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C onn ect i ng C u ltu r es T hrough F am i ly and F ood

had already settled in began arriving each year. These made up another wave of equally hard-working and hopeful immigrants. Harmanveer Singh, a first-generation American citizen, describes his father, who arrived in the United States in 1989, at the age of 18. “He could barely speak English,” Singh says. “He was very lucky that someone gave hima chance and hired himat a gas station. Because hewas a goodworker, he went from pumping gas to being promoted to manager. He eventually bought a station of his own and now he has several. He pays taxes, is a respected member of his community, and is living the life he dreamed of when he made the hard decision to leave India.”

Indians have found work in every area of American life, such as this Sikh police officer in New York City, wearing the traditional turban.