DEPARTED FROM
Khartoum, Sudan
ARRIVED IN
New York, New York
YEAR
1995
AGE
16
NOW LIVES IN
Seattle, Washington
TRANSCRIPT
When the frying machines, cooktops, and the ventilations are working to their full capacity, this is the only place in the restaurant that is without the yelling and shouting from staffs. One of my original sources dropped out in the last minute and Mr. Eshete has been very kind in accepting an interview with me in such short notice.
My name is Eli. I was born in Eritrea, but I was raised in Sudan. And I came here when I was a lot younger---to America. I finished high school here and I also attended college.
It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t fun simply because when we arrived in America, my brother got sick and we were thrown in this cheap motel full of roaches in New York with prostitutes all over. And that impression was not a good impression. But when we finally arrived in our final destination. It’s called Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was a lot cleaner, a small city. It was fun. But it still---my mind was still back home. You know, remembering the area I grew up. Missing all my friends. It wasn’t fun until I was able to adjust and made some friends and then eventually, I guess I forgot and started to enjoy America.
We do not buy meat from the store, like meat that’s been refrigerated. It’s a fresh kill everyday. It does not taste the same. Meat that’s been produced in Africa is, of course, the best meat in the world, I can say, because the animals choose what they want to eat. They are not fed by humans. We just let them roam. They wander around. They pick and choose what to eat and they are always moving. No antibiotics. Our cows compared to the cows that they have here in America? They are a lot smaller. First time when I’ve seen a cow in America, I’ve seen---I mean this cow was huge. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
