A New Country, the Shadow of an Old Identity
Melda Sherman – Arttmodernmiami
When Süreyya decided to go to America, she wasn’t just changing countries. She was leaving an entire life behind. But she wasn’t brave enough to take that journey alone.
She made an arrangement with Haluk, a friend from her university years. She brought him along as a “caretaker” for her child. According to her, there was no romantic relationship between them at the time.What they thought, what kind of future they imagined; no one really knows.
But they found themselves in America.
It was likely the early 1990s. The era of George H. W. Bush. The Gulf War had just ended. The world’s attention was on the Gulf. No one noticed a much smaller story quietly beginning in America:
the story of Süreyya, Haluk, and little Cem.
At first, everything was… as expected.
Or rather, it followed the familiar pattern of a newly arrived immigrant life.
They rented a home. They enrolled Cem in school.
One of the most striking aspects of America is this:
a child’s right to education often comes before their legal status. Cem started school.
Haluk began working as a taxi driver.Süreyya took a job at a fast-food chain. From the outside, this might look like a typical immigrant family starting over. But the real story begins here.
Because Süreyya… was not an ordinary woman.
In her home country, she had once been a millionaire.
pause and consider this: To go from wealth, status, and a strong social identity… to starting from zero in a foreign country.
This is not just a new beginning.
It is the dismantling of an identity.
Over the years, Süreyya sold what she had to sustain her life; homes, businesses…
Until eventually, all that remained was a million dollar house on the Bebek waterfront in Istanbul.
But by then, it was no longer about money. It was about redefining who she was. In time, Süreyya and Haluk got married.
Life slowly carried them into a different reality.
Years passed.
And then, during the presidency of Barack Obama, changes in immigration policy allowed them to gain legal status.
They received their Green Cards.
From the outside, this looked like a happy ending.
But in some stories, the real turning point comes exactly where you expect the ending.
Because Cem…
did not qualify.
This is where the system reveals its irony.
A child who had grown up in America, who had been educated there…
still could not obtain legal status.
There was only one way for him to stay:
To remain a student.
Cem grew up.
He went to university.
Years passed.
But his life remained suspended in the same place.
Today…
Cem is 35 years old.
And he is still studying on a student visa.
Because sometimes, the only way to stay in a country…
is to never graduate.
If one day you see a 50- or 60-year-old student in America…
it might be Cem.
And perhaps that person will remind you of this:
Migration…
is not always about building a new life.
Sometimes, it is simply
another way of surviving.
— To be continued —
Melda Sherman
www.meldasherman.com
Instagram: @melssherman
Facebook: Melda Sherman
