Out of This Furnace Essay
Out of this Furnace is a historical novel by Thomas Bell depicting three generations of a Slovakian immigrant family and their many hardships encountered in the their lifetimes, trying to adjust to life in a new country. Part one follows George Kracha, the first to come over to America, and what he goes through in trying to support himself and his family. All of what Kracha has to go through mirrors some of the real life struggles immigrants had back in 1881 and even today as themes of corrupt businesses and poverty are ever-present. In the first few pages when we are introduced to Kracha, we are told that he has left his country to go to America in part because of oppressive rule in his home country. On page 1 it …show more content…
An article from the Center for Immigration Studies about Mexican immigrants in the U.S reads “… 27.9 percent of natives and their children lived in or near poverty, compared to 65.6 percent of Mexican immigrants and their children. Thus, almost two-thirds of Mexican immigrants and their children are poor or near poor — more than twice the rate for natives.” There are many reasons why immigrant families can be so impoverished but a big one, just like Kracha, can be the job they have and what type of money they’re making. The most unjust example of this is with the Kafala system (especially in Qatar). Kafala is basically a system where foreign workers (in most cases being immigrants), the kafala, can come work through a kafeel, an employer or sponsor in Arab gulf states. The problem with it however is that the contracts are way too binding and gives the employer an extreme amount of control of the employee. An article on theguardian goes into detail on the Kafala stating “The main issue is that kafala restricts labour mobility. In fact, one could argue that it prohibits any mobility on part of the worker unless approved by the kafeel…workers can even be victims of blackmail by kafeels: if they protest or question their terms of employment, kafeels can have them deported... The kafeel can also shift the financial burden on to the worker. The law says the kafeel is expected to pay for medical insurance and fees for employment and residence permits and the like. Workers, on the other hand, are not supposed to bear any of these expenses…The retention of passports and identity documents has, in many instances, led to forced labour situations.” Granted Kracha wasn’t forced against his will to work but him and immigrants in real life are living far from lavish lifestyles and this is something they both have in
Out of this Furnace is a historical novel by Thomas Bell depicting three generations of a Slovakian immigrant family and their many hardships encountered in the their lifetimes, trying to adjust to life in a new country. Part one follows George Kracha, the first to come over to America, and what he goes through in trying to support himself and his family. All of what Kracha has to go through mirrors some of the real life struggles immigrants had back in 1881 and even today as themes of corrupt businesses and poverty are ever-present. In the first few pages when we are introduced to Kracha, we are told that he has left his country to go to America in part because of oppressive rule in his home country. On page 1 it …show more content…
An article from the Center for Immigration Studies about Mexican immigrants in the U.S reads “… 27.9 percent of natives and their children lived in or near poverty, compared to 65.6 percent of Mexican immigrants and their children. Thus, almost two-thirds of Mexican immigrants and their children are poor or near poor — more than twice the rate for natives.” There are many reasons why immigrant families can be so impoverished but a big one, just like Kracha, can be the job they have and what type of money they’re making. The most unjust example of this is with the Kafala system (especially in Qatar). Kafala is basically a system where foreign workers (in most cases being immigrants), the kafala, can come work through a kafeel, an employer or sponsor in Arab gulf states. The problem with it however is that the contracts are way too binding and gives the employer an extreme amount of control of the employee. An article on theguardian goes into detail on the Kafala stating “The main issue is that kafala restricts labour mobility. In fact, one could argue that it prohibits any mobility on part of the worker unless approved by the kafeel…workers can even be victims of blackmail by kafeels: if they protest or question their terms of employment, kafeels can have them deported... The kafeel can also shift the financial burden on to the worker. The law says the kafeel is expected to pay for medical insurance and fees for employment and residence permits and the like. Workers, on the other hand, are not supposed to bear any of these expenses…The retention of passports and identity documents has, in many instances, led to forced labour situations.” Granted Kracha wasn’t forced against his will to work but him and immigrants in real life are living far from lavish lifestyles and this is something they both have in