When David Left “Mister” Behind
By Nora Jarquin, 2024 Summer Intern
At age 11, David moved to Boston with his father and two siblings, leaving his mother in Port-au-Prince. The stark cultural differences between Haiti and America made David’s move overwhelming. In David’s home country, one would hear ‘mister’ and ‘missus’ every day, at markets, schools, and stores. David spent the first decade of his life referring to adults as ‘mister’ and ‘missus,’ a cultural custom in Haiti. ‘The manners here are different,’ David noted about his move to the U.S.
Over a decade has passed since David and his mother were together, fueling David’s resolve to naturalize. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to become a citizen,” he said hoping to start the process to bring his mom to the U.S. David began the citizenship application process with Project Citizenship per recommendation from his siblings. David described his experience with us as, “Informative, straightforward, [and] helpful.” Project Citizenship assisted David closely in the three-year process it took to achieve U.S. citizenship. “They gave me the best ways to move forward when things did not go well,” he explained.
Reflecting on his new rights as a citizen, David shared, “I got tired of not being able to vote.” He expressed his relief that he could vote for a candidate that prioritizes immigrants and an accessible path to citizenship in American society. David gained “Safety, opportunity, [and a] life.”
The day he took the oath and became a U.S. citizen, David exhaled with relief and smiled as he sat among the 200 other citizens-to-be. “It was great to see all the people trying to make their lives better and trying to be a part of this great country.”
Holding a small American flag, David felt a sense of pride. Though David’s story is just one in a country full of immigrants, it serves to remind us of the connection and unity that comes with U.S. citizenship, of the possibility and hope of the new American dream. Although David no longer says “mister” and “missus,” a piece of Haiti will soon be with him in America when he petitions for his mother to come with his newfound citizenship.