For immigrants, the promise of a better life is hard to resist
Yamani Wijesekara had just completed her morning prayers when her cell phone's jarring ringtone broke the silence.
"OK, friend," she told the cab driver on the phone. "OK, thank you."
It was 4:30 a.m., time for Wijesekara to go to her job at Meijer in Urbana. Wijesekara, 30, moved to Urbana one year ago from Sri Lanka, an island country in South Asia. She works 32 hours a week, usually from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., putting price labels on the superstore's shelves.
"There are no buses early in the morning," Wijesekara said. "I pay (the) taxi $7, but, unfortunately, my pay for one hour (is) $8.45. I pay my hardworking money."
In 2008, Wijesekara learned she was one of 55,000 people around the world selected to come to the United States through a Green Card Lottery. The lottery began in 1990 to encourage immigration from countries where the U.S. had not traditionally granted visas.
A bubbly woman who learned English and computer skills in Sri Lanka, Wijesekara believed she would find work as a secretary or computer operator. She was surprised when the only job she could find paid just over $1,000 a month. She struggles to pay $400 a month for a rented room, buy food and save money for a car. She cannot afford health insurance. When she missed work twice because she was sick, she received two warning letters from Meijer.
