The La Palma-Cerritos American Association of University Women (AAUW) had a very interesting meeting on March 15, at Cerritos Park East in Cerritos. After Acting President Sue Solomon welcomed everyone, she introduced President-Elect Harriet Moses as the moderator for an International Women’s panel, just seven days after International Women’s Day was celebrated on March 8. Harriet introduced four women, who originally came from Iraq, South Africa, Syria and Vietnam. They were invited to come and share their stories about their past and present lives as immigrants. All of the women were highly educated with college degrees and are still working in fields related to their areas of study or their family circumstances. They all said that they appreciated living now in the United States and felt that they emigrated to the United States during good times over 25, 30, 40 or more years ago.
Caroline Killu relocated from Iraq in 1992, after the first Gulf War, to join her father who was already in the United States. She said that Iraq is a male-dominated society, but women are protected. Girls could go to school in Iraq, so she attended a Catholic School and later earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from the University of Baghdad. In Iraq, she worked in the chemical industry specializing in Building Research and developed a patent in cement manufacturing. She worked in the same line of her chemistry profession in the United States. Caroline never married but lived with her mother and aunt. She took care of her mother for 15 years until she passed away.
Gerda Pullen was born and raised on a farm in South Africa and later in Namibia. She attended a boarding school when she was young. She said college was “first for boys” in South Africa, and women were to take care of the house. However, she attended college and graduated with degrees in Education and Political Science. She worked for a few years as a teacher. She moved to the USA shortly after her marriage on Halloween day in 1993. Her father-in-law started a new company in Wilmington, North Carolina that supplied dust control products to the Mining Industry. After five years, the family-owned company moved to Chicago, Illinois, for three years and relocated to California in 2001. She has been working for Ellis Paint, a coatings manufacturer for the last 16 years. Gerda now lives in Burbank, California with her 14- year-old daughter.
Rose Di Rosa lived in Saigon, Vietnam, and was evacuated from Vietnam on April 28, 1975, two days before the Fall of Saigon in the Vietnam War on April 30, 1975. Medical care was free and most women in Vietnam in those days stayed at home. In order to go to public school, children in Vietnam had to pass tests for first grade, sixth grade and high school, or they went to private schools. College was free if you passed the national tests. Rose said she attended a Catholic school in Vietnam. She learned French and English in college, received a degree in Mathematics from Saigon University and worked as a substitute teacher. She was working as a translator for the U.S. Army, so with the Army’s help, she was able to leave Vietnam in 1975. She traveled with hundreds of refugees for eight days on a Korean cargo ship to get to America with her three children, ages 18 months, four, and six. She first lived in the cold state of Minnesota for 20 years with the help of a Catholic couple who sponsored her and her family. She worked for years as an actuary and still does some actuary work. She was transferred, by her company, to Texas and then to sunny California, to retire. She now lives in Stanton, California, with her husband, Phil Di Rosa. Rose said that “America is the best country in the whole world!” She said that there are now many Vietnamese in California and she celebrates the Lunar New Year with them.
Maria Khani was born in England, lived in France, India, Holland and Syria. She attended a Catholic School for her early education. She attended college in Syria where she received her B.A. Degree in French Literature from Damascus University. She said college was free for everybody in Syria, and medical care was also free when she lived in Syria. She worked with Social Services in India and the Netherlands. Maria said that she wanted to be a doctor, but she married a doctor instead. She has lived in America since 1988, when she and her husband came to live in Chicago for six months and then were transferred to Los Angeles. Maria speaks Arabic, French and English. She was an educator of Islamic Studies with the Islamic Institute of Orange County in 1996 and is a board member of the Orange County Interfaith Network. She served as chaplain for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s jails in 2008, and as Senior Muslim chaplain in Orange County’s Sheriff’s Department jails in 2015. In 2012, she and her daughter created an exhibit, “A Country Called Syria,” to educate people about the rich history and culture of Syria. She has shown the exhibit in different cities throughout California. Maria said that it was easier to come to America when she first came over 30 years ago and hopes that more people from Syria will be able to come to America in the future.
The public is invited to come to the next meeting of the La Palma-Cerritos AAUW on Thursday, April 19, at Cerritos Park East, 13234 E. 166th St., Cerritos, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. with guest speaker, Sabina Vajraca, on the topic of “Sexual Harassment and Gender Equality in the Film Industry.” Sabina is currently working on her Master of Fine Arts Degree in Film and TV Production from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. For more information about the program, contact Tobi Balma at 562-865-8675.