immigrant adolescents

We pay a lot of attention of how immigrants are having difficulties of finding their career and disadvantages due to social inequalities that we have in Canada. But immigrant adolescents have issues of integration to Canadian society too...

Most teenagers are moving to Canada with their immigrant parents. But perceptions of immigration of the children and parent are totally different. Maybe parents view immigration as an opportunity for better future. But for teenagers, it could be departure from friends in homeland. In most cases they immigrant to Canada because of their parents, no matter if they want to or not(Qin, 2008).

We might have a misconception like they will face fewer problems because they will get educated in Canadian High School, they will integrate into Canadian culture quicker than their parents, and they will learn English quicker. but according to this article, some immigrants adolescents' relationship between their parents are not as close as when they were back home because the problems are immigrant parents face(employment, financial stresses, working at low pay jobs) result for parents spending less time with their children(Michael, 2009) . This interview for a girl who immigrant from Hong Kong said that: 

 “Now I don’t want to go home....Before, when we were in Hong Kong, sometimes we sat down and talked. It happened more often in Hong Kong than in here. [Here in the U.S.] we have to work. Even if we have time to talk, I mostly stay in my room. When I get home I stay in my room to play with the computer, listen to the music, sleep, whatever. I just can't communicate with my parents (sigh). I don't know what to say.”(Michael, 2009)

Parents working long hours cause alienation between their children, another study also reveal that 55% of the Chinese parents and 35% of students report that they have relationship issues with their parents and children at home(Qin, 2008) . 

I think beside the problems that immigrant adults are facing right now, social worker should pay attention to the consequence of immigrant families dynamics that cause by immigrants parents having hard time to find their career and such. It’s because immigrant adolescents are like other children who born and raised in Canada, they are the future of the country. Having a good relationship with their families can improve child’s well-being. And family support is very important for some immigrants, if they have some issues with their child, I personally think they will get more frustration and depression while they are facing other difficulties. I think social worker can help immigrant families to repair their relationship, then they can overcome the relationship problem and focus on other problems that the Canadian society has give them. 

In my opinion, family support is very important when family member are facing difficulties.

Sarah

Reference:
Michael, S. (2009). Continuities and discontinuities: patterns of migration, adolescent immigrant girls and their family relationships. Qualitative Social Work, 8(2), 229-247.

Qin, D. B. (2008). Gendered processes of adaptation: understanding parent–child relations in Chinese immigrant families . Sex Roles, 60(7/8), 467-481. 

Feminism Statistics with Immigration

According to statistics Canada 16,136,925 women immigrated to Canada in 2006 and a total of 15,475,970 men immigrated to Canada in 2006. These statistics found on Statistics Canada show that more women immigrated to Canada over the last few years than men. Is there reasoning behind this? I personally think that more women are immigrating because they are beginning to realize that they can get a future in Canada and that they can run their own lives. In any society men seem to always have this advantage over women and I think that it is beginning to get noticed that women can do just as many things as men and live a life of power to. In some countries it may seem that women are meant to stay at home and feed the children and look after everything around the house. Now women are breaking the norm and taking control by running their own lives. For a lot of these women coming to Canada means a new beginning, a place to start fresh and become who they really want to be. I think to a degree this can be recognized as a form of feminism. These women are most likely not all extreme feminists but by choosing to take control and supporting other women to do the same I do think to a degree they are supporting a form of feminism. 

                I decided that I wanted to know what all these women coming into Canada were doing here to make a living. And this is when I discovered that Canada had three types of visas for women immigrating. One was the work visa, another was the student visa and the last one was the stripper visa. Canada was taking women from foreign countries into our society on what was called a stripper visa. This visa allowed women to come to Canada on the regards that they would be strippers which provided Canada with this exotic theme drawing more attention to clubs and other places these females worked. The site listed below is a site that explains this stripper visa a little bit more. Now that the visa no longer exists maybe numbers for the 2011 census for immigration will go down for women and maybe equal out with the mens statistics. 

-Brittany L

http://www.owjn.org/owjn_2009/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=294:how-canadian-immigration-policy-exploits-women-the-story-of-the-stripper-visa&catid=47&Itemid=94

http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-551/pages/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Table=1&Data=Count&Sex=2&StartRec=1&Sort=2&Display=Page

Re visiting Neo-conservatism

According to Mullaly on page 89 of the text book (The new structural social Work), Neo conservatism believes that in a society there is freedom from government coercion, individualism, and inequality. Neoconservatives believe in tradition and following the plan laid down for them. So, imagine being an immigrant coming into Canada for the first time and having to decide what view on society you fit in best with. Well right away most immigrants would realize that Neo-conservatism is not what suites them best. Most of the time new immigrants don’t come over with family. That breaks tradition. A lot of the time it is a single female coming. That breaks tradition. It seems like everything a new immigrant does will somehow break tradition or upset the neoconservative way of living. I can only imagine what it would be like for me if I was an immigrant who just came into a completely new society and had to live in this neoconservative world even though half the things I was partaking in would be breaking the traditional standards of this new society.

This is a hard process for any immigrant to go through. Before anyone comes to Canada I think that all political parties out there should make themselves known to immigrants. This can help the new comer to decide what suites him or her best and lets them fit in with a group of people like themselves. If this was available for immigrants I think there would be a lot less confusion and it would help immigrants fit into our already existing society better.

-Brittany Litke

The New Structural Social Work Third Edition Oxford Bob Mullaly 

Disabled Immigrants

Immigrants coming to Canada with disabilities are a very unique thing. Canada offers programs to help disabled people once they are in Canada but trying to get disabled people into Canada is a hard task to accomplish. In Canada we do offer jobs for people with disabilities but they are rare and hard to come by. A new immigrant with a disability has a very low chance of getting a job. According to a student from the University of Victoria studies show that 98% of immigrants with disabilities are not employed in Canada. http://communications.uvic.ca/releases/release.php?display=release&id=816 This shows us that there are not very many jobs available. I believe that if Canada continues to let immigrants with disabilities into our society the numbers for people with disabilities trying to find jobs will continue to rise.

 In 2009 12 % of immigrants who had been in Canada for 5 years or less were UN employed.  (http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=960c9aed-8eff-48c7-8adc-39f2604381f0&k=99437) If this is the case for Immigrants what chance do immigrants with disabilities have? This is a continues cycle that needs to be changed. I believe that Canada should stop taking in as many disabled immigrants until some programs and jobs are formed to suit the needs of disabled workers. Once these needs are met then Canada may begin to accept more immigrants with disabilities.

-Brittany Litke

http://communications.uvic.ca/releases/release.php?display=release&id=816

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=960c9aed-8eff-48c7-8adc-39f2604381f0&k=99437

Elderly Immigrants

Here in Canada we see a lot of young immigrants coming into our country on a regular basis. We can look around us and see many different types of people. But, what we often do not notice is that there are not very many elderly immigrants. Yes, there are a few that came over when they were younger but we often do not often see new elderly immigrants. Is this just because immigration seems like too much work to go through if one knows they only have a certain number of years left or is it Canada that is regulating how many elderly immigrants we are allowed to have come over.

According to the Canadian Government website , it is not usual for an elderly person to apply to Canada unless they are being sponsored by family or they have great reason to be here.

Most elderly people come to Canada to reconnect with family or to live somewhere peaceful and enjoyable before they move on. It is rare that an elderly person will take the time to fill out all the paper work unless they need to come to Canada. For many it is just too big of a hassle.

According to Hugh Grant and Gretta Wong Grant from the University of Winnipeg:

“The human rights code in most Canadian jurisdictions restricts the employment rights of the

elderly, either by defining “age” to exclude those 65 years of age and older or by identifying

a bona fide mandatory retirement plan as reasonable limitation on the equality rights. This

paper considers the possibility that these restrictions entail “adverse effect” discrimination

for immigrants to Canada. Since many immigrants arrive relatively late in their working life

and with little personal wealth, denying them the right to employment may inadvertently

create an undue economic hardship by limiting their capacity to accumulate sufficient

savings for retirement.” http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/collection_2007/lcc-cdc/JL2-33-2002E.pdf

If elderly people over 65 are unable to work once they arrive in Canada then for many elderly people it is a waste of time to come to Canada. If they have enough money to support themselves for a while that is good but what happens when they run out of money and are unable to work. I think that if the age limit on work was removed then we would be seeing a lot more elderly immigrants coming to Canada.

-Brittany Litke

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.asp

http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/collection_2007/lcc-cdc/JL2-33-2002E.pdf

Domestic violence against immigrant women

Domestic violence against immigrant women is an issue in Canada, even though feminism is a "phenomenon" in Canada and ladies in Canada have more equalities in the present, however, when immigrants arrived Canada, they brought some patriarchy values in and apply them to Canada.

This study conducted in Norway shown the huge impact of domestic violence in immigrant family(Bo Vatnar, & Bjorkly, 2010): immigrant women are in higher risk of facing mortal abuse when they have a n immigrant partner, and there is higher chance of the abuse is exposed to their children if the parents were immigrants. I believe that these are due to some abusers believe that physical violence is some kind of "discipline" for their wives. This is dangerous because the generalization of domestic violence could be mortal to women who are abused, and there will have some negative impact to their child because they will learn these "bad characteristics" from their parents.

There was a study conducted in Toronto tried to find out the reason why Hindu speaking immigrant women are hesitate to seek help from domestic violence(Ahmad, Driver, McNally, & Stewart, 2009) . They found out "social stigma, rigid gender roles, marriage obligations, expected silence, loss of social support after migration and limited knowledge about available resources and myths about partner abuse" are the reason of them afraid to seek help to free themselves from family abuse. I can feel immigrant women in the present are living under fear of "getting out of the frame", like Canadian women want to get divorce 50 years ago, back when divorce is not a norm that everyone can accept. Also the tradition values of men should be superior and women should obligated to men are deeply rooted in these women mind.

I think the issue of family violence among immigrant families reveal that immigrant women are having difficulties to seek help from others because of the hesitation and silence that their culture taught them. The state should have more community education to immigrants that family abuse is forbidden, and the community should tell immigrant women about their rights in Canada. So the rate of family abuse could decrease.

Sara

Reference:

Ahmad, F, Driver, N, McNally, M.J., & Stewart, D. (2009). "why doesn't she seek help for partner abuse?" an exploratory study with south asian immigrant women . Social Science & Medicine, 69(4), 613-622. 

Bo Vatnar, S.K., & Bjorkly, S. (2010). An interactional perspective on the relationship of immigration to intimate partner violence in a representative sample of help-seeking women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25(10), 1815-1835. 

They Shaped us.

     Is the country of Canada a result of immigration? Canada is one of the largest countries in the world, “the population of Canada is approximately 33,100,000” which leaves us wondering how all of these people arrived in Canada. “The original settlers were predominantly from England, Scotland, France, Ireland, and Wales, but were joined by immigrant families from Germany, Ukraine, Poland, Russia, and China in the nineteenth century.” There are many different tradition, languages, races and cultures rest in Canada. I believe this is due to the older immigrants that now reside in Canada. “This pattern of immigration had important implications for the age and sex structure of the aging population...”

     In my opinion, older persons hold valuable traditions that are sometimes lost as a culture changes with the times. An older immigrant on the other hand, would hold traditions different from those who were born and grew old in Canada. Can new traditions add to the country or will destroy it? Traditions from different cultures always fascinate me. I was searching for traditions that older Canadian residents held and how immigrants had impacted them when I came across an intriguing story told by a young girl today. She called her story Our Christmases are a smorgasbord of immigrant traditions. The story is about how her father was an immigrant that came to Canada, lived in Toronto and met his wife, who was a resident of Canada. She tells us how her holidays were split. Since Christmas and Easter were new to her father it was as if it was his first Christmas as well. Therefore, as this young girl grows up she will be a part of two worlds. I believe this is a good thing; she will be experiencing two cultures. This could change her into a more multicultural person with a better sense of self as she learns more about both worlds.
     Along with traditions, older immigrants brought more things into Canada. Immigrants brought multiple languages into Canada. There are tons of different languages used today. Unfortunately, many languages were lost throughout time. Wikipedia states, “according to the 2006 census, English and French are the preferred language. English and French are recognized by the Constitution of Canada as "official languages." This means that all laws of the federal government are enacted in both English and French and that federal government services must be available in both languages.” Canada is home to many languages, many are only spoken at home. When older immigrants came to Canada they were not faced with the language test that immigrants today are faced with. Citizen and Immigration Canada present that language test, “You must provide proof of language proficiency by taking a language test from an agency designated by CIC. With your test results, you will be able to see exactly how many points you will receive for the language selection factor.” This test is just another barrier to get into Canada.
     It is clear that older immigrants have shaped Canada’s Character. About Canada says, “all Canadians have a parent, grandparent or more distant relative who came to Canada as a stranger to a strange land. Because all Canadians share an immigrant past, there would be no Canada without immigration.” I fully believe this; I am here today because of the immigration that took place a long time ago. “Each newcomer played a role in the building of Canada.” In my opinion, our culture, our language, and our traditions have come from the first immigrants that came to Canada.

- Samantha

References

      Statistics Canada. (2007). Ethnic Diversity and Immigration. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/subject-sujet/theme-theme.action?pid=30000&lang=eng&more=0

     True Knowledge. (2010). Populations Canada. Retrieved from http://www.trueknowledge.com/q/population_of_canada_2010

     Wikipedia. (2010). Languages of Canada. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Canada

     About Canada. (2008). Multiculturalism in Canada. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Canada
    
     Aging healthy. (2010). Canada - Characteristics of the older population. Retrieved from http://medicine.jrank.org/pages/213/Canada-Characteristics-older-population.html



Seasonal Affective Disorder

Canada winter is cold.

I think everybody agree with me about this point. When Canada enters winter months, we get less daylight hours, white snow covered everything at least four months in a year, and below zero mostly for the entire winter. As you are reading my blog post, I know you have the same impression about Canada's winter because we are living in the coldest city out of the 10 provinces in Canada.

This kind of harsh,cold environment cause immigrants have higher chance of having SAD(Seasonal Affective Disorder). According to Canada.com, SAD is a mood disorder that makes people depressed, lower productivity during winter months, below are the symptoms of SAD:

• lethargy and fatigue (low energy level)
• withdrawal from friends and family
• inability to focus or concentrate
• sadness, anxiety, and despair
• change in appetite with cravings for sweets and starches
• weight gain
• headaches
• irritability
• increased sleep

Source:http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/channel_health_features_details.asp?health_feature_id=72&article_id=162&channel_id=131&relation_id=10851

Like the article's statement from canadianimmigrants.ca. Depressions is an "destructive nature". In my opinion, I think immigrants have higher risk of having SAD because most of our immigrants are from countries that have warmer weather.Those symptoms described above could discourage immigrants to work hard toward their goal of having "good life" in Canada because of the depressions caused by the -40 environment during winter months. Even my blog mates addressed various issues that immigrants facing while they are trying to establish their family and career in Canada because of the policies. But in this situation, the natural force causes immigrants become more isolated from the community, less motivated to overcome the issues like my blog mates discussed before. I hope the state can put more resource to help immigrants overcome SAD during winter months. As I believe having positive attitude all the time is the key of overcome difficulties.

Sara

Sources:

Chotem, Marilyn(date unknown) Cycle of life - Winter symbolizes endings and loss, which can affect our spirits psychologically. http://www.canadianimmigrant.ca/health/psychology/article/803

 Canada.com(date unknown), Seasonal Affective Disorder http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/channel_health_features_details.asp?health_feature_id=72&article_id=162&channel_id=131&relation_id=10851

Immigrant Women Finding Employment....

I remember my intro Sociology professor said “Glass Ceiling prevents women to advance to higher social class, but it also prevents women from certain professions as well." Nowadays, women are experiencing difficulties for employments because of the traditional values of patriarchy society have triggered the "Glass Ceiling". According to the theories of different perspectives of feminism on Mullaly textbook, our society "plays a central role in the domination of men and the subordination of women"(Muallay 2007). Therefore, these "unequal power relations between men and women, and patriarchy" is seen as the main reason of "women's oppression" 

This could be prove on a research study about job searching skills among male and female Mexican immigrants, the study find out that the participants of Mexican male immigrant is more likely to find an employment then Mexican female immigrant because of men are more rely on networking when it comes to job searching, and women are less likely to meet with some people that has significant influences than men (Livington, 2006). The lack of Canadian networks can raise the difficulties for women to find employment. 

Additionally, immigrant women have to work harder than men to find a job under a men-constructed environment. In a research of the effectiveness of social capital's impact of finding employment for immigrant women, a participant from South Asia said "I got sick of volunteering actually because we need money to go on living and pay our bills"(George, Chaze 2009). She was volunteering to extend her career network in order to improve her employment skills. Immigrant women are not just carrying the male role of being "breadwinner", but also carrying the female role of being "caretaker" in the family. This is not hard to imagine that women with dual role can be easily exhausted because of time managing.

The Radical Feminism perspective from Muallay Textbook stated that a male-constructed society and unequal power relations with men are major oppressions for women; I think this can be reflected on immigrant women seeking employment in Canada. but the Study also suggest that immigrant women are less likely to volunteer then Canadians in general because they view volunteering as "altruism" and it is more challenging for their wills to volunteer when they are trying to find steady income at the same time(George, Chaze 2009). I think besides newcomer program for immigrant women, like the study mentioned those existing service. I think the welfare state should tell people other significant benefits of volunteering besides gaining Canadian experiences. Then the difficulty gap between men and women finding a job will reduce a lot.

Sarah Poon

Reference:

Muallay, B. (2007) The New Structural Social Work. Canada: oxford university press Canada.

Livingston, G. (2006). Gender, job searching and employment outcomes among Mexican immigrants.
Population Research and Policy Review, 25, 43-66.

George, U., Chaze, F. (2009) Social capital and employment: South Asian women's experiences. AFFILIA: Journal of Women and Social Work. Vol. 24 (4), p394-405

Global Feminism

       Abortions are common everywhere. Abortion is an issue that evokes, on all sides, very strong feelings and judgments. The endless reasons on why different women around the world get an abortion would seem preposterous to some people. In fact, each country around the world has different views on the topic. Whether it’s, “Childhood experiences of divided families, financial problems, being too young, and an insecure partnership influenced the women's decision to have an abortion.” In my opinion, a cultural view could come into play as well. Most have reasons not to support a woman acquiring an abortion. As women from around the world migrate, their views on abortion may change. They go from believing one extreme to the next. Let us start our journey...
      Our first stop is in Thailand. “Thailand's current abortion law became effective in 1956. Under this legislation, a woman may obtain an abortion if there is substantial risk that continuation of the pregnancy would endanger the woman's health, or if the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest (Siriboon 1987). The term 'health' in these instances has been variously interpreted by physicians and health care personnel; generally speaking, it is defined in a strictly physical sense as endangerment to the woman's life (Rauyajin 1979; Population Council 1981).” Considering this information, I don’t see anyone acknowledging women and understanding any mental problems that they would face when having to raise a new born. Some mothers are not meant to look after children. Typical of countries where legal abortion services are seriously restricted, an underground system operates in Thailand whereby women seek illegal termination of their pregnancies (Simmons 1996). Evidence suggests that many Thais’ view abortion as a supplementary means of fertility control. Could this way of society be thought up by a man? Feminist are fighting the “mans society” with what is correct about abortions and what is incorrect.
      Continuing around the world, our next stop is Africa. "An estimated 36,000 young adults of school-going age die needlessly of unsafe abortion in Africa." I believe that this is because young girls ignore the issue of unsafe abortion or refuse address it. “The ideology of male superiority denies abortions as an important issue of status and frames the morality, legality and socio-cultural attitudes towards abortion. Patriarchy sculpts unequal gender power relationships and takes power away from women making decisions about their bodies” (Braam, 2004). Not only are women having unsafe abortions in Africa but it is also looked down upon to have a baby girl. Boys carry on the family name, and the girl costs the family a dowry when they are chosen to be married. Tons of pressure resides in Women of Africa. Many women are looking after multiple mouths to feed with little to no education, which means no job. With no skills to obtain a job, women will turn to selling themselves for money or even just a meal. Contraceptives are rarely used in Africa, which leads women to contract disease, like AIDS. As the African woman is “working”, the job might result in an unwanted pregnancy. Therefore, she turns to an illegal, but free way of abortion. The ways of illegal abortions in Africa are vulgar and are done in ways that wouldn’t even cross a doctor’s mind. For example, woman use a coat hanger, or the OD on anything they can get their hands on. Hoping they will be found and taken to the hospital in time to be saved.
      Next we stop in Egypt! “Feminist organizations working in Egypt face a variety of obstacles along with other organizations that work for human rights”. Egypt was the first Arab countries to endorse the convention on the elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women .Yet it did so with several serious reservations, “Induced Abortion inclusive penal code relate to abortion provide for a penalty of imprisonment of at least 3 up to 15 years with hard labour for any person who intentionally causes abortion through any form of violence. A penalty of imprisonment of up to three years is also prescribed for causing abortion through the provision of any pharmaceuticals or other methods” (mona, 1995). Considering this, I find it unbelievable. They say they brought in human rights, how is punishing a woman for knowing that she wouldn’t be able to give that child the life it deserved? In my opinion, as a woman I should know what I am capable of taking care of and where my body stands. Are contraceptives being used in Egypt more than other countries?
      Arriving next in Australia, we learn “Abortion in Australia is a subject of state law rather than national law. The grounds on which abortion is permitted in Australia vary from state to state. In every state, abortion is legal to protect the life and health of the woman, though each state has a different definition. There is no law anywhere in Australia that requires the notification or consent of a woman's sexual partner. There is also no enforced waiting period for an abortion.” Basic laws in Australia do not resemble the previous countries we have just looked at. I can see that Australia has arrived at 21st century and has realized that women have rights and in most cases know what is best for their bodies and their unborn child.
      Moving on to the United States now, “feminists believed that only the achievement of women's equality and freedom would end the need for abortion. They wrote that prevention was more important than punishment, and blamed circumstances, laws and the men they believed drove women to abortions.” When birth control became available they used this as another way of preventing abortions. Most of today's abortion rights organizations state that safe and effective birth control, adequate sex education, available health care, and the ability to support children are essentials to preventing the need for abortions. The United States has the highest teen pregnancy in the world. “Each year, two percent of women aged 15-44 have an abortion; half have had at least one previous abortion.”

From this I concluded that because the United States has such a high pregnancy rate, I can detect how the abortion rates are high as well. I am glad to see that the United States has gone as far as making sure women feel are safe during and after the procedure.
      For our last stop, we made the trip to Canada. Abortion is NOT a crime in Canada. In 1969, “The Criminal Code is amended to decriminalize abortions done by a doctor in a hospital after approval for the procedure has been given by a “therapeutic abortion committee” who judged that a woman’s life or health “would” or “would be likely” to be affected by continuation of pregnancy.” There was no legal obligation for doctors or hospitals to participate in abortion. “Within a couple of years, abortions are covered under the publicly funded health care system even though government ministers had reassured opponents it would not be.” Unbelievable to the time, in Canada a man is the first one to set up an abortion Clinique. In 1973, “Henry Morgentaler sets up an abortion clinic in Montreal contrary to law. He is arrested, charged, found innocent, decision appealed, found guilty. This happens three times. Finally the Quebec government stop[s] charging him and he continues to do abortions in Montreal.” In my opinion, this was a change for feminism. A man did what almost every feminist wanted to do. According to stats Canada, “A total of 96,815 induced abortions were performed on Canadian women in 2005, down 3.2 % from 100,039 in 2004. As a result, the induced abortion rate edged down from 14.6 abortions in 2004 for every 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, to 14.1 in 2005.” We can see that Canada statistics for abortions is very similar to the United States.
      In conclusion, it is clear that the United States, Canada and Australia share common laws about abortion. Also, feminism in these countries has gone further and accomplished more, in regards to abortion, then countries in Africa and Thailand. After an Illegal abortion, a woman can face many complications. Here are some examples, a moderate hemorrhage – 84.6%, severe hemorrhage – 13.6%, Shock – 5.2%, Trauma – 0.7%, and Infection 5%. In my opinion, I believe that feminism in some countries needs to be more active. When women migrate, let’s say from Africa to Canada, and the woman has an unwanted pregnancy, she may resort back to how she would have accomplished it in Africa. She wouldn’t have known that in Canada the laws are different. Here abortion is not a crime. The woman from Africa could then lose her life using the only method she knows, when she could have used a free clinic to safely have her abortion. I think that immigrants should learn the laws of the country when they arrive. This way they are not at risk of injuring themselves or worse.

- Samantha

References

Alex, Lena RNT, MSc (lecture), Hammarstrain MD, PHD (PRofesser). (2004). Woman’s
        experiences on abortion – feminist perspective: Scandinavian Journal of Caring
        Sciences. Vol. 18, issue 2. Pp. 160-8.

Braam, Tamara. (2004). Abortion in Africa: A Feminist Perspective: African Journal of
            Reproductive Health. Vol. 8, No. 1. Pp. 43-51.

Zclficar, Mona. (1995). Women in Development: A legal Study. Chapter 9. Pp. 83-4

Henshaw SK. (1998). Unintended Pregnancy in the United States Family: Planning Perspectives.
            30 (1): 24-9.

Guttmacher Institute. (2006). State Facts about Abortion: New York.
             >http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/safal/newyork.html

Induced Abortion Statistics. (2005). Retrieved from http://www.statscan.org.ca/

Thokozile Ruzvidzo. (2010). Keeping Our Promise: Addressing Unsafe Abortion in Africa. Retrieved from http://www.ipas.org/Library/News/News_Items/Keeping_Our_Promise_Addressing_Unsafe_Abortion_in_Africa.aspx

Reason to Come

      For most immigrants with a physical disability making sure their paper work is done, they’ve answered the right questions and found a clean and affordable place to live is half of the work. Immigrants are forced to find jobs before making the journey, yet many leave their country not knowing what will be out there for them.
      Considering the hardships and battles they encountered to get here, they come across determined that their lives will be better then what they faced back at home. Everyday immigrants make the decision to migrate based on many different reasons. One of the top reasons for migration to Canada is that “Canada offers all its citizens and permanent residents universal health care regardless of income level.” In my opinion, this would come in handy when a family is choosing to migrate. They may go from not being able to afford to help a sick family member to now making sure that he or she receives the necessary care. For example, for an African man to have a broken leg he would be allowed to have it fixed, where as if the patient required a more intense care for lets say Cerebral Palsy, they would need to have money. South African info states, “Health care varies from the most basic primary health care, offered free by the state, to highly specialised hi-tech health services available in the private sector for those who can afford it.” Treatment in Canada isn’t limited to what can be done for free and what will need to be paid for. I think this would be an advantage to immigrants.
      As I was searching through interesting stories on reasons why immigrants came to Canada, I had an interesting story pop up. Although this story isn’t about coming to Canada I think it establishes why immigrants with physical disabilities choose to migrate in general. This story, Fleeing Prejudice, Nigerian Family Quietly Raises Disabled Daughter in Texas, was about a family moving from Africa. The young girl told the ABC news that “her family came to Texas primarily seeking medical treatment for their youngest child, Bayo, who suffers from cerebral palsy.” This family chose to stay because they were receiving the proper help that they needed for their son.
      The second reason for immigration to Canada is that “Today Canada's GDP is ranked one of the worlds highest. In the areas of human, social, financial and natural resources, Canada is ranked consistently high by the World Bank.” I believe that even if an immigrant decided to migrate with a physical disability finding a job in Canada wouldn’t be that hard. Canada immigrant job issues states, “The latest occupation trends in Canada show a growing number of workers in low-wage positions in which many skilled workers end up working.” I believe that this is where many immigrants end up. Doing physical labour may be difficult for a person with a physical disability. Immigrants have to trust Canada when it says that it is “An ethnically diverse country, Canada's residents come from all walks of life.” Although disability is defiantly challenging for most work places, disabilities can install barriers on transportation to work, limit mobility in and around the workplace and there is societal prejudice or discrimination.
      In my opinion, discrimination is low in Canada and the immigrants coming with physical disabilities won’t suffer in any way. Canada will look after these people and make sure they are given the life they left their country for.
- Samantha

References

Kerry Colburn and Sorensen, 2004. So you want to be Canadian: All About         the Fascinating People in the World and the Magic Place They Call Home. Retrieved from
      http://www.ehow.com/about_5201573_do-people-migrate-canada_.html.


Canadian Job Issues. (2002). Employment in Canada. Retrieved from
      http://www.canadaimmigrants.com/Jobs.asp

Health Care. (2010). Health Care in Southcare. Retrieved from
      http://www.southafrica.info/about/health/health.htm



Mail Order Brides

For most people, marriage is the most important part of bonding lovers together. But when feminism arise in Canada, some men started seeking for an "ideal" wife oversea because the feminism values are a problem for them. So "mail order brides" becomes popluar among men who believe woman should be submissive.  Every year, there are significant portion of women from various foreign countries, travelled across the ocean to start a new life with their Canadian men, some might  have met once before, or never meet each other before. we called them "Mail Order Brides" According to Immigrant Women of Canada, white men between age 40-60, well educated, divorced and from more developed countries tend to have a mail order bride. But I am not going to discuss the reasons why Men prefer mail order brides here.


It sounds like stories with these women has a fairytale ending. But the fact is the nightmare is coming when they arrive Canada...


First, language barrier is an issue for Mail Order Brides, some of them might not have decent English to communicate with others in this English dominated country,  this already put them in disadvantage at the first place.


Second, they often feel isolated from the society due to the cultural difference and language barrier, they cannot make friends because of language matters, and not to mention that their husband with conservative beliefs might resist them to contact with people other than the husband.


Third, some of them experienced sexual or physical abuse because of the traditional value lie under in their husbands that men should be superior than women.


They sound horrible, isn't it. but why most of them choose to be quiet for such depressing experience?  It's  because most of these mail order bride are from developing countries such as The Philippines, Thailand and Russia etc. They come to Canada with a cope of improve their lifestyle and giving financial support to her family in her originated country in order to get out of the rough situation back to her own country. That's why they prefer to take the abuses, being isolated from other is better to live under poverty in their own countries.   
It's upset that there aren't too many research and information about mail order brides in Canada, plus that there aren't too many supports for these mail order brides. They are an "hidden minority group" because of their language barrier and their fear of seeking help from others.


At the end, I would say that mail order bride is one of the consequence of feminism roses in Canada because the value of patriarchy is deeply rooted in some men's mind still, in my opinion, before the society can traet men and women equally, the issues of mail order bride still exists.


Sarah Poon


Reference:

The Good Wife's Guide(13 May,1955), Housekeeping Monthly.

http://www.goodwife.com/

Kornelson, Rachel (November 24, 2007) Mail Order Brides, Immigrant Women Canadahttp://www.immigrantwomencanada.info/articles/articles_1.html

Are you a queer immigrant?

Imagine being queer in today’s society. I bet you feel like a minority. Now imagine being queer and an immigrant in today’s society. Now how do you feel? Personally If I were a queer immigrant I would feel very lost in Canadian culture. I would like to write this blog from the perspective of a queer immigrant.

When I look around me at the society we live in I see that people tend to place people like me in groups such as the “gay” group or the “immigrant” group. I feel isolated and exploited by the world around me.  I feel as though if I were to get out there and try to make a decent living for myself I would get shot down a lot because of where I am from, what I believe in and how I feel towards the same sex. Business owners tell us that they are fair when they are hiring but sometimes it doesn’t make sense as to why I didn’t get the job over someone else. I’ve worked hard. I’ve made it to Canada haven’t I? I deserve equal chance and equality. When I came to Canada I looked into some groups I could join that dealt with people like myself. I found this group called quIR. This is a group that helps people like me find a good place to live, while trying to see to it that I am treated fairly and given a decent health care and education while receiving fair wages. Groups like these are good. They make equality a reality for us. Don’t get me wrong, many queer immigrants do get good jobs and are treated fairly but then there are the unfortunate ones such as myself. People can’t assume that everything is fine. I deserve more than what I am getting.

I was reading articles about queer immigrant rights and one article caught my attention. To me this doesn’t seem fair at all. The article was talking about how a heterosexual citizen of the US (I know it’s for the US but I found it interesting) can sponsor a spouse to immigrate but a queer US citizen can’t.  Why can’t a queer person bring their lover home to them while a heterosexual can? Is it because of the medical attention someone like me may need? Is it fear of a changing society?

There needs to be more equality with our society. Life is Life, How you choose to live it may not be how I choose to live it. But I do know that it is wrong to treat a person like me differently than a non queer non-immigrant living in Canada.

(Keep in mind I tried to write this from a queer immigrant’s perspective. I am not queer nor am I and immigrant)

I also found this PDF with some good sites for articles on queer immigrants if anyone is interested: http://q4ej.org/wp-content/uploads/queer-immigration-reading-list.pdf

http://www.idealist.org/en/org/150520-102

http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/ARTICLE.php?AID=15470

-Brittany Litke

New Life

            As Annamarie Jagose said, "once the term 'queer' was, at best, slang for homosexual, at worst, a term of homophobic abuse". In the recent years the word queer is used by many people and has multiple different meanings. Eldeman states "queer focuses on mismatches between sex, gender and desire".  People have grown to the idea of the 'queer', while others stick with the conservative’s traditional view. Countries and some states have even legalized marriage, while others fight the diversity and stick with the traditional heterosexual marriage.

With such an ongoing battle about what is right and what is wrong, the confusion of the undecided person is clearly recognized. Tradition is defined as, "the passing down of elements of a culture from generation to generation". Many countries have traditions that have been followed for decades and are never expected to be changed. As a person decides whether or not he or she is 'queer' it puts a lot of stress on them. One stressor is the question of what people, like their mother, father, siblings or grandparents might think about them. They're defying society within that whole country, even going against the belief systems that grandparents might have put in place and believed in for many decades. Another stressor may be the fact that they might be punished or even banished from their families for having these feelings that are thought of as wrong.

Traditionally, as an immigrant, coming to a new country and adapting to the complex cultures and ideas that are new to me is difficult. People in this country expect me to "walk the walk and talk the talk". They expect me to know the way of society, basically that I should be the way that they expect me to be. Canada is a multicultural country, therefore, I blended in well with the others that were of my culture. "Canada’s policy of multiculturalism makes it a favourite destination for immigrants. They can keep their pride in their ancestry while simultaneously having a sense of belonging to Canada." With the clothes that I chose to wear I could fit in with anyone, although I wasn't sure who I wanted to fit in with I was always undecided on the way I felt about the other gender. The country I had come from had strict laws about what woman had to wear and who they had to marry and no one challenged the rules.  It was as if when I was born there was already a mould that I was made into. I soon realized that I had the opportunity to be my own person. Therefore, I could see my traditional views vanishing before my eyes. New cultural experiences came before me; I could try anything I wanted.

The new friends I met at school were into way different things then I was. They would skip the first period after lunch to smoke up before gym class and the parties that they through was much different than my family’s gatherings. Soon I found myself changing and straying away from the tranditional way of life that I once believed in. Eventually, I noticed myself really enjoying my closest lady friends company. It felt right even though I was rebelling against what my parents believed about same sex relationships. I knew my behaviour was different towards women then it was towards men, yet somehow, this country that I now live in allows me to hold her hand through the hallway at school and not be looked down upon or even worse.

The ever changing way of life allows new ideas and ways of life to prosper and flourish. As an immigrant, they are exposed to new experiences and usually stripped, not completely, of the old ways of life. New concepts, such as the 'queer', aren't always present in some countries. Immigrants are expected to accept the challenges of being "new" to the country and if they aren't already decided on which gender they prefer it's a whole new world to them. Immigrants that live in Canada are blessed with privillage of living in a multicultural country. In Canada discrimination is declining because most of the population comes from different backgrounds and cultures. Therefore, immigrants will be exposed to many new ideas, beliefs, customs, and practises in Canada.

- Samantha

References

Annamarie Jagose. (1991). Queer Theory: Lesbian and Gay Sexualities, differences: a Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies. 3, 2. pp.iii-xviii

           Eldeman, Lee. (1995). Queer Thory: Unstating Desire, GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. 2, 4. pp. 343-6

           Canada's Multicultural Policies. (2010). Benefits of Multiculturalism. Retrieved from http://www.edukits.ca/multiculturalism/student/diversity_multiculturalism_e.html

My way is the Right way

      Neo-conservatism is the belief that develops from wanting to conserve already existing ideas. Neo-conservatism believes that immigrants and refugees that come will cause problems in society. The tradition and stability the conservatives believe in will change, since the refugees come with little or no money, they will then need social assistance. Mullaly states that, “conservatives prefer to maintain traditional institutions and processes.” Therefore, neo-conservatism is enforcing the belief systems of the conservatives. Neo-conservative solutions to the current crises are to, “attack government deficits by cutting social spending, to rely on the private sector to restore economic growth, to eliminate or reduce the power of inions, to deregulate industry, and to limit the controls on multinational corporations” (Riches, 1986). Neo-conservative believes in having no change and only the deserving poor should receive help from the government.
       The average neo-conservative appears to not be concerned about the effects on the immigration policy. Neo-conservatives view the world with the cultural traditions and values that they believe should be put into place with no exceptions. Immigrants that arrive, in the eye of the neo-conservatives, need to participate and belong to the country like everyone else. I believe that in the eyes of a neo-conservative, immigrants and refugees will only cause problems. The government will be needed for assistance when the immigrants and refugees come without job skills and aren’t able to find a proper job. For example, let’s say Jimmy is a refugee coming from the Pakistan to Canada. Jimmy is leaving Pakistan because he feels threatened. Wikipedia states, “a refugee is a person who has a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country". Since Jimmy had to flee the country, he wasn’t able to bring most of his belongings with him. While he was living in Pakistan he was doing the odd repair job for anyone that would hire him. With this information we will conclude that he doesn’t carry much money with him. What is Jimmy suppose to do when he arrives in Canada and has little to no money, be homeless?
      Of course Jimmy will be off to a rough start, but Canada allows him to apply for social assistance. I believe that this is what the neo-conservative glares down upon; this refugee doesn’t follow any traditional way of living. He’s coming alone, he’s not married, no children and no job. He can’t take care of himself, therefore government assistance will be asked for. In my opinion, if we lived in a neo-conservative only world there would be no new changes to our world. Each one of us would be married a partner of the opposite sex, have a nuclear family, and run our own private business.

- Samantha

References

      Mulally, B. (2007). The new structural social work. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

Hi

We would like to introduce our group blog that we just created. We hope that besides the academic purpose of this blog, we can share information about current issues of Canadian Social Welfare Policies.


Teamwork