The Immigrant Journey
The below clip shows Jackie detailing the Abouchar history in the Middle East and their arrival into the United States. The corresponding document is the Abouchar certificate of naturalisation into the United States.
Upon arrival in the United States, the family settled in Henry Street, Downtown Brooklyn. Jackie recounts below that Henry Street had been an upscale neighbourhood for the family in the 1940s before this changed during her childhood. The family then moved to the Sunset Park district (seen below) which contained a close-knit Syrian and Lebanese population, with the community often gathering for large formal events. Such experiences in New York are seen in the below clip where Jackie discusses her family's life in the 1940s.
Jackie's paternal family history differs from that of her maternal. This is seen in the below where Jackie discusses a silk blight that impacted her family in Syria and influenced their decision to move to the United States and begin work at a silk mill in Patterson New Jersey. The below pictures show the silk mill where Jackie's family worked, the machines that have since been displayed at the museum and the types of Syrian scarves which her Grandfather made. The final clip then provides an anecdotal piece on her father's family in Aleppo, discussing their experiences with the Turkish authorities who sought to invade the space.