I was born in 1972 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to a Greek father and an Ethiopian mother.My father migrated to Ethiopia in 1946 after serving as a volunteer soldier during World War II. Europe was destroyed beyond recognition and looking elsewhere for a better life made more sense to him than staying in his homeland.In Ethiopia, he joined the large and prosperous Greek community and worked to carve o...
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Print Length: 397 pages
Publication Date: May 16, 2017
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B0716YS8JM
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John Skevofilax provides an interesting and insightful view into what it’s like to be an immigrant in 21st century USA. He evidences that with hard work, determination and drive, an immigrant can successfully build a good life here for himself and hi...
for himself in his host country. The fate of the Greek community in Ethiopia parallels that of Ethiopia itself as it went through the political upheavals that started in the 1960’s and are still going on.In 1990 I arrived in the United States, with Austin, Texas my final destination. I was a wide-eyed and bewildered 17 year old immigrant with $176 hidden in my shoes and pockets and very little else but hope that maybe the United States would treat me fairly. I couldn’t even speak English beyond the very basics of the language.From my first day in the US, I was fascinated with the system the Americans had created. It took me four years to get over the general shock of moving from one of the poorest regions in the world to one of the wealthiest. In the process, I learned English fluently and did my best to understand how the United States operated. It took me even longer to decipher the social and business dynamics in place. I was keenly aware of the fact that in order to progress I had to Americanize myself quickly and did everything in my power to do just that.In my fourth year in the U.S., I started a business which I ran for almost 20 years until I finally sold it in April, 2014.I am one of the lucky ones. I am one of the beneficiaries of the opportunities available in the United States, which in my opinion, is the greatest civilization known to man. Never have so many people lived so well.I happen to be one of them. I am so grateful for the opportunities America has provided me. All it took on my end was hard work and the adherence to its rules of law, and in return, I encountered no systemic obstacles on my path towards personal growth and success.Please join me as I tell the fantastic tale of my own journey in the United States of America. It’s a true, personal and often a very emotional story. One of the many being told every day, all over this blessed land. Follow me as I retrace my path, with all its surprises and convoluted twists and turns, as I struggled to find my place under the great American sun.This is an American story.An American like me.
