Sayu Bhojwani: Immigrant voices make democracy stronger
סיו בוג'וואני: קולות המהגרים מחזקים את הדמוקרטיה
Sayu Bhojwani recruits and supports first and second generation Americans to run for public office. Full bio
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of the 84 million Americans
led me to the work I do today:
לעבודה שאני עושה היום:
to run for public office
for inclusive democracy.
it was a cakewalk,
and welcomed me.
a few lessons along the way
to study English literature.
I buried my nose in books,
הייתי שקועה בקריאת ספרים,
doing that as an adult?
from one less ideal job to another.
מעבודה לא אידיאלית אחת למשנהה.
that I had about America
if you had the right name,
as a social entrepreneur,
for young people like myself --
that I started it --
to the Indian subcontinent.
for South Asians and other immigrants.
של מהגרים מדרום אסיה ומהגרים אחרים.
on policy issues.
to do exit polling.
לעשות משאלי יציאה מהקלפי.
and I couldn't run for office.
ולא יכולתי לרוץ למשרה ציבורית.
was going to more than double
before I could no longer afford it.
לפני שלא אוכל להרשות זאת לעצמי.
my current and my past affiliations.
לארגונים נוכחיים או קודמים.
long considered home.
to American citizen took 16 years,
לאזרחית אמריקאית לקח 16 שנה,
to other immigrant stories.
לסיפורי מהגרים אחרים.
that formal step
for decades to come.
in New York City.
mayor of New York City.
לראש העיר של ניו יורק.
for the City of New York.
of Immigrant Affairs
in various jobs in America
ובמעבר בין משרה אחת למשנהה,
a community-based organization
sent shock waves through my community.
שלחו גלי הלם בקרב הקהילה שלי.
young people I had worked with,
ואנשים צעירים שעבדתי איתם,
and in airports.
to represent their concerns
when I became Commissioner.
holding government positions
והחזיקו במשרות ממשלתיות
the difference, do we,
and local police and the FBI.
when we see someone in uniform
goodbye to your child,
at the end of the day.
of your life forever.
is that when people like me,
who had navigated new systems,
were sitting at the table,
in a way that no one else could or would.
בדרך שאף אחד אחר לא יכל או רצה לעשות.
of fear was like.
were being harassed,
a backpack on or grew a beard
שם על עצמו תיק גב או גידל זקן
was that my vote mattered
הוא בעל חשיבות,
and vantage point also mattered.
חשובות לא פחות.
voices and vantage points --
ונקודות המבט של המהגרים --
make our democracy stronger.
לחזק את הדמוקרטיה שלנו.
into the policy debate
על שולחן הדיונים בנושאי מדיניות,
of the pale, male, stale leadership
המורכבת ברובה מגברים חוורי פנים,
in America are white.
are black, Latino or Asian.
הוא שחור, לטיני או אסיאתי.
it matters who does vote.
זה משנה מי אכן מצביע.
and Asian-American voters
הלטינים-אמריקאים והאסיאתים-אמריקאים
not just in presidential elections.
לא רק בבחירות נשיאותיות.
refugees from Vietnam,
in the San Jose City Council.
those campaign shoes
are sitting at the policy table,
ודנים בענייני מדיניות,
local and state offices in America.
מקומיות ומדינתיות באמריקה.
are held by Asian-Americans or Latinos,
ע״י אסיאתים-אמריקאים או לטינים-אמריקאים,
in our country.
of the population is Latino,
on the city council until this year.
במועצת העיר עד השנה.
joined the Yakima City Council in 2016.
למועצת העיר יאקימה ב-2016.
a community advocate.
of the Latino community
in American democracy
בדמוקרטיה האמריקאית
that immigrants bring.
and educational opportunity.
and religious freedom.
and built a life.
like education funding
families like hers a leg up
the financial stability
voices and vantage points
to include in American democracy.
לדמוקרטיה האמריקאית.
into an equation will do.
to take away your place at the table,
את המקום שלכם בשולחן הדיונים,
going to get a place at the table.
בשולחן הדיונים.
that we know and love.
שאנחנו מכירים ואוהבים.
to take it away from me,
I'm going to take it away from you.
with my immigration history
עם הסטוריית הגירה כמו שלי
millions of immigrants just like me,
מליוני מהגרים ממש כמוני,
behind me and all around me.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sayu Bhojwani - Immigration scholarSayu Bhojwani recruits and supports first and second generation Americans to run for public office.
Why you should listen
Sayu Bhojwani served as New York City's first Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs and is the founder of South Asian Youth Action, a community-based organization in Queens. Since 2010, she has served as Founder and President of The New American Leaders Project, which is based in New York City.
Bhojwani's work to build a more inclusive democracy has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and in the New York Times. She has shared her personal journey in The National and contributes frequently to the The Huffington Post and Medium.
Bhojwani earned a PhD in Politics and Education from Columbia University, where her research focused on immigrant political participation. She is a Visiting Scholar at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University and lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.
Sayu Bhojwani | Speaker | TED.com