Monday, September 14, 2009

Crossing Flatbush Avenue--Ali Dutt


I have known my cousin Ali all my life, even with all these many years to our relationship, I have never learned such in-depth situations pertained to his life. After conducting this interview, I feel as if I have learned of a whole new side of him. His dreams, passions, hopes and the tough situations he has been through in his life. Its very easy to say we understand some one and assume we know them very well, but to truly be able to acknowledge their life story is very tough. To read their story on a paper and to feel the emotions which ran through their heart at a specific time in their life is what makes us closer to one and another. This interview has helped me achieve closure to a very important and close family member and I hope it helps you to understand his life also.




My name is Ali Dutt. I was born in Mirpur Azad Kashmir, Pakistan in May of 1984. I am 25 years old and came to America 8 years ago at the young age of 17. I am currently self-employed, working as a limosine driver in New York City. I have been working as a limosine driver for the past 4 years and I really enjoy it. Working in the city has allowed me to get an up close and personal view of the bright lights, night life and cultural diversity that New York has to offer. New York has a lot to offer, and back home that is all I wanted to experience. I wanted to see what it felt like to eat American food, see the Manhattan skyline, get a better education, ride a train, and most importantly see my family and be closer to my cousins. During my days off, I like to spend time with family and friends. I really enjoy capturing the life of New York, so I always have my camera on me as I take pictures of friends and beautiful, diverse neighborhoods. I usually avoid driving on my days off, so I like to go to local restaurants and joints where I can just walk instead of taking my car.If I am not with my friends, I am most likely with my wife, either catching a movie flick or visiting her family in Pennsylvania. Life in New York is very busy, even if you are unemployed- the days seem to rush past you. In Manhattan, I usually will see crowds of people rushing into the train station,rushing out, crossing the street. It seems as if everyone has some place to be by a certain time. My life has become this way too. If I am not working, I am with friends, then family and then before I know it I am back to work. There have been times where I go to work and my wife, who is a Registered Nurse, and it seems like we dont see each other for days. But that is what I enjoy about my life here, I really can't get bored because I have so much to do. This life is on the complete contrast to my life in Pakistan. In Pakistan, life was more on a slow pace, live one day at a time. I have 4 other siblings and along with my mother, we lived in a small apartment on the second floor of my grandfather's house. Though it was on the second floor and we had our own kitchen, we were still pretty close knit with our family downstairs. Our father was in America, working as a taxi-driver, trying to get us to cometo America. I really didn't know what the word responsibility meant while in Pakistan. I was always getting in trouble, but thats what the teenage years are all about. We were dependent on the money our father sent to us in Pakistan. It wasn't much and we learned how to manage with what we have and be grateful. When I came to America, I was enrolled into a local high school. It was quite hard for me to focus, as the English language was too perplex. I started to miss one class, then two, until I eventually dropped out. My father wasn't happy and I quickly started to work at a store, making minimum wage. Soon, my mother and 3 siblings came from Pakistan and our family was complete. But soon, family problems started to arise, and before we knew our parents were divorced and my brother and I were the one's left to support 6 people and pay rent. It was really tough. I shortened the time spent with friends and focused on work. I worked long hours and the idea of going back to school skipped my mind as it wasn't my first priority. But things took a turn for the better. My family grew stronger and closer than ever before and we became inseparable. When I started driving limosine, it was merely the only job I can make a decent amount of money where the word GED wasn't involved, and I made a decent living. Slowly but surely fulfilling all the long awaited desires of my younger siblings and mother. In May of 2009, I started a new phase of life, by getting married. My wife and I both work and I still continue to provide for my family. I do miss my country, especially when times get tough, but without tough times I probably wouldn't have learned the life lessons I have learned, they all made me a better brother, son, husband and man.

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