Reframing the Hyphen: A Christian Perspective on Immigrant Experiences

By Ha Young Shin

Want to reevaluate your perspective on life? Want to know how your relationship with God can help you respond to injustice and hardships? In Reframing the Hyphen: A Christian Perspective on Immigrant Experiences, Christian author Ha Young Shin explains how to harness your difficulties by reassessing immigrant experiences through faith.<

• Language: English
• Publisher: New Degree Press
• Release date: Apr 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781641375016

Book preview

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REFRAMING THE HYPHEN

REFRAMING THE HYPHEN

A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCES

HA YOUNG SHIN

New Degree Press

Copyright © 2020 HA YOUNG SHIN

All rights reserved.

REFRAMING THE HYPHEN

A Christian Perspective On Immigrant Experiences

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

ISBN

978-1-64137-499-6 Paperback

978-1-64137-500-9 Kindle Ebook

978-1-64137-501-6 Ebook

This book is dedicated to those who have felt lonely and confused growing up in an immigrant family.

Contents

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1:

HISTORY OF THE HYPHEN

CHAPTER 2:

CURRENT STATE OF IMMIGRANTS

CHAPTER 3:

SCIENCE ON ANGER & RETALIATION

CHAPTER 4:

CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES ON REFRAMING

CHAPTER 5:

REFRAMING CITIZENSHIP

CHAPTER 6:

REFRAMING YOUR SITUATION

CHAPTER 7:

REFRAMING SOCIETY

CHAPTER 8:

REFRAMING FAMILY

CHAPTER 9:

REFRAMING YOUR LIFE

CONCLUSION

APPENDIX:

REFRAMING PRINCIPLES

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

INTRODUCTION

When my family first immigrated to the United States, my parents were victims of an unfortunate fraud, targeted due to their limited understanding of the English language and processes. This led our family of four to be financially broke in a completely foreign land. We lived inside a trailer park in Fairfax County, Virginia—ironically one of the wealthiest counties in America—where my brother and I were bullied as the poor trailer kids. The other kids who lived in the trailer park targeted their stress and shame at us, as if somehow we were at fault for their problems.

My initial memories of first grade were of me and my brother crying every day for months, begging our mom not to send us to school because we hated it. We hated not understanding what was being said to us, and yet still understanding the malicious looks that kids communicated non-verbally. We hated the food, which tasted too salty or too bland, so unlike what we were used to. We hated being different, and I’m sure we were both lonely, as we went to a majority-white school.

My mom would try her best to comfort, to encourage, and when that didn’t work, to threaten and finally plead with us. On the days we refused to be assuaged, she would give up and sob out loud as she held us, not knowing what to do.

I remember wondering why my life was different from my friends, why our family couldn’t live in a house or afford a puppy, why my brother and I had to wear stained hand-me-downs from church jibsanims or deaconesses, that never quite fit either of us well, and later when I became fluent in English, why I had to call banks to ask them to waive late fees when I was just in elementary school.

THE GIFT

One day, I came across a video of Nicholas Vujicic, who—with no medical explanation or warning—was born without arms or legs.¹ He was telling Oprah, As a kid, I really thought I had no purpose in my life. If I’m just going to have pain in my life, then why continue to go on? ² The joy he exuded was not only evident through the screen, but it was contagious. As I leaned in to hear more, Nick testified that his faith in God allowed him to go beyond what he was told he couldn’t do. He even learned how to surf, snorkel, and golf, among other activities that were seemingly impossible. ³ His positivity and ability to reframe his outlook led him to his wife, who fell madly in love with him. They now have four kids, and Nick travels around the world spreading hope and love to children and adults alike.⁴

I remember being in awe of Nick’s resilience and positive outlook despite his situation. He was the epitome of a reframer.

But what is a reframer?

Before we answer this question, first think of some of the greatest gifts you’ve ever received.

Now narrow those down to intangible gifts.

Are you drawing a blank?

I’m here to remind you of a gift you may or may not have realized you had but has been there all along.

The gift of choice.

We all have the choice to rework our minds so that we don’t bend underneath the weight of the hardships that come our way. Many people may feel helpless in the face of unexpected adversity and believe they can do nothing about it. Externally speaking, this absolutely may be true. You may have no power or control over your circumstances. But everyone, including me and you, has the choice to reframe our perspectives internally so that instead of feeling helpless, we can weather through the hard times with hope and patience as our umbrella.

For some of us, our hardships may not necessarily be physical like Nick’s. But we all encounter hard times that weigh us down, and when we surrender to and even dwell in the helplessness, we cannot live the life God has called us to live. However, I’m not advocating for blind positivity that suppresses any negative emotions.

It’s okay and healthy to mourn over loss. Feelings of helplessness, sadness, bitterness, and anger are all part of the human life. However, faith in God separates reframers from others and gives them hope and joy amid their suffering. It propels them forward because they know that God has a plan even for their suffering.

Nick summarizes this in his conversation with Oprah:

You want to know why I’m happy and content and full of joy? I know that no matter what cards come up in my life, I understand by faith that my heavenly father owns all the chips in the poker game. No matter what we have, we’re playing with God’s chips. ⁵

THE CONCEPT OF REFRAMING

Nick’s story led me to ponder how reframing obstacles through the Christian lens might also be applied to my immigrant experiences. A hyphenated identity refers to the use of a hyphen between the person’s ethnicity combined with the country of residence, such as Korean-American. I explain this concept more in depth in chapter 1.

Hyphenated identities can present unique challenges and even put people at a disadvantage. In June 2019, the Pew Research Center reported that the United States now has more immigrants than any other country in the world, and more than forty-million people living in the United States were born in another country.⁶ However, despite the prevalence of immigrants in the United States, immigration has been a contentious topic that divides the country. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of anti-immigrant sentiment, which can be seen in the discussions about reducing legal immigration by half,⁷ building a border wall between Texas and Mexico,⁸ disputing about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),⁹ criminalizing immigrants,¹⁰ and forcefully separating families.¹¹

As a Korean-American female living in the United States, I have been subject to systematic injustices that towered over my immigrant, minority, and female identities. I’ve experienced racism. I’ve experienced labeling. Despite having lived in the United States since elementary school, and despite considering this place my home, my family and I also faced deportation proceedings for over six years. During this time, we couldn’t travel abroad, look for new jobs, or—in my parent’s case—even get health insurance.

However, everyone ultimately has a choice, perhaps not in the circumstances they encounter, but most definitely in how they view and respond to those circumstances. And I believe God’s Word can help us reframe those hardships in a positive, life-giving way.

I’m not saying to turn a blind eye on the realities of the injustices you see in this world. Moreover, in challenging myself and others to reframe their experiences, I am not generalizing pain. I am neither denying nor minimizing the amount of oppression or marginalization that exists, systematically or otherwise.

However, to act in love despite the pain and injustice, we must first rely on God and His Word to guide us in our responses. Injustice will likely be present in some manner wherever you are, and if you let these circumstances control you, the only thing it will change is you. Instead, I urge you to respond as Christ did, with love and forgiveness. Jesus, despite having committed no wrong, responded to His persecutors by praying for them rather than retaliating in anger. He died for you and me so we could be reconciled to God. He showed grace that didn’t make sense in this world and He showed me love that I didn’t deserve—a story I will share in later chapters. This love changed my mentality around hardships and my perpetrators because I understood I also received grace I did not deserve.

As Christians, we are called to resemble Jesus. This means we are obligated to show others the mercy that we ourselves have received from God. These acts of grace will make a difference in this world. It’s a love that didn’t make sense then, and it still doesn’t make sense today. But this love will change and impact hearts, maybe (or maybe not) theirs—but certainly yours.

MY JOURNEY TO REFRAME

When I was twenty-five, I found myself at the hospital due to a suspected autoimmune disease that doctors failed to diagnose. After many blood tests, a colonoscopy, and multiple trips to urgent care, which only resulted in a baton pass of referrals to specialty doctors, I found myself with very little energy and no clear answers.

On top of facing deportation and balancing my full-time job and a graduate program, the unexpected weakness of my body felt like too much for me to bear. It made me take a hard look at my life. I realized there was absolutely no guarantee I would live to see tomorrow, because life is unpredictable. And I found myself with a newfound conviction to write this book, which would hopefully remind others to reframe their struggles through a Christian perspective as many of our biblical ancestors did, and to spread love to those struggling to forgive, reminding them that they indeed have the choice to do so.

To all of you who have experienced struggles related to your hyphenated identity—identity crisis, legal issues, cultural clashes, and more—this book is for you. This book will empower you to reframe your outlook through a Christian lens and help you see beyond your current circumstances. In this book, you will learn