Product Overview
The Přibyl brothers were joined by thousands of other migrants
from the Frenštát region in Moravia hoping to rebuild their homes
in Texas in the 1870s and 1880s. Prior to integrating to America,
they set up a safety net in an enclave of the Texas Czech community
but adjusted gradually over the period of several generations. The
correspondence of individuals undergoing the long-term process of
migration and adjustment such as the Přibyls drives home the
point that migration is an age-old issue historically experienced by
individuals challenging their fate, daring to transgress boundaries
and transform the course of events, abandoning their homes,
suffering the consequences of their decisions, and hoping to
improve their lot… one day. Seemingly an economic issue, viewed
close-up, migration turns out also to be an emotional trauma that
can only be compensated by compassion. Letters revealing the
story provide a window into the private world of migrating
individuals gripped by fears, nostalgia, hope, and disappointment.
The study of the Přibyl correspondence is not only a historical
venture but also an encounter with a story of migrants attempting
to start over. In this way, the confrontation of one’s expectations
and habits in a different cultural and socioeconomic setting
continues to activate dilemmas that have been hard to solve, then
and today.
