Amreeka

In the Urdu dialect, America is pronounced as Amreeka, which it why this book is titled as such. It sounds like America, but not quite. My family and I are American, but not quite. Sometimes, but not always. This is why I raise the question of: Who can actually attain the American dream? What does it take? What skin color does it take? What kind of easily-pronounced name? What gender? This is an account of my parents’ pursuit for the American dream. I am only a witness to a fraction of it, but these are stories I grew up listening to. I put this together in the hopes of giving my parents’ experiences a voice. Compiling a physical record of their stories has been heavy on my heart and has given me an even better understanding of my place and privilege as a Pakistani-American.