![Antonio Simas was born in St. Michael, Portugal on October 18, 1941. At eight years old, his father was injured, which led his family to move to Brazil. In Brazil, Antonio went to seminary school for six years, learned the ways of life, and met his future wife, Lourdes. Antonio remembers having a good life in Brazil. He was challenged, however, when a business effort with his father did not provide him any income. Antonio told his father he needed to get his life on track. He was intrigued by his grandma’s suggestion to move to the United States, specifically to Rhode Island, where he had uncles and aunts who were already residing there. He remembers her saying,
“Antonio, why don’t you write your uncle over there, and go over there?”
After Antonio got all of his paperwork and documents squared away he was ready to make the big move. However, Lourdes, who was his fiancé at the time, would not let him go without her. In order to have the final marriage documents ready by the deadline, they got married at a courthouse and had to postpone the actual ceremony. Antonio and Lourdes married on November 15, 1965 and left Brazil on January 7, 1966, arriving in Rhode Island.
Overall Antonio felt welcomed when he arrived in Rhode Island, but he struggled with the language barrier since he did not know any English when he came. Antonio was eventually able to get past this difficulty and within a month of his arrival found a job at American Textiles; unfortunately the company ended up closing down. He was able to find various jobs as an insurance salesman, a truck driver for North American Redlines, a machinist and a cost estimator at Brown and Sharp to sustain himself and his family.
In 1977, Antonio and his family left the U.S. and went back to Brazil, but returned in 1983 as it was extremely difficult for Antonio to obtain a job in Brazil due to the suffering economy.
Antonio and Lourdes have three children, seven grandchildren, and one great grandchild. His hope for the future of his family, Rhode Island, and the United States in general, is an improved education system:
“What I would like to see in Rhode Island is a better system for education where everybody could afford [it]… What I would like to see for Rhode Island is exactly that because when you have an education it makes everything easier: to get a job, to make a living, and things like that… I want a high education with a low price; that’s what I want.”
Antonio has had many dreams, but due to the fact that he is a working man he has had to put some of his dreams aside. Instead of seeing this as a negative, he focuses on how much he has accomplished thus far in his life. He considers himself a blessed man and is happy with the life he has lived:
“I cannot complain about nothing. I many times have told my wife if I had to live my life over again, I would do exactly the same thing.”
Overall, he loves Rhode Island and describes it as a paradise. The only thing he dislikes about Rhode Island is the winter and the snow, which is something he was not used to coming from Brazil.
Antonio currently resides in East Providence and loves spending time with his close-knit family.
Written and compiled by Julia Guerette and Jack Kieckhafer](http://24.media.tumblr.com/359b631748e679eeebc8ca2ae8f1bfb1/tumblr_mmepkpVD4v1r28ioyo1_500.jpg)
![Manuela Duarte was born in 1948 in the Azores islands of Portugal. From an early age, Manuela’s parents instilled the value of education, and made sacrifices so that Manuela and her younger brother and sister had access to a good education.
In 1968, Manuela and her family fled from the fascist dictatorship that was in power in Portugal. Upon arriving in America, her family moved in with Manuela’s aunt in Somerset, Massachusetts. Manuela was 20 years old and on the path to become a teacher. She was reluctant to leave her friends, extended family, and her intended profession behind.
“I was very persistent. I had a goal, and my goal was either I make it here or I’m going back. I wanted to be a part of this society above all, not to live in separate worlds. [I thought], this is America, [it] had too much to offer me not to take the opportunity to be part of it.”
The value of education and the opportunities it can present for native citizens and immigrants alike are what drove Manuela to pursue a career in teaching.
Soon after arriving, Manuela began attending collegiate courses at Bristol Community College part-time. However, her devotion to her education did not come without hardships. Manuela was employed full time at a factory to help support her family and pay for her studies. Despite the fact that Manuela knew English prior to arriving in America, her conversational skills were underdeveloped, so she attended nighttime courses to improve her English proficiency.
One of the main reasons Manuela worked so hard to improve her English was so that she could assist her family members in their integration into American society. Manuela translated for her parents at important events, such as doctor appointments and parent teacher conferences.
Two years later in 1973, she finished her associate’s degree and enrolled at Brown University to earn her Bachelor’s Degree. Manuela explained that there were times when she wanted to give up, however the strong support of her family, new Portuguese and American friends, and her professors all worked as a support system that encouraged her to continue in her studies.
“It was very hard and my first three to four years in college were a struggle. I have to say, there were days that I wanted to give up and not finish but I had very good mentors and I had wonderful American people…who believed in me and my capabilities and encouraged me…and that’s what made me stay in the United States. You need to have these support systems from this country when you arrive. If you don’t, it’s very difficult,”
Manuela graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor’s degree in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies in 1975 and a Master’s degree in 1978. She then received another Master’s degree in ESL from the University of Mass. in Boston in 1988. Later Manuela also enrolled in a PHD at Brown University. After her graduation in 1978, Manuela decided to stay in Rhode Island. The east coast was similar to home because the ocean was very much a part of her childhood. She began to work as a Resource Teacher at the Multicultural Teacher Training Center at Brown University and worked with ESL and Bilingual Education teachers across the country for 14 years. Manuela then transitioned to the East Providence Public School Department, where she was a Parent Coordinator and Language Assessor. Eventually, she became the Coordinator of the English as a Second Language program in East Providence. As an immigrant, Manuela was able to connect with new immigrants and the hardships they faced.
“I was dealing with so many families…and I really wanted to help…to encourage them. To make them understand that if they work hard and if the parents were involved in schools that they could be very successful. I really wanted to encourage the immigrants to study in the United States because they had the same opportunities that everybody else did, if they really study.”
A distinct moment in Manuela’s life is when she was granted U.S. citizenship. She finally felt equal and as though she had the same rights as everyone else. She also began to feel even more integrated in the American culture and way of life. “After becoming an American citizen, the first time I voted, I cried. It was a freedom that was unknown to me.” However,Manuela still works to retain her Portuguese culture while embracing her newfound place in American society.
“I did not detach myself, never, from my language, my culture. I think I have a very strong identity with my language and culture which has helped immensely with the adaptation and the acceptance of the American culture…I’m very much connected to the two worlds.”
Manuela currently lives in East Providence, RI. Although she is retired, she still continues to be an English Language Learners Consultant for the East Providence School Department on a part time basis.
Compiled and written by Laura Smith & Lauryn Thorpe](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mef1ozlWV01r28ioyo1_500.jpg)
Welcoming RI aims to connect immigrants, educate natives
Governor Lincoln Chafee declared last week Rhode Island Welcoming Week and to kick it off Welcoming Rhode Island, a community-based initiative that focuses on integrating immigrants into their new communities, threw a party.
Members of Welcoming Rhode Island gathered at Gallery Z on Federal Hill Sept. 15 to mingle with other immigrants, refugees and second-generation Americans. The party was one of many upcoming events being hosted by Welcoming Rhode Island.
Michelle DePlante, Welcoming Rhode Island coordinator, said the initiative is less about training immigrants on how to acclimate to their new country and more about educating natives about the immigrant members of their community.
“This really looks at the outside community,” said DePlante. “We can help the immigrant by teaching them English and having them apply for citizenship, but we also need to recognize the receiving community members.”
By bridging the gap between natives and immigrants, DePlante said the Welcoming Rhode Island program helps to build stronger communities.
“Regardless of what country you’re born or even what city in Rhode Island, we all share common values,” she said. “It’s about humanizing [immigrants].”
At the Welcoming Rhode Island kick off event at Gallery Z, nine members of the initiative were honored for their participation in an advertising campaign that will be featured on RIPTA buses this fall. Among those being featured are Manuela Raposo of Warwick and Haruki Kibe of Cranston.
New York-born Raposo is the daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. After serving in the military and being stationed in Germany, Raposo briefly lived in Rhode Island before moving to the Dominican Republic with her husband. There she received her education and became a practicing physician.
But personal matters pushed Raposo to move back to the U.S. to be with her family in 2004. What she found when she arrived back in Rhode Island was that her training and education were mostly useless.
“I faced many struggles,” said Raposo, who at the time was basically homeless and living with her mother. As a single mom, Raposo was determined to make ends meet.
Because of her advanced degrees, Raposo was denied public assistance, yet she was also blocked from using her education to obtain a comparable job to the one she had in the DR. When Raposo asked for financial assistance with the training she would need to get back into the workforce, she was denied.
“They told me to go get a job at McDonald’s,” she said.
Her own struggles inspired Raposo to pursue her current field, where she works to help people like herself find employment. Raposo has been the Director of Workforce at Dorcas Place, an adult literacy and learning center, since 2005.
“The roadblocks are not insurmountable,” she said. “I try to help pave the way for others like me.”
For Kibe, who owns the Haruki hibachi restaurants in Cranston and Providence, transitioning to life in America was not as difficult as it was for Raposo.
Kibe came to the United States at age 24 to manage a family restaurant in New York City. In 1986 he came to live near a friend in Rhode Island and met the owners of an Italian restaurant in Cranston. He soon began working there, and eventually bought the business from them, turning it into the original Haruki on Park Avenue.
“At the beginning I didn’t think about the business much,” said Kibe. “I was more excited…to introduce Japanese culture and food to American people.”
But eventually he realized he had to make a profit, so he called his friends in New York for advice. Soon, cooking transitioned from a hobby to a lucrative career.
Ten years after he first opened the restaurant, Kibe moved Haruki to Oaklawn Avenue and then opened an additional location in Providence in 2003. Kibe said it wasn’t always easy to sell sushi and Japanese food to Americans, but eventually it caught on. Today, Kibe’s restaurants employ nearly 100 Rhode Islanders.
Both Kibe and Raposo said they joined the Welcoming Rhode Island initiative to meet other immigrants and to form a network through which to share helpful information about services and programs.
DePlante said Welcoming Rhode Island has helped to plan a variety of different events, including an art exhibit of immigrant art and the Heritage Festival.
The organization also has welcoming committees in East Providence and Cranston, which are comprised of people who live and work in those places.
“We’re hoping to move to other cities as well,” said DePlante.
DePlante explained that Welcoming Rhode Island is not policy oriented and is not advocating for any legislation. Instead, its focus is on education and outreach.
“This is really a chance for people who are not immigrants to meet the immigrant in person and really get to know their story, what their struggles are and maybe see that they’re not that different,” she said.
Welcoming Rhode Island is an affiliate of Welcoming America and is sponsored by the International Institute of Rhode Island. Rhode Island is one of 22 states participating in the Welcoming American initiative.
