by Pam Berkman
To the twelve million men, women, and children who left behind everything they knew to cross the registry room at Ellis Island, and to the many thousands making similar journeys today.
P. B. and D. H.
1 The Ship to America
1921, Port of Beirut, Greater Syria
Minsha barked and barked as she watched the big steamship chug out to sea. She pulled hard against her collar. But Uncle Sami held tight.
“Let me go!” Minsha woofed.
“Sorry, girl,” Uncle Sami said, almost as if he could understand her. “They don’t allow dogs on those ships to America! You’ll stay with me now.”
Minsha didn’t care what was allowed. Leila was on that ship. Minsha had to get to her.
“I need to catch that ship!” she woofed.
Uncle Sami was kind. But he didn’t throw his arms around Minsha the way Leila did. Or play tug-a-rag after supper. Or pull gently on Minsha’s big, pointy ears. Leila was Minsha’s family. Minsha had never belonged to anyone else. She hadn’t been able to believe it when Leila’s parents said they were all going to America and leaving Minsha behind.
They lived on a farm near the foot of Mount Lebanon. Before the war they sometimes went to Beirut to visit Uncle Sami. The family always went home together. But not this time.
“We can’t leave without Minsha!” Leila had cried to her parents. She’d thrown her arms tightly around Minsha, her eyes flashing. “We’re family! We stick together and help each other! We don’t leave anyone behind!”
Minsha had woofed in agreement.
But Minsha was a dog and Leila was only nine years old. They didn’t get to decide anything.
“That’s enough,” Leila’s father had said. “We don’t have any choice. She can’t come with us and we have to leave. There’s been so much fighting, and there isn’t enough food. No one has money to buy what we grow. We can start again in New York City.”
He had taken Leila’s arm and dragged her away while Uncle Sami held tight to Minsha’s collar. The family got on one of the small boats that were tied up at the harbor. The boat took them out to a big ship. Now the big ship was moving farther and farther away. Minsha’s heart felt like something was squeezing it tight.
She pulled harder. Uncle Sami didn’t know her tricks like Leila did. He loosened his grip for a moment. Minsha lowered her head and twisted her shoulder at the same time. Uncle Sami tried to grab her, but her smooth fur made it hard for him to hold on. She broke free and raced toward the docks.
Minsha was a good swimmer. She felt sure she could make it to the ship before it was too far away. Then Leila’s parents would have to take her with them to America.
“Minsha!” called Uncle Sami.
She ran faster. “Get out of my way!” she barked to the people who crowded the port. She dodged a shiny automobile.
She made it onto the dock. She was just about to leap into the water when something knocked her over.
A tough-looking dog stared down at her. He looked like the dogs back home who didn’t have families of their own.
“That’s a bad idea,” the dog said. “Those ships move fast. You’d drown before you got anywhere near it.”
Minsha scrambled to her paws. “You shouldn’t have stopped me!” she barked. “My family is on that ship!” It was getting farther and farther away on the endless gray sea.
“That’s tough luck,” the other dog said. “Half the salt water in this bay comes from the tears of people who get left behind.” He sat down. “Everyone’s going to America. I hear things are good there. But I think there’s probably good and bad there, like everywhere else.”
“I’ll follow them!” Minsha howled.
The dog snorted. “It takes a steamship almost three weeks to get to America. You think you can keep up?” Minsha knew the other dog was right. The ship was moving faster than any dog could swim.
The dog looked Minsha up and down. “You’d be handy in our pack. You’re a terrier—the kind that catches rats, right? You can stay in Beirut with us. I can tell you where to get a sausage. We’ll help you settle in. We have a nice little family here.”
Minsha’s fur bristled. “I have a family, and I don’t need a sausage,” she said. “I need my girl, Leila.”
“Fine,” said the dog, getting up to trot away. After a few steps he stopped. “There’ll be another ship leaving same time tomorrow,” he said over his shoulder. “From this pier. It’s going to the same place, New York City. In America. You can get on the little boats and then hop onto the big ship.”
Minsha was sorry she’d snapped at the dog. “Thank you,” she said.
“Want to sleep with us in back of the big souk tonight?” asked the dog. “People throw out really good bones there.”
“No, I’ll stay here,” Minsha answered. “I don’t want to miss that boat.”
The dog sighed and headed up the waterfront.
Minsha heard Uncle Sami calling and calling. She hid behind a tall pile of grain sacks. She watched the ship Leila was on until it was out of sight.
2 Stowaway Dog
The next morning, Minsha woke up before the sun rose. She ran to the little boats at the water’s edge. She made sure no one was looking. Then she put her front paws on the edge of one of the boats. She pushed off with her back legs and tumbled in. She looked for a place to hide and saw a tarp that was stretched over the back of the deck. She crawled under it. She sat down on something hard. It felt like a rock.
“Get off me,” the rock said.
Minsha jumped to her paws.
A turtle blinked up at her.
“Sorry,” Minsha said to him. “Can you tell me if this boat goes to the big ship to America?”
“Yes,” the turtle said slowly. He closed his eyes and drew his head into his shell.
Minsha stayed perfectly still. She hid as people climbed aboard. The boat bobbed over the water. When it stopped moving, she poked her head out from under the tarp.
“Hey!” a man yelled. “Whose dog is this? Get it off!”
He tried to pick her up.
“Hands off!” barked Minsha.
She shot like lightning past his hands.
“So fast,” she heard the turtle mutter. “Boats are like stepping stones, fast dog.”
Stepping stones! Of course! Like the stones that Minsha and Leila used when they crossed the stream back home.
Other boats floated all around Minsha, almost touching. She jumped to the nearest one and then the next. She hopped from one boat to another until a huge metal wall rose above her like a cliff. It was the side of the steamship. It looked as big as Mount Lebanon itself.
She teetered on the small boat’s edge.
Stairs led up the side of the ship. There was a gap between Minsha’s boat and the stairs. She looked down into the deep, dark water. Then she jumped. She made it! She ran up the stairs and was almost on the ship when a pair of large feet blocked her way. She looked up.
A big sailor stood at the top of the stairs.
“Hey!” he shouted. “No dogs allowed!” He planted his feet wide apart and bent down. He reached out his arms to grab Minsha.
Minsha dove between his legs. She bolted across the deck. It was crowded with people. They bustled to different parts of the ship with their bags and bundles and trunks. All around her stood strange equipment that smelled like metal and coal.
“Someone throw that dog over the side!” the sailor bellowed.
Minsha saw a big square hole in the deck. What looked like hundreds of passengers were walking into it and down metal steps. The stairs clanked and clanged under their feet.
Minsha knew she had to stay hid
den. She dove straight into the crowd and followed them. She squeezed between knees and bags and feet, trying not to trip anyone.
At the bottom of the stairs was a huge room with curved walls. There were some bunk beds stacked three tall. The room moved back and forth and back and forth. It made Minsha’s stomach feel strange.
Minsha had never seen so many people crammed into one place. They spoke using all sorts of different words. Minsha had learned that people from different places often couldn’t understand one another. She was glad dogs didn’t have that problem.
At first, no one noticed her. Then a boy putting a suitcase up on a bunk looked right at her. She was caught!
The boy smiled at her. He was about the same age as Leila. His eyes and hair were dark. A small girl standing next to him put her finger to her lips. An even smaller boy waved.
A woman standing next to the older boy put her hand on his shoulder.
“Hurry with that, Yusef,” she said. She sounded tired. “I need you to watch over your brothers and sisters.”
“Yes, Mama,” the boy named Yusef said. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of them.” He pulled a very small girl out from under a big rolled-up rug.
“Where did that dog go?” a voice boomed. The sailor who had tried to catch Minsha stomped down the stairs behind her.
The boy was still watching her. He gestured “come” to Minsha.
Minsha didn’t know if she could trust him. He wasn’t family. But she couldn’t get thrown off the ship.
Minsha darted to the boy.
“Shhh, doggy,” said the girl.
The boy leaned down. “Get under here,” he whispered. “Stay out of sight. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.” He pushed Minsha’s rump toward the space under the bottom bunk bed. It was tight, but Minsha shimmied under. She lay down as flat as she could.
Then Minsha realized she wasn’t as hidden as she thought. Her tail was sticking out. And the sailor was almost there.
3 Below Deck
An old woman sat down on the bunk. She spread her long skirt over Minsha’s tail.
“Thanks, Teta,” Minsha heard the boy whisper.
“Teta” was what people back home called their grandmothers. Leila’s teta had always slipped Minsha scraps when the other adults weren’t looking.
“My family had a dog when I was a girl,” the old woman whispered back.
Minsha heard stomping footsteps. She felt someone stop in front of the bunk. She could tell that it was the sailor. He smelled like sea and codfish. She held her tail as still as she could.
“What are you smiling about, old woman?” the sailor growled. “What’s that? Put away your sewing until we’re underway!”
Teta gasped. Minsha squirmed around under the bunk until she could see what was going on. The sailor was trying to yank something out of Teta’s hand. She was pulling back.
“Don’t touch that!” Teta said. “I need it!”
“You’re tearing it!” the boy named Yusef said. “Leave her alone!”
The sailor pulled harder. Not finding Minsha seemed to have put him in a bad mood. Minsha thought fast. A tower of trunks and boxes was stacked right next to the bunks. She pushed at the bottom trunk with her head. It slid forward. CRASH!!! Everything that had been balanced on top of it toppled to the floor. Suddenly everyone was shouting at each other and gathering their crates and bags and boxes.
“Enough!” the sailor shouted. “Stow your belongings and keep quiet. We’re about to get underway.”
He stomped away.
Minsha wasn’t sure if she should come out from under the bunk.
“Is your embroidery all right, Teta?” she heard Yusef ask. His voice sounded so worried! “Papa said I’m supposed to make sure you don’t lose it!”
“It’s just fine,” Teta said.
“When they see how good your embroidery is, Teta, they’ll have to let you into America!” Yusef said.
“From your mouth to God’s ears!” answered Teta. “My neighbor Salma wasn’t allowed to stay in America. They said she was too old and wouldn’t be able to support herself. But with this I can show I can help the family earn money! I can sew and embroider for the dressmakers in America. I will be a help to you!”
“Yes, Mama,” said Yusef’s mother.
“Don’t worry, Teta,” Yusef said. “I’ll take care of everything.”
Teta reached her hand under the bunk. “Come on out, doggy. I can tell you are good luck for us. You saved my embroidery!”
Minsha crawled out.
“Thank you, boby,” the old woman said.
Minsha wagged her tail. “Boby” was the nice word people used when talking to dogs in Syria.
“I wonder if you have a name?” Teta said.
“She has a collar,” said Yusef. He looked at it. “It says ‘My name is Minsha. I belong to Leila Haddad.’
“Well, Minsha,” Yusef said, “we’ll see if we can find your Leila on the ship. If not, you can be in our family.”
Minsha didn’t know how to tell him she already had a family.
As the ship got underway, Minsha learned that Yusef was nine years old. His little sister Soussou was five. Mansour was four, Bibi was three, and Chadi was only two. Yusef said their father was waiting for them in America. He had gone the year before.
“I promised Papa I’d make sure everyone made it into America,” he whispered to Minsha. “Especially Teta! I’m the oldest, so it’s up to me.”
Minsha had licked his hand. She understood about keeping family together.
When it got late, Yusef figured out who would sleep on each bunk.
“You can just fit here, Minsha,” he said, patting one of them.
At first, though, Minsha stretched out beneath the bunk Yusef and his brothers shared. She didn’t want to be seen. But she’d always slept right up next to Leila. So as soon as she heard people snoring, she crawled up to sleep between Yusef and his brothers.
“We’re going to like America,” Yusef whispered. “It’s not like back home. In the war, people were hurt who hadn’t done anything wrong. It was so unfair.” Minsha remembered how hard things had been around Mount Lebanon, with all the fighting and not enough to eat. “Things are good in America,” Yusef said.
Minsha hoped so. The dog on the dock had said it would take about three weeks to get to New York City. She would be with Leila soon.
4 The Handkerchief
All through the journey, Yusef and Teta kept Minsha hidden and fed her bits of salted fish and bread they had brought with them. There was some food served on the ship. Thin soups and a few boiled potatoes and sometimes a little bit of herring. But there was never enough.
Some passengers had money to buy better food on the ship. Others, like Yusef’s family, had brought extra with them. But Mama said they had to be careful not to run out, so some nights Minsha was still hungry. When that happened the man with the bunk next to Yusef’s gave her biscuits and once even a piece of dried meat. He never told anyone Minsha was on board. He told Teta his name was Mr. Khoury.
Yusef asked around if there was anyone named Leila on the ship. When he couldn’t find her, he seemed happy.
The ship made stops along the way. Each time they stopped, more passengers came onboard and Minsha had to be even more careful to keep hidden. One time everyone had to change to another ship. Minsha didn’t know what she was going to do. But Mr. Khoury opened up his carpetbag. He took out a big coat and put it on, even though it was a warm day. With the coat gone, there was just enough room for a terrier.
“Hop in!” Mr. Khoury said. Minsha climbed inside his carpetbag. Mr. Khoury carried her to the new ship.
When they got on the new ship, she licked his face to say thank you.
He wiped his face off with a cloth. “A journey like this makes everyone who takes it family,” Mr. Khoury whispered in her big pointed ear. “We stick together.”
At night, Yusef snuck Minsha out on deck to get some fresh air and let
her run around. Yusef’s mother never said a word about Minsha. She was always busy worrying. Worrying that one of her smaller children would get lost. Worrying that Teta wouldn’t be allowed into America, even with her beautiful embroidered handkerchief. And worrying because Yusef had started coughing.
The air below deck was making a lot of people sick. It was smoky and stale. Minsha didn’t mind it. It was full of interesting smells. But it was bad for the people.
“I heard that if Yusef keeps coughing the doctors at Ellis Island might think he’s sick,” Soussou said to her other brothers and sister. “They send sick people back.”
Minsha had noticed passengers talking about that a lot. There were both inspectors and doctors at Ellis Island. The inspectors made sure people could support themselves and weren’t criminals. Doctors checked everyone very carefully for any kinds of illness. If someone was sick, they might be sent back home. It was called being deported.
“Be quiet, Soussou,” Yusef would say whenever she talked like that. “I’ll hold it in when the doctors check me. You just be sure to do as I say when we get to Ellis Island. I’ll get us all through to America.”
* * *
Cool air blew across Minsha’s fur. She stood on deck with Yusef and his family. Other passengers crowded around them. Minsha was so excited she couldn’t keep still. She kept jumping up and down and tugging on Yusef’s pants leg. Ahead of them was New York City. She was almost with Leila again.
“Look!” someone shouted. “The Statue of Liberty!” Everyone aboard cheered and pointed at a giant statue of a lady holding up a torch. Teta didn’t point. She was holding tight to her embroidered handkerchief. “I don’t want to lose it if something happens to our luggage,” she said to Yusef’s mother. Mr. Khoury carefully held a large necklace made of silver coins. “I can use it to get some money to get started in America,” he told Teta. “And I speak a little English, so I can talk to people there.”
