Interview for
Poh Family
5/12/2020
Interviewed By:
Irene Hsu
Date Interviewed:
Audio Recording of Interview
Summary
The Poh family immigrated from Bangkok to Utica, NY so that their children could have better access to education and health care and to escape of the food insecurity they faced in Thailand. Although they say everything in the U.S. is “better” than it was at home, the family has struggled with the language barrier: only their son speaks some English, and he still has difficulty understanding..
Transcript
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Additional Notes
Outline
Narrator: Poh Family (Pa Sai Hah, Junu, Christ Poh)
Date: May 12, 2020
Location: Utica, NY
Summary: The Poh family immigrated from Bangkok to Utica, NY so that their children could have better access to education and health care and to escape of the food insecurity they faced in Thailand. Although they say everything in the U.S. is “better” than it was at home, the family has struggled with the language barrier: only their son speaks some English, and he still has difficulty understanding.
Topics: Conditions back home, Education, Employment, Family, Food, Immigration Process, Language
Outline
Section 1: (00:00 - 06: 39)
Immigration Process - The Poh family moved to the United States from Bangkok, Thailand in 2016.
Education - The son, who translates for his parents, states that they immigrated so that their children could have better education and health care.
Employment - The father was a farmer in a camp before he moved to Bangkok.
Conditions back home - The mother would only go back to Thailand to visit but not to stay. Her parents still live there.
Section 2: (06:39 - 08:34)
Immigration Process - The grandparents remained in Thailand because the immigration process is extensive and thus would have been exhaustive for them.
Language - The father mentions language barrier as one of the challenges he has faced during his assimilation into America.
Immigration Process - The father’s friend who was already in America and someone named “Chris” from Midtown Utica Community Center helped them settle in once they arrived.
Section 3: (08: 34 - 16:03)
Conditions back home - The family has access to more resources in America and a better house than they did in Thailand. Everything is “better.”
Employment - In Thailand, the son explains, the jobs hardly pay what people need to survive.
Food - The family dealt with food insecurity and food contamination while they were in Thailand.
Family - The family misses their relatives who remain in Thailand. They connect with them via Facebook or phone.
Language - The son is still learning English. While he was able to translate for his parents, he himself struggled to respond to the questions directed to him.