Essential arrivals: Documentary examines Michigan's Indian immigrant population

Be proud of where you come from, but acclimate to your new culture.

It’s a common message many immigrants hear—and one Arifa Javed knows well. The University of Michigan-Dearborn sociology lecturer immigrated to the U.S. in 1995 and has studied the immigrant experience for two decades.

Those studies have focused largely on the paces and patterns of acculturation, as well as the mutually beneficial relationship between the U.S. and its immigrant Indian population.

“Immigration has always been an integral part of this country’s identity,” Javed said. “I think it’s important to emphasize that our heritage as a nation of immigrants is more than just history. It continues to be built today, and Indian immigrants are certainly a large part of this current wave of immigration.”

She’s led conversations about the topic in classrooms for years. Now Javed is taking her research to a larger audience.

Javed has written and produced “Essential Arrival,” a documentary film focused on Michigan’s Indian immigrant population in the 21^st century. The documentary debuted last month at the Indian Cine Film Festival in Mumbai and will make its U.S. debut November 2 at the East Lansing Film Festival.

“Immigration is obviously a hot-button topic today,” Javed said. “But I don’t think the general public grasps the wonderful diversity and possibility that immigration adds to this country.”

Javed had no previous film experience, but worked with India-based documentary filmmaker Merajur Rahman on the project. Together, they interviewed experts in law, public policy, sociology and government, as well as Indian immigrants living in Michigan.

“Professor Arifa's documentary, while focused on the experiences of a specific immigrant community, is both reflective of the lives of many members of the UM-Dearborn community as well as those of a great many residents of the Detroit metropolitan region,” said Martin Hershock, dean of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters.

“The work represents a particularly poignant example of the strength of the UM-Dearborn faculty and their ability to bridge the worlds of theory and practice and to do it in a way that resonates deeply with our metropolitan mission.”

While the documentary portrays only Indian immigrants, Javed says the message is universal in the immigration discussion.

“By showing the many different walks of American life Indian immigrants have contributed to, and continue to contribute to, I hope to broaden the immigration conversation as a whole,” she said. “There is a lot of potential that immigrants bring this country, and it’s important we recognize and cultivate it.”