Immigration Profile Revision

Language and Culture
By Andrea Penick



Ajka Sulgavic, 19, of Grand Haven Mich, fled from Bosnia in 1993 before a war broke out. She recalls her transitions to a Turkish refugee camp and then the United States with pride.
Sulgavic’s family, along with many others, left the country to seek refuge in Turkey. They were there for two years before their papers came through allowing them to move to the United States where they had family. They immigrated to the United States ending up in Grand Haven when she was 7.
She remembers that it was easy for her to adjust because she blends in so well. Her olive skin and curly brown hair did not reveal that she was an immigrant. She also claims her transition was not difficult because she was so young and could quickly pick up language.
For her parents it was hard to learn the language, and after 12 years living and working here are not fully fluent but have gotten by. The language policy forcing all immigrants to learn English concerns Sulgavic because adults typically have a hard time learning a foreign language. She says with a laugh, “That’s what your hands are for: communication.”
She recognizes the opportunities she and most immigrants have here, which in Bosnia would not exist for her or her family. Sulgavic claims she doesn’t understand why the language policy exists.
“I don’t think we as a country have a right to deny people that opportunity,” Sulgavic said, “What is America made of anyway? It’s just a whole bunch of different people from everywhere in the world.”


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