Full Transcript
okay my name is mr. Fleishman today is Sunday the 15th of March 2016 my husband Mark my daughter Mandy we are working in Plano Texas okay tell us about where your family originally came from and how did they get to South Africa whatever you know about it Bob Stanley and my family were all from Lithuania and my father was born in one of us my mother was born in welcoming and they went by ship to South Africa Mark's grandparents were from Lithuania they're also shipped to South Africa and his mum and dad were born in South Africa my dad was smuggled out in a secret and he doesn't he never
remembered any of this and my mum went on a boat that was lately used by the Germans as a u-boat well that's history yep and they're all settled in South Africa my mom and my dad in South Africa got married Mark's parents meeting South African got married it you were saying you were from a small town that is now is written about by a famous Arthur tell us about that I was born in Kruger straw and my whole life has been to improve his daughter I only moved to Johannesburg when I reach universities from from the hospital to every bit of surgery was done in
Kruger straw and they think Marcus from Johannesburg and tell us a little bit about what was memorable about your life growing up there we had a really privileged wonderful childhood we had all the freedom we want that she we didn't know the ugly things that were going on around us we had phenomenal education all of us played sports we lived a really healthy good life and it didn't matter if you had money no money you just lived a healthy it was just a healthy good environment and I'm just so grateful that we actually had it what Jewish traditions can you think of that you had
in your childhood or that your parents brought with them oh my dad was a daddy sugar every morning and every night all our family's very concept conscious of Friday night is Friday night service on a Friday night is what it is all the holidays were observed there are observe and there's a very charged tradition that came with them and fortunately that we've all managed to maintain and hopefully the next generation will carry it on how important was Israel to you very I'm very precise so but I think all the South Africans are the Jewish South Africans are and they're kind of upset me in the
in America because I don't think that they have been feel free is really like the South Africans do I really don't what do you think makes for that I think maybe because we have so many family members who are living there there might be one of it and I think a lot of it is media I think a lot of it is media we grew up in a very pro sinus environment and we don't have so you said you went to college in Johannesburg and at what point in time were you thinking that perhaps you weren't going to stay there stay in the country I
wanted to go I want you to leave like waxing after we got married mark was not that sure and that we just I just saw the writing on the was not an optimist I think and it was more a security perspective when you have children your whole your ideas just changed because security and education became a major major issue for us and we decided that those were our priorities and we had to do something about it how old were you then at that time we [Music] 637 but odd for a while I'd wanted to go that the crime had just gotten really bad and it
was time to move on so tell us about the process how did you pick where you were gonna go and any connections you may have had at cetera well we were so flattered mark worked for a bank and they used a computer specific computer system and he was instrumental in upgrading the system in South Africa it was the first upgrade in the world and this was all done in South Africa and he was in charge of their project so the company was based in Dallas the company softer it was and he was offered a transfer to work for the spank and she gave the operations
of the software company to be the go-between for the South African and the America vet being changed because of the rent on exchange the the red tape and she was just incredibly lucky where he landed up at the job and we had the opportunity to stay and it was a no-brainer had you been here before to the United States he is I came once for like a few team visit a real fleeting visit and Mark had been a few times for working and that was his dream his dream is always if he was going to leave some Africa to go to the States and Dallas
was where the job was and this is where we landed up so in the process of deciding to leave did anybody else get the same inspiration you did took time to go oh a lot of my family and in an enlarged family my I have a brother in London I have a sister in South Africa she was planning to go to England she was married to to interest my brother's a day interesting Amanda and he unfortunately got very ill and he passed away soon after they had made the decision that to achieve and so she stayed behind she had three little kids at the time
Mark's family and one had the opportunity to come and they decided not to come and then the others just didn't have the opportunity and they cried but it just it just what don't win that so we were very lucky are your parents still alive about the beauty and my parents are not Mark's parents are both alive or in South Africa so do you have an opportunity to go back and visit every so on we've just come in we've just come back we never made for a long time and then my mom got really ill so I was up and down it was it was creating
that five times in 11 months sudden the trip which was a little bit hectic and that we've just come back from a fantastic family visit really we for the first time ever the whole Fleishman family which again because we we lived somewhere - even born you'd Wow so we were really all together it's very special that's great what were some of your experiences an adjustment type is is coming to Dallas that you can think of the heat driving on the wrong side of the road I mean the right side even things like the toilet splashed a different way your life switches were a different way
with just a little things opening doors would be other way what's the language people really didn't understand us that well we speak English they're South American and then people speak Texas oh boy in Texas is a language on its side y'all but we really were very very lucky because we moved into a fabulous neighborhood straight into the school system with mud or water so that was so easy that was just an adjustment and people just welcomed us with open arms where were you when you first moved here what area we went to Dallas for you we were in an apartment just off my foot so
made you into Anne Frank in a maybe and it was brand-new right I know the principal here Johnny's she's still there so she may have just retired she was fabulous she really was that he was good and I mean when magic finished 5th grade we came to play enough so she could start middle school good okay what about religious education did you have them in a synagogue or and I said about him Jalen okay so we were pretty I work there she for a little bit I find in she had half my life we were very involved very involved then I've got a real job
there's an idea to start working where did you work I still do I work as a bookkeeper I've been in North Dallas so you said when you were allowed how long did it take was that process about getting the ability to work our work authorizations Chuck Martha's on Ibiza 9 took 10 years to come true citizenship 15 grueling yes that's so wizard so long yeah it was living on one salary but it put a kid through college it's not easy but you know what you put your mind to it you can do it did you want to or have you participated in any other type
of Jewish activities in Dallas you know I'm involved in tabards when they have stuff going really and you know most of the stuff that happens sir south of where we are if there was a JC seizure I mean we were first in line to be going then then that all fell through which was really very very sad and that it's fun and I know that if I make the commitment I've got to make that commitment and do it and going out there all the time is actually not easy it just isn't so unfortunately you know okay what about in the Dallas community at large have
you and I cheer your husband gotten involved in anything secular or civic minded we we've done we've really done a lot we're ready to be involved in bike rides and the walks and delivering meals we've done a lot we've done a lot of stuff yes so we just I liked community involvement magic I think it's very very important you said you have your daughter Mandy rights do you have any other children no just just the one daughter and where is she now when she's in New York oh okay she was here did very nice thank you know which University in Oklahoma worked for a couple
of years in romance or water and then was looking to move back to get a job and interviewed with American Airlines as a flight attendant and she landed the job and she's based out of New York good she's young I guess she gets to fly back here whenever she wants so yeah she's really just making the most of this opportunity can you think of any specific South African traditions that you've brought here with you that you've carried on and maybe Mandy will carry on just you know just observing the your Navy we just very traditional just very very traditional and you said you still have
family and friends still in South Africa and at this point potentially doesn't sound like you're not hoping that anybody is going to be coming over anytime soon I can't see it happening no I really can't okay is there anything you can think of specifically that you miss about your life in South Africa you know I used to I miss the bush and the safaris I dream I said and I think South Africa is beautiful Karen is beautiful I just think with the doctor we've just adapted here Saudi city and it's really being a very easy transition thankfully because I know some people have really been
taught so I do miss the nature and I do and I do miss the weather and obvious you miss the people but uh yeah this is home if you had anything to change if you if you could change anything about the whole way you came over here or settling in would there be anything that comes to mind that you would have changed we arrived with art in you know ten thousand dollars and two suitcases each and that stuff was in storage and that's how we started off so yeah I think if we'd had a little bit of many would have helped but you do it
you do what you gotta do you mentioned citizenship what does it mean to you to be a US citizen I'm so proud to be an American oh really South Africa changed a lot and we came here and I mean the freedom even with 9/11 whatever the freedom and the opportunity there that is yeah you just gotta make use of it and where you can just do so well not gonna say you might be wealthy but you can really live a nice life if you are prepared to make the effort and America has offered that to us and I think certainly after - Amanda I'm absolutely
grateful for what she's fed and we've just been really really lucky very and people have been phenomenal they've been so welcoming and we're very involved in the sporting community and it's just a ventures community to be part of and everybody's just always there for each other very few of our friends have families yet we are all just everybody else's family and it's fantastic I think from different places all whatever all over order it's really created your own family environment thank you do you G so it's very grateful to be yes it's really being good okay before we end is there anything else that all you'd
like to say or add I think that this is an amazing project that you people are doing this is accent its customers because you've really got me going genealogically all my roots and to do what we gotta do I think this is absolutely fabulous and thank you to all your organizing it because I think right thank you very nice great thank you to people like you it makes it work thanks so much you
