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