Salman 1

Nataly Salman
Honors 1000
Laurel Sprague
30 October 2015
Little Village, Big Dreams
I heard footsteps coming down the stairs as I ran the rough bristles of my brush
meticulously across my paper. Plop. Plop. Plop. I knew exactly who it was.
Sally, come upstairs and get dinner ready with Mama, I brought a fresh head of lettuce
for your salad. Baba comes home from the market a quarter to six every Friday evening, and
brings me home the extra fruits and vegetables so that they dont spoil and go to waste. I gave
Baba a kiss on the cheek and headed upstairs.
What was that you were painting today, Sally? Its a little different from your usual
portraits of fields and flowers.
Oh, just an idea that I thought of earlier. It just a big citysomewhere farI saw a
picture of it in the newspapers. I thought I would give it a try. I held back from telling him that
it was of the newspaper under my bed, and that I read it every night and prayed that we get a
chance to travel to the Americas. I dreamed of the big city and the wonderful school-lives of the
girls. I even spent an hour outside of class studying my English Language books, in hopes that I
become fluent and use it in the future.1 Those big American cities would be nothing like
Telkeppe, and a 14-year-old Chaldean villager would never be able to survive it all on her own.
However, I knew that if I brought it up, Mama would never approve of leaving
everything behindand if we did, that it would mean Baba sacrificing and selling the farmland
just to make enough money for the trip. I bit my tongue hoping he wouldnt ask anything else.

Salman 2
A few days later, Farid the messenger, came across the market, exclaiming,
Hear me! Hear me all! Saturday morning at dawn, a ship will board to the Great Amreeka!
There is room for only 50 men. This will not be a free trip but a trip that is worth a lamb or two!
50 Iraqis will get a chance to earn $5 every day.2 This is only if you meet the requirements of the
Ford Manual.3 Do not bring more belongings than you can hold! Those who do not have coins or
lamb to sacrifice will get left behind!
That evening, Baba came home early and explained the good news to us except with one
issue: we did not own farm animals. Baba grew crops during the summer season, and plowed and
watered and tore down every wilt and weed, and that is how we got our bread.
This is just a chance we are going to have to take. We pack and bring as much corn and
apples as we can with us, and if they let us by, we have won. If not, then this trip is not made for
us. We have nothing to lose; this will be our chance to chase a new and more successful life.
Before we knew it, we were seeing the skyline of Detroit across the waters, and it was
even more beautiful than the pictures I had seen in the newspapers. The skyscrapers taller than I
imagined, and the waters were gleaming in the sun.4 We landed in the city of opportunity and
were in awe because it was completely different than the sands of Iraq.
The city was inviting. It did not exclude nor did it repress those with dreams. However,
opportunity did not come to all. Opportunity had to be chased, and that is exactly what my
family did. We chased opportunities. But this did not mean it came easy. We still had to work
hard, Baba especially. He told me of the auto industry-how there were men of all color and ages
working, all putting in the same labor. The machines were nothing like he had seen before. They
were both monster-like objects and a beautiful product of mankinds intelligence. They united

Salman 3
the men, and provided greater opportunity for friendships. He enjoyed the auto industry, but he
missed his old merchant life.
Baba took advantage of his work days so that we could afford to pay rent, which was split
up between the other family of three whom were also living in our house. $5 a day seemed like a
lot, but once you take out finances for rent, food, and clothing, we only had less than a fifth of
that saved up. We lived a very frugal lifestyle, not thriving for materialistic objects or buying
more than we needed. We sacrificed, although we had to spare. Mother would garden and take
care of the home, and I studied and took care of errands for the both of them. I painted
occasionally, when I had the resources to. Opportunity for economical advancement was gained,
but it required effort and much persistence. Our patience increased, and we gained even more
appreciation for the blessings we encountered in Detroit. Back home, we did not know whether
or not there would be bread on the table, the crop season was unpredictable and there were
possibilities that other merchants sold their crops for a cheaper price, taking away the business
from Baba.
Several years later, we established a life where money and a source of income was almost
guaranteed. Lack of communication skills did not cause a dramatic flaw in our lives.
After saving enough money, working day and night, and using his previous skills of agriculture
and labor, my father opened up a grocery store5 that was a mile down from where we livedand
in facthis first day of work was a few weeks later. He would walk to the shop every day at 7 in
the morning, and Mama would pack him lunch, and I would take it to him so that it was fresh.
Sometimes, I would even go down to the shop and help Baba out, taking payments or cleaning
around the fruits and vegetables during weekends or holidays.5

Salman 4
The first day he came home from work I asked, How do you sell things when you are
unable to communicate with your costumers?
He stated, Brati, daughter, people in Amreeka are open to anything, and when they come
into the store we are able to communicate through our body language and fingers. He
continues, People here do not judge you just because you cannot speak their language. They
come into my store get what they need and then leave6.
Although it was a struggle at first, we eventually adapted to what the city of Detroit had
to offer for us. My father continued to teach me the business, and as he gained land and
agriculture, he was even able to become a distributer to other grocers within the city. He taught
me all I needed to know about the business: the economics, the people, and the environment. I
learned how and why things happened the way they did.

Salman 5
Wherever I go, I keep this picture7 from Telkeppe of me, Mama, and Baba on my fourth
birthday. It reminds me of the life I lived back in Iraq, and helps me to appreciate the
opportunities I have been granted. Today I am thirty, I still assist Baba with the Grocery store,
and I sell my paintings to rich families as a source of income. I have seen my paintings both in
cottages and in Villas. Fifteen years ago, I would not have thought that my childish hobby would
become a way of life. I never imagined the smile on Baba and Mamas face when I tell them I
just sold another one! or The man who lives on the third house on Cass. Ave wants me to paint
a portrait of his family. Back home, things like this didnt happen. Dreams would not always
turn into reality, and nothing came as easy it did here. Sure, we had to put more effort in
working, and it wasnt always hot outside, and our responsibilities sky-rocketed with bills to pay
and priorities to accomplish, but we are healthy, stable, and worry-free. Most importantly, we are
happy and thankful, all because of the opportunities granted to us from The City.

Salman 6
Endnotes
1

Gale Virtual Reference Library: Learning English has not been a problem for Chaldean

Immigrants, especially for men, who pick up English rather quickly in order to work effectively
in stores.
2

Martelle: Ford announced in January 1914 a new profit-sharing plan that would boost workers

pay to $5 for an eight-hour work day. Pg 75

3

Ford Manual: Every male employee over 22 years of age, who leads a clean, sober and

industrious life, and who can prove that he has thrifty habits, is eligible to share in the profits.
Every married man, no matter ,what age, who can qualify as to sobriety, industry and cleanliness,
can participate, if he is living with his family. Every young man under 22 years of age who is the
sole support of a wido\ved mother, or next of kin, and who leads a clean, sober and industrious
life, can participate.
4

In Toquevilles Fortnight in the Wilderness. Though they have not realized that this strangely-

named place on their route to the celebrated falls, lay on the very shore of Lake Erie. pg 230
5

Detroits Grocers: Children who grew up in the Chaldean community often recall working in the

store, beginning with cleaning up, stocking shelves, and being generally helpful. pg 21
6

Chaldeans in America: Our Story explains the culture and lifestyle of Chaldeans who have

migrated to the United States and left behind so much. They come for freedom of
entrepreneurship as well as freedom of religion. When Chaldeans first came here, they did not
know much of the language but were still able to get by within their stores through body
language and simple terms.
7

This picture was taken from Jacob Bacalls Chaldeans in Detroit.

Salman 7
Bibliography
Bacall, Jacob. Chaldeans in Detroit. Proquest. Print.
"Chaldeans in America: Our Story." YouTube. Chaldean Iraqi American Association, n.d. Web.
Ford Manual for Owners and Operators of Ford Cars. Canadian ed. Ford, Ont.:
Ford Motor of Canada, 1917. Print.
Martelle, Scott. Detroit: A Biography. Chicago, Ill.: Chicago Review, 2012. Print.
Sengstock, Mary. "Detroit's Grocers." Chronicles 35.4 (2013): 21. History and Life.Print
Sengstock, Mary C., and Sanaa Taha Al Harahsheh. "Chaldean Americans." Gale Encyclopedia
of Multicultural America. Ed. Thomas Riggs. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2014. 441452. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web.
Tocqueville, Alexis De. A Fortnight in the Wilderness. Delray Beach, FL: Levenger, 2003. Print.