October 4, 2000
Each day from April though October ferries run from Tiburon, north of San Francisco, to Angel Island, across from Alcatraz. On this island there is now a California State Park, camping and picnic sites, plus a museum in honor of the immigrants who spent their first nights in the United States right here. Many spent months, and even years, in the spartan barracks on this island.
To the descendants of immigrants who heard about their parents' retention on this island, a visit here can be quite emotional. To older adults whose first memories of America involve this place, a visit can be almost overwhelming. The group that visited on October 4, 2000 had both kinds of people, plus others with no idea of the island's history. Even the docents were surprised to learn of Caucasian Californians with such a history.
There's no doubt that the Chinese suffered much discrimination at the time of immigration, but it seems that many others did not come through toatlly unscathed either. Still, coming to this country was better than staying in Russia, where they were born, or China, where they were stranded. Though they came during The Great Depression, were required to work as farmers regardless of their trades or skills, and carried little of value except a few pictures and their Bibles, the arrival at Angel Island was celebrated as a new beginning.
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