Immigrants are always hard hit in tough times, this story shows how all the stores, schools and restaurants that are in their communities are also hit very hard. DP
Tough Times Trickle Down Through Newcomers' Networks
By N.C. Aizenman, Washington Post Staff Writer
While the economy's tailspin is spreading pain across the Washington region, it has hit many of the area's close-knit immigrant communities with particular speed and force. The dependence on one another that has contributed so much to their economic success has now created a domino effect in which the misfortune of one segment of the group almost immediately affects the rest.
Ethiopian cabdrivers suffering from a drop-off in customers have cut back drastically on lunches at the District's Ethiopian restaurants, which, in turn, are now grappling with how to survive.
Korean construction contractors and real estate investors reeling from the housing crisis are having trouble affording tuition at the area's hagwons -- the private, after-school academies to which Korean parents traditionally send their children. At least one has closed, and another, Best Academy, with branches in Springfield and Sterling as well as Ellicott City, has slashed its prices by almost 40 percent.
The consequences reach beyond the financial, altering local immigrant culture in small but significant ways. Economic pressures are straining some cherished customs and strengthening others. Many immigrants are stepping outside their comfort zones to participate more in the broader economy.
The shifts are particularly evident among the District's hundreds of Ethiopian cabdrivers, whose distress over losing customers is compounded by the city's recent introduction of a meter system that cabbies contend charges some of the lowest rates in the country.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
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