Josephin Yen is a 42-year-old woman from Sudan. She arrived here with her children, her brother and sister-in-law in 2005. She recently passed her citizenship test and became an American citizen.
Where were you born?
I was born in Sudan. In 1995 I moved to a refugee camp in Uganda.
What was life like there?
It was really hard most of the time. To earn money is very difficult there. For a few years, I earned money selling food and drinks that I cooked from a stand. Then I rented space for a garden and sold food that I grew. Later, I worked making gravel. This is a very hard, painful job. I would get a large rock and chip away at it with a chisel until I made gravel, or small stones. Then I would take these small stones and sell them to a person who was building a house.
What was your first impression of America?
I came in the winter, but I had no idea what winter here was like. When we got off the plane at the Manchester airport, people gave us boots, coats, hats and gloves to put on. When I had put everything on, all I could think was ‘Why are we wearing all these heavy things?!’ Then we went outside and saw the snow and then I knew why.
What do you like most about living here now?
I really like living in Concord. The schools are good for my children. In Africa, public schools are not available like they are here, and they are very expensive. The hospitals are good here, the doctors take good care of me and my family. Also I feel that it is quiet here – no war, not a lot of crime. (It’s) really peaceful.
What is you favorite thing to do in Concord?
I really enjoy planting a garden and eating what I grow in it. I have enjoyed having plots at two community gardens in Concord. These make it possible for me, and others like me who live in apartments, to have a garden. My family eats the fresh vegetables I can grow there.
What do you miss most about Africa?
I miss that it was easier to grow food and live off the plants and animals we (had) there. I didn’t go to the store and buy foods. But times were hard there, it was also very dangerous.
Yen has a hobby of making beaded jewelry. One of her mentors in Concord buys her the beads online, and she makes necklaces, earrings and bracelets with original designs She has sold them at craft shows and fairs. To view her collection, send an e-mail to erin.woolf@yahoo.com.
