Ellis Island

'Symbol of Hope’, THE ELLIS ISLAND, a 27.5-acre landmark with one renovated building the ‘immigration museum’ was once a 3-acre landmark, which served as a port of entry for millions of immigrants - we visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island for the Memorial Day weekend and wanted to share what we learned there.

Museums are not fun places to visit as an adult, I thought so when I stepped inside the island with a sense of boredom we just wanted to make sure that we are in a famous tourist spot, take few pictures and leave the island.

Something unusual happened, we went inside the theater and were waiting for the movie, when a lady stepped in and started explaining the story of the island. Something struck me heavily hearing the story. People who traveled to the United States those days where not skilled professionals like today. They were people who escaped from poverty, slavery, abuse, racism. The immigration officers in Ellis Island has used a special inspection process

People from all around the world have started to look at America as the hope of freedom from poverty, freedom from slavery, freedom for illiteracy, freedom from unemployment, freedom from the civil war started to flee into America, which they believed will be an opportunity to make good fortune. Ellis Island was operational during the period 1892 to 1954, was initially a 3.3-acre landmark which was expanded to a 27.5-acre area with the landfill from the subway constructions.

When the ships arrived near Ellis Island, the first and the second class passengers who were able to buy tickets with more money were allowed to enter into the country with only cursory inspection checks, but the third class passengers whom the shipping companies saw as a profit in terms of volume and were able to buy tickets for only $35 were put through the screening process in Ellis Island.

The steerage class or third class passengers who traveled in a crowded and unsanitary condition were put through a serious of medical and legal inceptions. On their arrival, the passengers were transported through a ferry into Ellis Island. The passengers were asked to leave their baggage's in the ground floor where the officials would search the baggage's, when there is a valuable and the security decides to keep it for himself, the immigrants had no choice but to leave them unquestioned due to fear of their entry being banned.

The third class passengers who survived the cold weather, hunger, sea

sickness were then asked to walk the stairs to the second floor in the Ellis Island, the doctors who were  watching them climb the stairs already had their first results, while climbing when the people where found lame/physically challenged they had chalk marks to indicate their illness, those passengers who were found physically unfit where shut in a cage and were forced to return to their country. It was said that some of them entered the country by wiping the chalk marks or turning their clothes upside down.

People who spent all their fortune in the travel had no other go than to commit suicide in the Island has a record of 35,000 death, some left to their country. The exhibit in the picture shown below is a check for the funeral expense for a 3-year-old "Swedish Immigrant" who died of pneumonia "Richard W. Moberg" and what amused me is not the fact that the funeral expense for a 3-year-old in 1920 was $127, but the fact that though the island was named as "ISLAND OF TEARS", they had an option for a decent burial for someone who can pay for instead of a mass burial in the immigration island.

Those who passed the first test were then sent for a serious of other tests which included mental tests, vision tests, and various other fitness examinations. The most painful test was the "TRACHOMA" test, which was done for examining the immigrants/aliens for the signs of an eye disease called trachoma, which was contagious in nature and caused blindness (Blind people were no use to America). This test was done using a buttonhook where the doctors turned the pupil of the eyes using the buttonhook to test for the disease.

History for the first time was a subject I wanted to learn out of interest and Thanks to the National Park Service. Today more than 2 million tourists visit Ellis Island.

Today's event is tomorrow's history... so tells the DREAM of America - ELLIS ISLAND. A place to visit in your lifetime