Danielle Ozbat
Fifty-seven people declared their allegiance to America and were sworn in as United States citizens at Henricus Historical Park last week. It was the second naturalization event for the park and Charles Grant, executive director of Henricus, hopes there will be more.
“We’re always honored to do this … and we would like to do even more if it became available,” Grant said, “because it … highlights what’s great about Henricus, what’s great about becoming a citizen [and]it’s just the right atmosphere for this sort of ceremony, so we’re proud and honored to be a part of it.”
Ranging from countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, El Salvador, and Sudan, the newly minted citizens and their families gathered on the Henricus Bluff overlooking the James River and were joined by the Elizabeth Davis Middle School singers who sang the national anthem, presiding Magistrate Judge David J. Novak, and guest speaker and Secretary of Administration Nancy Rorigues.
While Novak noted in his speech that Alexander Hamilton, Albert Einstein, and Irving Berlin are among those who emigrated to the United States and went on to change the world, Rodrigues revealed that her parents are immigrants.
“My father fled a military dictatorship; my mother emigrated here as well,” Rodrigues said, “Dad never got past the fourth grade, Mom was lucky enough to get to high school, and here I stand before you today … a member of the cabinet and my sister, a dean at a university … I wouldn’t be here today without the courage of two naturalized citizens.”
Meaad Bashir, who was born in Sudan, was one of the immigrants in attendance who was beaming with pride after receiving her naturalization certificate. Bashir, who was holding a handheld American flag that was a gift from the Daughters of the American Revolution, said she has been here for a decade and talked about what America meant to her.
“It’s a really great feeling, I can’t really explain it,” Bashir said, “America [means]freedom, opportunity, better education, better health; everything is better here than in Sudan.”
Eric Gana, an immigrant from Cameroon who has been in America for a decade, echoed Bashir’s sentiments about the opportunities in America.
“There’s no place like America where you have the potential to be heard [and]your voice counts,” Gana said. “Learning about the opportunities and the human rights protection … from abroad, I thought this would be a good place to live in [and to have]different opportunities.”
