Interview with Tambu Manondo Chirwa, December 16, 2013

Partial Transcript: Okay. Tambu, uh, lets, uh, get started. I'm Jack Wilson interviewing, uh, Tambu Chirwa who was born in the nation of Malawi for the Africans in the Bluegrass Oral History Project at the University of Kentucky.

Segment Synopsis: Chirwa explains her birth in apartheid South Africa to Malawian parents in 1964, and coming to Malawi at age 6. She went to Kapalamula primary school in the village, then moved to live with her sister in Blantyre for better opportunities in education for grades 7 and 8. She returned to the village every summer for three months. She describes girls' work caring for younger children, in the garden, and hauling water. She lists crops grown: corn, peanuts, cassava; sweet potato. She explains land tenure and how her mother got land in Ntchewa district from the chief.

Keywords: Better life; Birth in South Africa; Blantyre; Gardening; Girls' work; Land tenure; Primary school; Return to Malawi; Summer vacations

Subjects: Childhood; Chores.; Education; Families.

Partial Transcript: How had they happened to go to South Africa in the first place?

Segment Synopsis: Chirwa's father was supposed to be a chief but because of missionary influence he wanted to go to school and did. He ran away from home and walked and rode a train through Zimbabwe where he met her mother and went on to South Africa. There he met a white South African who taught him to be a bricklayer.

Keywords: Missionary influence; Zimbabwe

Subjects: Education; South Africa

Partial Transcript: Okay. Well, uh, let's, let's go back a minute, uh, and talk, uh, some more about your schooling.

Segment Synopsis: Chirwa explains her secondary school experience first as distance education in which she paid for textbooks and did not pass the Form II exam. Later she does pass exams and complete typing school. She explains problems with the selection process for secondary school, especially biases against girls in terms of school because of girls' work.

Keywords: Influence of girls' work and education; Junior secondary certificate; Ntchewu Secondary School; Secondary school selection process

Subjects: Discrimination in education.; Education

Partial Transcript: So then, um, um, tell me a little bit about, uh, between then and, and coming to the United States.

Segment Synopsis: Chirwa talks about how she met Robert, then marriage three months before he came to University of Kentucky on scholarship, then her following six months later. She summarizes dates of coming and going between Malawi and Kentucky between 1988 and 1996 and the births of her sons.

Keywords: Coming to U.S.; Job; Marriage; Travel

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.

Partial Transcript: Did you, did you ever think as, uh, as a child that you might come to the United States? Or leave Malawi, uh, at any point?

Segment Synopsis: Chirwa explains she never thought about coming to U.S. as a child. She says she believed that Malawi was the most beautiful and peaceful place in the world. She recalls an Italian acquaintance telling her coming to the U.S. would be like waking up in heaven.

Keywords: America; First impressions; United States

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.

Partial Transcript: What, what did you find most difficult to adjust to?

Segment Synopsis: Chirwa describes loneliness, loss of freedom, difficulty of doing laundry and shopping, no job, lack of transportation, and how she eventually adjusted because of family, friends, and getting a car. She explains that one main reason for coming to the U.S. a second time was education of their children through college.

Keywords: Adaptation; Education of children; Loneliness; Loss of freedom

Subjects: Acculturation.; Immigrants--Cultural assimilation.

Partial Transcript: Okay. Uh, so describe for me, uh, a good, uh, experience or two, uh, of living in the United States. In Kentucky.

Segment Synopsis: Chirwa explains that because of their involvement in soccer and church and friends made in those contexts, Kentucky has been a good environment for her family.

Keywords: Adaptation; Church; Friends; Soccer

Subjects: Acculturation.; Immigrants--Cultural assimilation.

Partial Transcript: So--(coughs)--but along the way you m--(coughs)--excuse me--you must have had, uh, an unpleasant experience--

Segment Synopsis: Chirwa describes experiencing people screaming, "Go home" and someone spitting on them, and the son of friends who agreed with the KKK.

Keywords: "Go home"; Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

Subjects: Race discrimination.; Racism; United States--Race relations.

Partial Transcript: Uh, changing the, the subject a little bit. Uh, do you have, uh, other family, uh, in the United States and are they here in Lexington or elsewhere, how--and how do you keep in touch with them?

Segment Synopsis: Chirwa describes her relatives in the U.S. and how her family in Malawi feels about her being in the U.S., understanding that parents belong with children. She explains how they keep in touch with family in Malawi on a daily basis through the internet, and talks about three trips back to Malawi.

Keywords: Calling cards; Education in Malawi; Facebook; Family; Long distance communication

Subjects: Families.; Immigrants--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: Uh, what kinds of questions do people here ask you about Malawi? Or about Africa? About--

Segment Synopsis: Chirwa talks about people not knowing where Malawi is, though more recently they may because of Madonna and President Clinton having been there. A big change is that Americans are now asking how they can go there and are actually listening to Africans, and are not judgmental. Some people realize that Americans can learn from Africa and that people work hard there.

Keywords: American travel; Celebrity visits; Malawi not known; Perceptions of Africans

Subjects: Cultural competence.; Immigrants--Kentucky; Intercultural communication.

Partial Transcript: Uh, so when, when people ask, uh, where you're from, how do you, how do you identify yourself?

Segment Synopsis: Chirwa explains that today people ask "Where are you originally from?" instead of "Where are you from?"

Keywords: Americans' questions

Subjects: Africans--Race identity; Immigrants--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: More than--today, more than 13,000 individuals from--born in African countries live in Kentucky.

Segment Synopsis: Chirwa talks about Kentucky benefiting from African professors teaching, and others working and improving their lives. Compared to 20 years ago, Lexington is more diverse and in grocery stores there are international foods. People may not appreciate those doing minimum wage jobs.

Keywords: Diversity

Subjects: Culture.; Immigrants--Kentucky; Intercultural communication.

Partial Transcript: Okay, I've asked you a lot of questions, uh, but what, what haven't I asked, uh, that would you like to tell me about or put on the record for people who might listen to this sometime?

Segment Synopsis: Chirwa recognizes Americans who have had African experience--education without a certificate but is very rich--and make a difference in the lives of Africans who come here.

Keywords: African experience; Americans

Subjects: Cultural competence.; Immigrants--Kentucky; Intercultural communication.

Partial Transcript: Uh, what I, uh, didn't a, ask you earlier and, and probably should have, uh, is you had, you mentioned, you know, some of your early experiences in the U.S.--

Segment Synopsis: Chirwa explains her choice to be home with her sons, but she is in school now attending community college.

Keywords: Education in U.S.; Green card; Visas

Subjects: Bluegrass Community and Technical College; Education; Occupations.