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Every year, Father An will take An Yuxi to participate in the community assembly of Qingming, and the location is Angel Island.

Angel Island is small in size, about 188 hectares. The lush island resembles a huge emerald set in the waters of San Francisco Bay.

ange1Is1and, the first time I saw this name, many people will like this name very much, An Yuxi also thought the name was good when he first saw it, but after he really understood this place, he knew that this place is synonymous with hell for Asians and most Chinese who have left their homeland and come to the United States to make a living.

Drive north from San Francisco on U.S. Highway 1O1, drive onto California Highway 131 and drive southeast for about half an hour, and you will come to the ferry port of Tibleon. From here, it's about 2o minutes by boat to the legendary "Angel Island".

I don't know what day it started, it should have started in 1974, on this day of the Qingming Festival, the Chinese community Red Flower Society in San Francisco chartered all the ferries from Tiburon to Angel Island, and all those who arrived on Angel Island were picked up and dropped off for free. Therefore, on this day, Angel Island is overcrowded.

Representatives of Chinese communities and Chinese Americans from all over the United States gathered on Angel Island to hold solemn Chinese gatherings and sacrifice ceremonies in front of the black stone monument in the immigration camp, in this way to remember and mourn their ancestors, and to show their determination to strive for strength and not forget history.

The inscription on the stele reads, "Don't leave your hometown and drift away from the wooden house, start a business in Kinmen", telling the hardships of the ancestors of Chinese when they crossed the sea to start a business in the United States.

The ceremony began at 1o o'clock, the sun had already risen, dispelled the still cool mist, and drove to Tibron, which was already overcrowded, full of people, full of familiar skin tones and colors, and a local accent that made people feel close, and after coming to the United States for so long, everyone basically did not have the opportunity to see so many people of the same color, from the same country, and the same nationality as today.

The longing for my hometown that has been suppressed for a long time is suddenly like a flood bursting the embankment, bursting out at this moment, and I can't restrain the excitement in my heart at all, so even people who have never met before will say hello affectionately, greet each other, and ask each other where they are from and how they are doing here. If you happen to meet someone who speaks Mandarin with the same accent, you will inevitably burst into tears, and you will meet someone else!

I have to say that China is really a country with a strong geo-culture, and the local ties are also very heavy, and almost all people everywhere will have things like hometown associations as long as they are not local, just like associations, holding each other together, which is originally a measure of self-protection. Even if they come from different counties in the same province, even if they come from hn, one from Yueyang and the other from Chenzhou, they will be more intimate than others from different provinces. This is a sense of identity, if you come from the same place, there will be more topics, which is indispensable to find a restaurant to drink, chat, recall childhood and interesting things, if one says one thing, the other person immediately understands that there will be a "you know this thing" expression, the conversation between the two people is even stronger, the wine has been three rounds, the food has five flavors, and began to put their hearts in their hearts, and the villagers talked about the difficulties of working hard in other places over the years, and the two people couldn't help but hug their heads and cry, which made people sigh, Alone in a foreign land as a stranger, every festival to miss relatives!

Then the two families became more intimate. Sometimes the geographical distance can really shorten the distance between the heart, otherwise how can it be said that distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors?

Because this activity was started by the Red Flower Society, Father An and An Yuxi's acquaintances went to the island early to prepare, this is the annual event of the Red Flower Society, the Red Flower Society is like a big enemy up and down, and there is no room for sloppiness, and there are members wearing black suits to maintain order everywhere.

Father An pulled Mother An to hug An Yuxi, to be honest, An Yuxi didn't like to be held very much, a little repulsive, what did two big men look like when they hugged each other! It's a pity that there are so many people now, and there is no place for children to stay.

Watching Father An greet people he didn't know, An Yuxi felt that his father's love was also very excited, although he was also very happy to see so many Chinese, how to say it, this is the United States, and it's all Chinese here, how can it not be exciting? This is the cohesion of a nation! An Yuxi's self-esteem was greatly satisfied at this moment, this is our nation!

An Yuxi was excited and also thought: "It's the first time I've seen the excitement, even if it's the first time I've seen it, Dad, you've seen such a big world and you're so excited, it's really..." Father An was still greeting a middle-aged man next to him, and he didn't know that he was despised by his son.

The excitement became heavy as the angel island got closer and closer, and there was an occasional small cough in the boat, and people looked at the island that was getting closer and closer in front of them, which was beautiful in the sun, and suddenly an old man on the same boat sighed, "I didn't expect me to come back here." ”

An Yuxi looked at the old man blankly, this is an old man in his 7o years, his head is white, his face is full of traces of time, he is closing his eyes at this time, as if he is reminiscing, and as if muttering to himself, saying something to the relatives who are holding him next to him, and everyone's eyes are on the old man.

It turned out that the old man was one of the Chinese who came to the United States in 192o to make a living, when the land of China was full of smoke and the people were struggling to make a living, and under the influence of the democratic and liberal ideology, the desperate old man sold his property and decided to go to the United States to make a living.

The United States is a country made up of immigrants, and the immigration process and experience of various ethnic groups constitute most of the history and diverse culture of the United States. It is well known as the Ellis Island Settlement on the East Coast, where the Lady of Liberty holds the torch alof, as if shouting the blood-boiling verses: - Give me these homeless and devastated people, I hold the torch of freedom high!

What an inspiring slogan! This is exactly what gives hope to many Chinese, freedom first, at least there is no war, you can still live, you don't have to worry about one day your property is not guaranteed, or you are captured Zhuangding, or killed, this is enough, the Chinese who have nothing, with dreams of future happiness, drag their tired bodies into sleep, passenger ships sail in the sea, shaky.

On the way, the old grandfather, who was still a young man, met a fellow villager, another young man who had nothing but a dream, the two were like-minded and sympathetic, and soon became good friends who had nothing to say, and the two encouraged each other and set ambitions to create a world in the United States together.

After taking a boat for more than a month to get to San Francisco, the boat was full of people who sailed across the ocean and left their homeland with the desire to escape poverty and pursue their dreams, or with the hope of reuniting with their families and enjoying family fun, but they were unexpectedly sent to "Angel Island" before they even set foot on American soil, and went through a long process of screening, examination and quarantine in a few lonely wooden houses.

Every passenger who arrived in San Francisco by boat was divided into different levels by immigration inspectors, with the lucky few who were able to enter the country along the way, while the rest were taken to Angel Island, where whites were segregated separately and Chinese were separated from other Asian immigrants. Men and women are detained separately, and neither husband nor wife nor relatives of the opposite sex are allowed to meet and interact until they are finally allowed to enter the country.

The old man and his friend were detained on Angel Island pending interrogation because the formalities did not belong to those who had entered the country illegally.

The first level is to check the body. The old man couldn't help but be angry when he talked about what happened at that time, and the crutches in his hand paused fiercely, "When we first arrived, we came to the detention center building for a physical examination, and the doctor asked us to strip off all our clothes. It is a great shame to show naked in public, and the Chinese have never been naked in public. They checked over and over again. We've never encountered anything like this -- naked in front of a white man. ”

The pain of being detained in a foreign land can be imagined. The living conditions in the cell were extremely bad, and a small room was once filled with double or triple beds, and at most more than 12o people could be accommodated; An unpalatable meal of 8 cents a day, plus a discriminated and hopeless wait. Some people can't stand it and hang themselves by hanging themselves; Someone had a nervous breakdown and killed himself by sharpening his chopsticks.

Endless waiting, or being repatriated, the old man's friend had a nervous breakdown, and finally one night, he committed suicide by hanging the beam, and died on the way to the United States before he set foot on American soil.

"We said that we would go to the United States to start a business together, but he broke his promise, and the United States didn't even give him the opportunity to set foot on the mainland!" The old man was hoarse.

He said he was lucky to end up on American soil, and today is his first time since he left here. It was also the first time he talked about it, this was a nightmare in his heart, and it was also his biggest secret, even his wife and children had heard of it for the first time.

"I came back just to see my old friend, this place that left me nightmares, I didn't want to come back for the rest of my life, but after living for so long, some things just can't be forgotten, I can't hide, I can't hide from it, I'm going to die anyway, I want to come and see while I can still move, and talk to him, I want to tell him that I have lived a good life in my life, I have a beautiful wife, I have two sons, and my grandson is about to grow up..."

Listening to the old man say this, I don't know how many people silently shed tears, Father An and An Yuxi's eyes are also red, I don't know how many people have the same experience as this old man, and I don't know how many people buried this nightmare in their hearts and finally buried it in the soil.

During the Qingming Festival, it rains a lot, and pedestrians on the road want to break their souls. This is different from China's Qingming Festival in San Francisco, the sun is shining, every Chinese has black yarn wrapped around their arms, including children like An Yuxi, under the influence of the Chinese, the entire Angel Island is in a solemn atmosphere, almost all entertainment venues are temporarily closed today, even if it is a white person who comes to visit, the black people will not laugh loudly, this day Angel Island belongs to the Chinese!

In fact, this kind of assembly is still too difficult for children to understand, children like to be lively, and few people will bring their children to participate in this kind of assembly, An Yuxi is an exception.

The atmosphere of the rally was very heavy, and all the Chinese present gathered in the square under the leadership and restraint of the members of the Red Flower Society, with about 10,000 participants.

At 1o'clock, the bell of the sacrifice rang, and the master of ceremonies came to the stage to deliver a speech, first reading the eulogy, and then observing a three-minute silence for the suffering Chinese and immigrants.

With the emcee's painful narration of history, as well as the memories of the parties involved, it arouses the sense of responsibility and national self-esteem of modern Chinese, reminds them that they are the descendants of Yan and Huang, the descendants of the dragon, and do not forget their roots and history! Once you know history, don't let it repeat itself! Patriotism or love for the nation can often arouse the sense of identity of most people and unite the hearts of most people, at this moment, we are the Chinese nation!

Many Chinese who came to the United States in the early twentieth century first came ashore from here. The old settlement on the island was where the Chinese settled at that time. To this day, people can still see on the walls of this building the poems of blood and tears carved by the Chinese who were waiting here to enter the United States.

"When a new visitor arrives in America, he will be caught in a wooden building,

It's like a big offense, and after a fall here,

The Americans are not allowed, and they approve and cancel and turn back,

The waves in the ship are big, and it is really worrying to return home,

The country is weak, I Chinese, lamenting that I am not free,

On the day of my country's heroism, I swore to behead Hu people. ”

"Wipe out the white people and swear to take away the worries of the United States. Why do you need America to survive? Bombing the Americas"

The preservation of Angel Island poetry has laid the irreplaceable cornerstone of early Chinese literature in the United States, and it stands on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean as an immortal monument to the history of Chinese immigrants in the United States, warning the world with the tragic side of history. With its unique historical significance and literary value, it has attracted widespread attention and in-depth research.

Today, the island, which has been turned into a museum, attracts thousands of Chinese and people of all ethnic groups every year, and the waves on the rift shore seem to tell people that it is a humiliating page in the history of Chinese immigration.

These relics restore the injustices of history

American mythology has always encouraged people to cross the ocean in search of freedom and dreams, but they don't know what nightmares immigrants from the West Coast experienced on Angel Island.

There are fewer than 10,000 immigrants entering the United States through Angel Island on the West Coast, and 175,000 are Chinese. Because it does not coincide with the mainstream "American myth", the experience of immigration on Angel Island has been left unnoticed. David Matthews, Superintendent of Angel Island State Park, said, "The story of Angel Island has been a 'secret' for a long time, and it has not been known to the general public until recent years. We hope that through Guò's efforts to preserve and restore the site of the Angel Island Immigration Detention Center, more Americans and immigrants whose family history began in the United States will understand what was born there. ”

The sacrificial ceremony is only more than 3o minutes, after all, everyone comes from such a far away, and it is very hard to travel and travel, so after the ceremony of offering flower baskets and wreaths, it will enter the next link, visit and parade.

Visiting the Heritage Museum, the parade is just to expand its influence and let more people know the truth about history, and several newspapers such as the local TV station in San Francisco and the San Francisco Post, which is very influential in the United States, have sent people to interview them, and I believe that they will make headlines that day, no matter what, at least the Chinese people in San Francisco are very excited now.

This is also the purpose of the Red Flower Society, although there is a suspicion of advertising, but regardless of the original intention, it can indeed be seen that the Red Flower Society has made a great contribution to the promotion of the culture and spirit of the Chinese nation, no matter how it is to other people, it is always kind to people of the same nationality.

It is also a way to tell the world that the Chinese people will not forget history, and it is also a warning to remind countries not to let history repeat itself. It can also improve the cohesion and national self-confidence of overseas Chinese, and use this to announce to the world that overseas Chinese are already a group that cannot be ignored.

PS (Please see the work for details)