{"id":4149,"date":"2018-04-05T19:13:16","date_gmt":"2018-04-05T19:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/?p=4149"},"modified":"2018-05-23T14:33:44","modified_gmt":"2018-05-23T14:33:44","slug":"the-journey-of-an-immigrant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/2018\/04\/05\/the-journey-of-an-immigrant\/","title":{"rendered":"Chasing the American Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chasing the American Dream<\/strong>
\nby David Ndreca<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/WyIXYmvZaBA<\/a><\/p>\n

[NOTE:\u00a0 Both the subject and the interviewer switch languages as per convenience, therefore, the transcript has been translated and appropriated.]<\/p>\n

“Immigrants dreamed the same dreams that immigrants always have\u2013of opportunity in America for themselves and their children” Brands writes in his American Dreams.<\/em>[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

In this short piece, I will introduce the story of Marcello Cardillo, an Italian immigrant who came to the United States in 1966 to chase the American Dream. The focus of my story is the description of Cardillo\u2019s journey, which demonstrates the hardships and sacrifices an immigrant had to go through to get to the land of the free and opportunities. Not only will I describe his journey, but also the nature of his success and his consequent ability to help others, who, just like him, dreamed of America. This piece follows the spirit of Brands\u2019 statement, supplementing it and giving it a more sensitive perspective.<\/p>\n

In the late 1930\u2019s, Marcello Cardillo\u2019s father, Peppe Cardillo\u2014a U.S. born citizen\u2014was taken back to Italy by his parents and, he was never allowed to come to the U.S. again. In 1940 he was drafted to Africa.[2]<\/a>Specifically, he was drafted in the Italian Eastern Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana<\/em>), a complex of territories made up of ancient Italian colonial possessions of Somalia, the Eritrean Colony and the Ethiopian Empire.[3]<\/a>During the war, Peppe lost a leg and was sent back to Italy. Unable to provide for his family, Peppe sent his young kids to work in the fields but it was not enough to feed a family of seven, with a sick mother and a disabled father.[4]<\/a>Many Italians who emigrated to the United States during the 20s and 30s eventually returned to Italy, \u201ca rarely noted fact that reveals a fundamental ambivalence about being in the United States.\u201d[5]<\/a>Known as \u201csoujourners\u201d or \u201ceconomic opportunists\u201d these immigrants came to the U.S. to make money and return home to buy land and open businesses.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

At the age of 16, Marcello Cardillo applied, along with his other two male siblings, for a U.S. visa, but it was denied since their uncle was an outspoken communist. Overtaken by desperation, Marcello, the youngest of them all, undertook a journey to Northern Italy, hoping to make it to Switzerland. In Milan, the young Cardillo had to spend the night under a bridge waiting for the seven o\u2019clock bus to Zurich. He said \u201cIt was the end of September but I wasn\u2019t cold, I didn\u2019t feel it. I had six starving people at home and the simple idea that I could provide them with a piece of bread kept me going.\u201d[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

In Switzerland Cardillo was sheltered by farmers and was allowed to sleep in a barn. His hosts found him a job and also forced him to go to night school. \u201cThey told me that if I wanted to work, I had to go to school so I could do something better, perhaps find a job in the city.\u201dSoon, Cardillo moved into a little apartment in Zurich, which was \u201cexpensive, but it was worth it\u201d he said, \u201cI could make double of what I made working in the farm, and I could send my family twice as much.\u201d[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

Two years had gone by, and it was time to go see his family. Cardillo had now purchased a car, a Fiat 600 Vignale Spyder, a car he could only afford without much sacrifice. \u201cI was poor, I gave most of my money to my family, but I had saved a lot and now I could pass as middle-class kid, but I was nowhere close to being like [them].\u201d[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

While visiting his family at the age of 18, Cardillo got arrested for intentionally avoiding the draft. \u201cThe communists of the village had reported me, who else?\u201d he stated, \u201cpoverty led people into committing evil actions against each other\u201d he continued. Because of his family\u2019s many connections, Cardillo was granted 24 hours to spend with his parents before he could be taken by the authorities and escorted to a military base. However, Cardillo decided to flee and with the help of his neighbor, a marshal of the Carabinieri <\/em>(Italian police), he was escorted in the marshal\u2019s car trunk to a train station in Rome. \u201cYou must cross the Lugano border tomorrow at 9:15, my brother\u2019s shift starts exactly at 9. I will call him, tell him I sent you. He will help you cross the border\u201d the marshal told Cardillo. Once arrived at his apartment in Zurich, Cardillo no longer felt safe and he knew it wouldn\u2019t have been long before the police would find him. Cardillo shared his concerns with his family in New York, and his aunt promised that she\u2019d help him leave Europe.<\/p>\n

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished the Quota Acts which were based on national origins and opened the borders to people with skills needed in a developing American economy.[10]<\/a>It\u2019s 1966, just a year after the passing of the new immigration law. Cardillo\u2019s aunt sought the help of Congresswoman Edna F. Kelly who, according to Cardillo, \u201ccalled the U.S. consul in Zurich and arranged a work visa\u201d for him (There is no evidence of such correspondence nor is Mr. Cardillo aware of the relationship between his aunt and the Representative Kelly).<\/p>\n

Representative Edna Kelly<\/a> was a Democrat from New York and had different roles in American politics; most importantly, she was known for her contributions to foreign affairs and women\u2019s rights. Kelly served as the Chair of the Subcommittee on Europe and later as the third ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.[11]<\/a>Many Representatives, including Kelly, favored immigration reform. The House Immigration Committee took the issue of race and racial discrimination as legitimate grounds for supporting a new reform.[12]<\/a>Most Congressman in support of the immigration reform \u201crepresented eastern European interests, either in their ethnically mixed regions, or in their own or biographies.\u201d[13]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe plane took off and I thought about that good-hearted woman (referring to Rep. Edna Kelly). I wouldn\u2019t be on this plane without her, and without my aunt.\u201d At the age of 20 Cardillo arrived to the United States and was not expecting what he saw. \u201cIt was dark and rainy but I couldn\u2019t take my eyes off the high ceilings of the airport\u201d he said. \u201cI was asked my passport by a very tall officer. He asked me many questions to which I didn\u2019t know how to answer, of course, but I do remember very well his big mustache.\u201d[14]<\/a>The American Dream turned to be a bit bittersweet: the demand for laborers was very high but Italian immigrants had socialist approaches to work organizations and were organized into mutual-aid societies. Italian Socialists provided leadership and protection to garment workers, barbers, and construction workers. The Italian Socialists also built a bridge between Italians and labor organizations such as the Knights of Labor <\/em><\/a>or the Bricklayer\u2019s, Mason\u2019s and Plasterer\u2019s International Union of America<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>of which Cardillo was a part of.[15]<\/a><\/p>\n

Once settled at his aunt\u2019s house, Cardillo quickly started working as a construction laborer with his uncle but was unsatisfied with the attitude of his superiors. \u201cOur bosses would give us the worst positions, the risky ones and many times they withheld a portion of our salaries to pay for the tools but in reality those filthy bastards were putting that money into their pockets\u201d Cardillo stated.[16]<\/a>In fact, immigrant workers took, and arguably still take, jobs with higher health and safety risks than native-born laborers. This phenomenon occurs because of the immigrants\u2019 levels of education, language abilities, and different perceptions of job risks. Many immigrants obtained their work authorization directly through their employer and were tied to the company for an extended period of time. Undoubtedly, this leads to a system prone to exploitation but because of the aforementioned factors\u2014particularly those immigrants whom immigration status depended on their employer\u2014laborers did not seek for alternative employment or working rights out of fear of the consequences for them and their families.[17]<\/a><\/p>\n

At 23 years-old Cardillo had just gotten married and wanted his family to live comfortably and still had parents and siblings to feed back in Italy.\u00a0 He said \u201cI needed to do something, I was an angry young man that needed opportunities and not a [slave-like operated employment].\u201d With the help of family and friends, Cardillo opened an Italian deli in downtown Brooklyn. There, he employed his wife Adele while he continued to work as a construction laborer. In two-year time, Marcello and Adele Cardillo saved enough money to buy a house in Yonkers,<\/a> New York.[18]<\/a>Italians were known for the many entrepreneurs and workers engaged in the manufacturing, construction and food businesses. Italians did not assimilate in America, but they created a cultural pluralism that allowed them to keep their Italian traditions and values while becoming good Americans.[19]<\/a><\/p>\n

In 1983, Cardillo decided to sell his Italian deli and invest the earnings into a construction business. \u201cIt was a Sunday, I remember it because we had just returned from mass at St. John\u2019s church. We sat down outside the fig tree and I [consulted] Adele whether or not we should sell our deli. She did not hesitate and supported my idea without any questions\u201d Cardillo said. Within a few weeks Marcello opens his construction business called M & C, S & D Mason Contractors, Inc. <\/em><\/a>and hires five laborers. It was a hard beginning working as subcontractors in Westchester County, NY, there was a lot of competition, and Cardillo\u2019s English was very limited.\u00a0 However, only a few years later, Cardillo became one of the most renowned construction businessmen in the county. His projects quickly increased and were comprised from 50 to even 100 condominiums. \u201cI did 50 condominiums for\u00a0Jack Nicklaus<\/a>. I know [him] very well, we don\u2019t hangout anymore but I knew him very well\u201d Cardillo proudly said. This business not only allowed him to chase his American Dream, but to help his employess do so as well. He made sure his they were protected by a union and partnered with the Bricklayer\u2019s, Mason\u2019s and Plasterer\u2019s International Union of America<\/em>, the oldest and still operating trade union in the United States. After 30 years in business, the union awarded him with a plaque of excellence in craftsmanship.[20]<\/a><\/p>\n

After many years in business, Cardillo started supporting both politicians and people in need. He donated to humanitarian organizations and sponsored campaigns. He held beneficiary events and distributed food to the poor. \u201cAfter 50 years working with immigrants, [Hispanics], people of color, with everybody, [I can say] for me, working people are all the same. America is the number one [compared to any other country] in the world. I am Italian but America is the number one for me. When you\u2019re born in another country and you come to the United States you got to suffer a lot\u201d Cardillo concluded.[21]<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a>H. W. Brands, American Dreams: The United States since 1945 (New York: Penguin Books, 2011), 384.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a>Interview with Mr. Cardillo, March 17, 2018.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a>Giuseppe Morandini, Enrico Cerulli, and Ugo Leone, “AFRICA ORIENTALE ITALIANA in “Enciclopedia Italiana”,” Treccani, , accessed April 28, 2018, http:\/\/www.treccani.it\/enciclopedia\/africa-orientale-italiana_res-13a6efa4-87e5-11dc-8e9d-0016357eee51_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)\/.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a>I Interview with Mr. Cardillo, March 28, 2018.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a>Stephen S. Hall, “ITALIAN-AMERICANS COMING INTO THEIR OWN,” The New York Times, May 15, 1983, , accessed April 28, 2018, https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1983\/05\/15\/magazine\/italian-americans-coming-into-their-own.html?pagewanted=all.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a>Ibid<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a>Interview with Mr. Cardillo, April 24, 2018.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a>Interview with Mr. Cardillo, April 4, 2018.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a>Interview with Mr. Cardillo, March 17, 2018.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a>[10]H. W. Brands, American Dreams: The United States since 1945 (New York: Penguin Books, 2011), 371.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a>“Kelly, Edna Flannery,” US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives, Accessed April 28, 2018.http:\/\/history.house.gov\/People\/Detail\/16168.<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a>http:\/\/eds.b.ebscohost.com\/eds\/pdfviewer\/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=e9f5d25d-9e01-4437-887e-4dac1b08ff44%40sessionmgr101<\/a>page 58<\/p>\n

[13]<\/a>Ibid page 64<\/p>\n

[14]<\/a>Interview with Mr. Cardillo, April 24, 2018.<\/p>\n

[15]<\/a>Wang Xinyang, Economic opportunity, artisan leadership, and immigrant workers: Italian and Chiense immigrant workers in New York City, 18090-1980, (Labor History, 1996) 492-493.<\/p>\n

[16]<\/a>Interview with Mr. Cardillo, March 17, 2018.<\/p>\n

[17]<\/a>http:\/\/eds.b.ebscohost.com\/eds\/pdfviewer\/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=c33255e9-d7cc-420f-8aee-a4cec4dca146%40sessionmgr104<\/a>page 142-143<\/p>\n

[18]<\/a>Interview with Mr. Cardillo, April 24, 2018.<\/p>\n

[19]<\/a>Mary Brown, Italians of the South Villages, report, ed. Rafaele Fierro (New York City, NY: Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation , 2007), 80, October 15, 2015, accessed April 28, 2018, gvshp.org\/blog\/2015\/10\/08\/italians-of-the-south-village\/<\/p>\n

[20]<\/a>Interview with Mr. Cardillo, April 4, 2018.<\/p>\n

[21]<\/a>I Interview with Mr. Cardillo, March 17, 2018.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n