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Interview between a journalist and Bob Berlin about his grandfather's life as an immigrant
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Interview between a journalist and Bob Berlin about his grandfather's life as an immigrant ( recorded by
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Corrected Textmore↓Bob Berlin is being interviewed by John, a journalist who wants to write an article about immigration to the States.
- Hello Bob! I understand that your grandfather, Isaac, came to the States when he was … How old was he ?
- He was just seventeen.
- Seventeen … ! Where did he come from ?
- Well, Grandpa Isaac started out … in Russia in a town near Kiev and proceeded to Hamburg and then he went to Liverpool and finally arrived in New-York.
- That was a long, long trip for him, quite a roundabout route, yeah … How did he come in fact ?
- Well, the journey from Russia to Hamburg was by train.
- Yeah …
- And then the trip from Hamburg to Liverpool, was as a passenger on a cargo boat.
- Wow !
- Actually for the same fee as by passenger ship. After arriving in Liverpool, he boarded a transatlantic liner to New-York.
- A liner! That must have been a big one ! How many passengers were there on board ?
- Ah … Let’s see … Nine hundred and twenty seven exactly !
- Ah ! A big liner, yeah … Do you know anything about the conditions on board ? It must have been pretty tough , I would have imagined…
- Yes, I remember Grandfather’s stories about it, it was absolutely terrible, they slept on bunk beds, very hard beds and they were, of course, no washing facilities, and the food was terrible, I think, mostly potatoes and cabbage …
- And after eating, make you seasick, I would have imagined …
- Well, exactly, it was also a very rough sea and he said there was a storm at sea lasting for weeks and almost everybody was severely seasick.
- It must have been hell ! How long did the trip take in fact ?
- It took two months.
- And when did he arrive in the States?
- He arrived in March, in 1892. As the ship entered New York harbour, he saw the Statue of Liberty.
- 1892 ? Goodness ! He must have been feeling pretty lonely, I should think, when he landed.- Absolutely, he was frightened, as probably they all were, but on the other hand he was hopeful, he was going to the New World, a land of opportunity. I remember he told me that he cried when he first saw the Statue of Liberty.
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