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language barrier

A Russian family migrating to Hawaii pose for a passport photo.

For a group of Siberians, Hawaii was far from a tropical paradise

January 28, 2015Culture

An online photo album is casting new light on a forgotten episode in Hawaii’s history, when US authorities imported 1,500 Russians to work on sugar plantations. Most of the migrants never made it past the language and cultural barrier, but the story of how they came to Hawaii says plenty about American attitudes to race and language.

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