Ellis Island

If you buy a ticket to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty, with that same ticket you could also sail to Ellis Island. At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, Ellis Island served as a main entry facility for immigrants entering the United States. More than 12 million immigrants entered the US through Ellis Island. At the facilities on the island immigrants were tested for mental and physical illnesses. The following symbols were chalked on their clothing to reflect the provisional diagnosis:
* C – Conjunctivitis
* B – Back
* CT – Trachoma
* E – Eyes
* F – Face
* FT – Feet
* G – Goiter
* H – Heart
* K – Hernia
* M – Vaginal Infection
* N – Neck
* P – Physical and Lungs
* Pg – Pregnancy
* S – Senility
* Sc – Scalp (Favus)
* SI – Special Inquiry
* X – Suspected Mental Defect
* X (circled) – Definite signs of mental disease

I was there last March and was struck by the story of a young girl with a mental illness. Her family was terrified when they saw the X on her coat. It was likely that she would be set back to England. But she had nobody to go back to and the family had sold all of their possessions to fund their journey to the new world and start a new life there. A man in the crowd took pity on the girl and told her to turn her coat inside-out t hide the chalk mark. It was nice coat with nice lining. She passed unnoticed.

This Friday I was in Sofia. I had to pass the medical examination required as a part of the immigrant visa application. The doctors checked for tuberculosis, HIV, syphilis, eye impairments. The “Vita” clinic was not Ellis Island but made me think of it. It also made me think of the spirit of that earlier immigration wave. May fear never prevent Americans from staying true to their hospitality.