Since coming to the United States from Bangladesh, I have had the chance to spend the Fourth of July with different people in Pittsburgh. I spent my first American Independence Day in Rosslyn Farms with a friend, her husband and their neighbors. I wore a red and white shirt that I bought especially for the holiday, hoping it would make me feel more connected in the community.
My friend told me that every year she wears a festive dress to the 4th of July Parade, and I was intrigued that year she wore a white dress from her honeymoon in 1980, as people in my home country would not keep clothing that long. It showed how special this day still is to so many Americans.
The parade marched down a small street, and senior citizens in wheelchairs waved their flags from their front porches. I remember eating my new favorite American food: a hotdog and a Coke. Here were the old and the new, all together to celebrate a country that is both old and new.
The kids excitedly climbed on the fire engines and police cars and played with the sirens and lights, while the police walked around shaking hands and telling everyone to enjoy the day. I could not imagine this happening in my homeland. There is a saying in my mother tongue, Bengali, that translates, “If a tiger touches you, you will get 18 wounds. But if the police touch you, you will get 36 wounds.” Dealing with the police is not a friendly experience there.
On the way back home, I made a quick stop by Mount Washington, as I heard it was a prime location to view the fireworks in the city. I saw people saving their spots hours before the fireworks began. Later, I went to Point Park to watch the fireworks, along with thousands of other people. There were lavish boats in the river, full of people blasting music and enjoying their BBQs. I took photos and videos and shared them across the continents with my family and friends, and they were amazed at how vibrant these celebrations were.
Another year, I was in the North Side with a friend who was not as excited about the festivities. He explained he was displeased that money was spent on fireworks when there were families struggling to afford food, baby diapers and health insurance. (His pets did not like fireworks either, as was evident by the way they hid inside his house.) As we strolled around his neighborhood, he explained he had seen it become barricaded by gentrification.
Even here, everything is not perfect. People who know America best also know its flaws best. It can be easier, in some ways, for a newcomer to love this country and its Independence Day without worrying about those flaws.
As for me, I have a lot of mixed feelings on Independence Day in America. I came to this country with $300 in my pocket and two suitcases of manuscripts, clothes and hope. An immigrant’s life is like standing on two boats, struggling through the waves and challenges that I face. Leaning too far into one can take you out of the other, and your balance is lost.
But one day I will become a U.S. citizen, and I am eager to call America, which has offered me a sanctuary, “my country.” I look forward to gazing up at the fireworks as a citizen, cheering with the crowd, and feeling even more appreciation on the Fourth of July.
Tuhin Das is a former ESL student with Literacy Pittsburgh and is a writer-in-residence at City of Asylum.
First Published: July 3, 2022, 4:00 a.m.
