Strong integration, a matter of belonging?

Actions don’t need to be big ones to really be significant.  In fact, only trying to interact with these people can help them integrate the society as it creates bonds and make them feel accepted.  It can also help them to improve their language skills. An action can be as simple as helping immigrants to familiarize themselves with a new lifestyle.  Of course, signing up for a community service organization  is always an excellent way to help immigrants and refugees since these organizations are often well established and know which actions need to be taken. A way to help immigrants and refugees avoid poverty would be in the first place not to discriminate them when comes the time to choose candidates for a job when they are, of course, qualified to accomplish the tasks. Knowing that in Quebec we will soon be in lack of specialized workforce, it would be beneficial for both parties to invest more in upgrading skills programs and provide more help for those who attend these programs so that people that have already studied in an area can meet the demands of a trade or profession.  In this way, immigrants who have certain qualifications can have a better access to good wages and then avoid poverty.

It takes me to the third question which is “should we get involved in helping immigrants integrate or should we leave it up to the professionals?” For myself, I think that the combination of both can only ensure that the aid given is optimal. Of course, organizations were created for this purpose and are therefore in a position to provide assistance on a larger scale but, as an immigrant or refugee, I would like to feel accepted by the population and not only by the organizations. I think that it is our role as citizens to help immigrants and refugees to properly integrate our society because belonging to a community means to create bonds, bonds with people we meet every day. If one doesn’t feel welcome in his own neighborhood, this person might not be as motivated to make the efforts in order to integrate society.

Lessons ... and a critic of society

Leaving your country, your family, everything you have ever known, must be hard decision to make and it sure takes a lot of courage to leave it all behind. A lesson that can be learned from her experience is that perseverance and self confidence is really important when facing hard times. She could have quit and return to her country and family but she stayed.

Of course she had support and this aspect is not negligible. This kind of program is necessary to help immigrants integrate. Her story also shows that immigrants do their part in their integration for, she is learning french to facilitate her interactions with people.

 I’m bringing this point because it seems to preoccupy the Medias and some politicians that are concerned about the preservation of french in Quebec. The fact is that they attribute the problem to immigrants and provide more drastic solutions that tend to want to curb immigration.

My concern in this problem is that this kind of news gives me the impression that intolerance toward immigrants tends to increase. Learning a new language might be hard for some people and I think that many of them (probably more in regions) really want to integrate and make the effort to learn french. What I mean is that we should not, as people, generalize and be intolerant in the name of a language that most of us can't even speak and write well!

The effects of poverty

The consequences of poverty on human being are both physical and social. Of course, hunger, thirst, homelessness and illness are the most evident effects of poverty on people. Poor people often live in unsanitary places, situation that increases the chances of contracting diseases. All these factors also increase the risk of death among infants and toddlers which, ultimately, greatly reduces the Life Expectancy of these people, particularly in developing countries.Poverty also affects the social sphere of those affected. People living in poverty often suffer from social exclusion and often experience a vicious cycle that prevents them from improving their lot. In fact, poverty is often linked to a lack of education which in turn is linked to child labor and unemployment.[1]

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[1] http://www.poverties.org/effects-of-poverty.html

What creates poverty

        Poverty is a tragic reality affecting more and more homes all over the world as liberal capitalism and globalization consume to the entrails of the earth.  Of course, even if capitalism and globalization might be part of the causes, there are less contested causes that must be considered such as: “overpopulation, the unequal distribution of resources in the world economy, inability to meet high standards of living and costs of living, inadequate education and employment opportunities environmental degradation, certain economic and demographic trends, and welfare incentives.”[1] Obviously, most of these factors are related to each other’s and tend to create a vicious cycle which is often perpetuated by the next generation. 

     Somehow, I believe that all these causes are leading to an ultimate factor: Men. Of course, I am generalizing and do not claim of any kind that my opinion is the only valid one, but my interpretation of the problem shows me that Men are at the heart of it. We live with a mentality that promotes individualism, success and enrichment at the expense of others and it surely doesn’t help to counter the situation but, in some way, it exacerbates the problem.

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[1] http://www.fightpoverty.mmbrico.com/poverty/reasons.html

What does it mean to be a part of a community?

Being part of a community is to participate to the community’s activities, to building relatioships, to help each other and to share . This may also mean that some of us have certain characteristics that bind us to others as in the case of the gay community or italian community. Being a part of a community  means to be and feel accepted  and to accept other. This means overcoming individuality in order to create something larger than ourselves.

What is it to be a citizen ?

Being a citizen surely has an administrative and political meaning for, being a citizen is related to a nationality. It means, in a certain way, that we belong to a specific country. In Canada, this status gives us many rights such as an access to education or the right to vote. But being a citizen also implies responsibilities. In fact, we should all act so to foster life in collectivity and it means that we, as citizens, have the responsibility to respect each other and not only as the law intends. We also have the responsibility to participate to social and political life at least to vote in order to define, in a relative way, the collective fate. It is also the citizen’s responsibility to rise up against injustice, to express its discontent and to make changes in his society. Even if it may seem paradoxical, being a citizen also means being an individual that tries to live according to society's values and principles, without losing his integrity.

What a community means to me

      For me,  a community is a group of person sharing a common interest, caracteristic or activity. A community can be formed in order to simply ge together with people you feel a sense of  belonging as can be seen with the neighborhoods that bear the names of certain ethnic groups. It also can be a way to affirm its identity in a religious, ethnical or sexual way. Even though a community mostly has a positive significance, it can also be misused. In other words, it doesn't only get people together, it  also facilitates the exclusion and isolation and can lead to discrimination and racism. A community should be a "world" of self improvement, of support and not a way to exclude people.