NATURALIZATION RITUAL WAS UNIQUELY AMERICAN
By Albert Jafarjian

Buffalo News, NY
June 8 2006

Albert Jafarjian, who lives in Williamsville, was moved as he watched
47 immigrants become U.S. citizens.

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of
America…” started the voice. Then others in the room joined in:
a judge, the choir and the family and friends of the guests of honor.

Those being honored were 47 immigrants who became naturalized U.S.
citizens on May 4. The courtroom on the sixth floor of the Federal
Court Building on Court Street in Buffalo was full.

The voice was not one that spoke English as a native language. The
woman who came up to the podium to lead us in the pledge was from
Mexico, accompanied by her husband and their infant child. Although
the English was not without accent, her pride showed through crystal
clear. And so went the ceremony I attended with my kindergarten
daughter.

I am a social studies teacher, and upon learning that one of my
students was to become an official U.S. citizen with her parents,
I asked to attend their ceremony.

When we arrived, there were benches lining each side of the hallway
outside of the courtroom, full of people. I have never seen so many
different kinds of people in such a small area in my life.

We later learned from the judge that the 47 people who became citizens
that day were from 23 different nations, from all around the world. A
gentleman who facilitated the process for the judge invited us in;
he was kind, lighthearted and made us laugh with corny jokes.

Immigration is a national issue these days. These people went through
the process most of our ancestors did, by legally becoming naturalized
citizens.

Whatever the politics are, this event showed me very clearly what
our nation stands for: a place in the world for anyone to come and
contribute, enjoy our rights and freedoms and have the chance at
success. This ceremony was moving, interesting and profound.

A day like this can only make an observer reflect on his own family’s
past. I found myself thinking about my paternal grandmother and
grandfather on a death march from Armenia as the Turks tried to
eradicate the Armenian population during World War I; they were happy
to come to America.

On my mother’s side, a more distant set of relatives escaped famine
in Ireland, boarding a ship to cross the Atlantic to emigrate to
this country. My wife’s ancestors left their beloved Poland for the
opportunity and freedom offered here.

The judge spoke of his ancestor, a slave in Alabama, and called it a
dark period in American history. Yet he said that he was proud that
he helped build this nation.

At different times during the ceremony, speakers from the International
Institute, the Daughters of the American Revolution and even the
judge himself struck these common themes: This is America, welcome
and congratulations! We are glad you are here! Enjoy our freedoms,
seize your opportunities and become an active citizen. You are in
the greatest nation in the world.

Faces from China, Canada, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Somalia and
other nations, places I have read about and heard about in the news
countless times, looked on, and I wondered what they came from to be
here, a place so many of us take for granted.

The officials presenting the certificates and leading the oath that
all naturalized citizens must take all wore American flag ties and
scarves. This was a purely American event, shared by the newest
of Americans.