to America. “I think this is a country where, when you do what you have to do, you have opportunity.”
Discussing her native Syria brings tears to 33-year-old Nour Sayegh's eyes. Like so many of her countrymen and women, she watched her nation be torn apart by a civil war that began in 2011 and continues to rage today. She and her family toughed it out as best as they could, but she and her husband, Elias Makkad, were married for just two months when the factory that they depended on for their livelihood was destroyed in the conflict. “We tried to make it work in Syria. We couldn't do it,” Sayegh says. They knew they had to get serious about leaving their homeland. “We had to start a new life, a new everything.” They came to the U.S. two years ago. By that time, they had another reason to seek out a fresh beginning: “I wanted a better life for my son,” she says.
A friend told them about Whitehall: “Good schools, good community,” says Sayegh. They bought a home there, and both Makkad and Sayegh began taking classes at The Literacy Center. Sayegh says she immediately felt at ease with her peers and her teachers. “Different cultures, different countries, but when we come here, we are all family.” In fact, her husband, Makkad, can call the staff at The Literacy Center his official work family—he was hired as the center's controller in 2016.
Sayegh, meanwhile, has been boning up on her English in the hopes of joining the local workforce herself. “I think I need a little more [class time], but I think I'm ready,” she says. Sayegh is a woman of many interests; she says she has her master's degree in psychology, so teaching could be an option. But she's also very interested in fashion and interior design, so those are possible career paths as well.
Even while she talks excitedly about what the future may hold, Sayegh has not forgotten her roots. Her parents also made it out of Syria; they immigrated to Canada. But her grandparents are still in Aleppo. Although Sayegh can speak to them by phone, she knows visiting them is out of the question for now. She worries about them, and about what will become of her birthplace. When asked what she likes most about the U.S., Sayegh replies quickly and bluntly: “It's safe.”
For Algerian natives turned Allentown residents, Abdelhak Mimoune, 38, and his wife of eight years, Sihem Boubesla, 36, immigrating to America was like hitting the lottery—literally. They were selected in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, also known as the Green Card Lottery, which seeks to diversify the immigrant pool by selecting applicants from countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S. The program offers as many as 50,000 visas a year. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, winners are chosen at random.
Mimoune remembers how he felt when he got the news that he and his wife would be going to America: “I felt like I was just born!” He also remembers the exact day in 2015 when the pair arrived on U.S. soil. “I told her [Boubesla], November 15 can be the first day of the rest of our life,” he recalls. One problem: neither spoke a word of English. “When I came the first time, I couldn't do anything in the USA,” says Boubesla. “I speak Arabic and French in my country.”
Enter The Literacy Center. “All of the teachers are the best,” Mimoune says. “They support us. They treat us like family.” Mimoune credits the center with imbuing him with the tenacity he needed to earn his commercial driver's license from Lehigh Carbon Community College. Now he travels around the country he's proud to call his own, taking in the sights from behind his tractor-trailer's substantial windshield. “That happened because I came [to The Literacy Center],” he says.
Boubesla says she, too, found an inner confidence that helped her adjust to her new life, thousands of miles away from home. “Now I can go out without my husband, I can speak with people,” she says. “I try to sharpen my English.”
Although they acknowledge missing family members who are still in Algeria, both Mimoune and Boubesla are enthusiastic and grateful for this new chapter in their lives. Mimoune can't help but grin when he remembers the stroke of good luck that gave him and his wife a one-way ticket to America back in 2015. “USA is the dream for everybody,” says Mimoune.
These, says Bauder, are just a few of The Literacy Center's success stories. And, while the importance of the skill building can't be overstated, perhaps it's the fellowship building that happens outside of classroom time that's even more essential. “They have baby showers for each other, birthday parties for the students. It's amazing to see that,” she says.
Fun Facts About Literacy & The Literacy Center
- It takes roughly 1,500 hours of instruction for a non-native speaker to become fluent in a language. That's about seven years, from beginner to fluency.
- The student population of The Literacy Center represents 57 countries and speaks 28 different homeland languages.
- The Literacy Center staff and adjunct teachers are also multi-cultural, representing five countries: Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Hungary, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico (a territory of the U.S.).
- Twelve students earned U.S. citizenship last year. To become a citizen, you must pass the naturalization test, which is comprised of an interview session and an English and Civics test of 100 questions focusing solely on U.S. history and government. The application fee is $725. It is not a multiple-choice test. A sample question would be: Who is the Chief Justice of the United States today?
- There are four sections to the GED (General Equivalency Diploma), each requiring a passing grade: Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies. A typical math question would be to simplify this expression: -5x + 16 - 8x - 14 + 10x
- The Literacy Center has changed the lives of 28,000 people over the course of 41 years through community-based instruction in ESL and GED preparation.
