Immigrant Experience in Canada

Two people Rosie DiManno and Shree Paradkar wrote their views about Canadian society, particularly about their personal experience in Canada. There are some similarities and some contradictions in their views. In the essay they talked about the discriminative behavior of the Canadian natives as Shree claim that in Canadian society woman are dominating. While DiManno also said that in Canada everyone is equal. In essay living standards and family systems are also discussed (DiManno). According to essay it is said that Canadians are highly concerned with the culture and ethos. While it is also said that cultural values are over influenced by other cultures as Shree claim that during stay in Canada he was unable to find difference between Canadian and himself. Concluding all the discussion we can say that essay elaborate on the social condition and values of Canada.     

             Canada is famous as a nation created by large of immigrants. In this country, if you do not belong to the native, then you or your family must have initially arrived in Canada from another country. The country supports cultural diversity by motivating Canadians to take part in all aspects of life. No matter what their background, in Canada, everyone is equivalent to one another.  Some people even move toward to Canada with their experience of hate towards a racial society. Those are the view and image from immigrants in Canada. However, what is the reality that the immigrants have to face there? What kind of life experience that the immigrants in Canada have to through? The story from Rossie DiManno and Shree Paradkar explain to us how the real-life of the immigrant experience in Canada.

            Rossie DiManno, even though she was born and grow up in Canada, but due to her family history which does not belong to Canadians, until now, she has to face the unpleasant of life experience when people around her looked down on her and underestimated her family due to their differences from the original people of Canada (DiManno). She explained her feeling like “On the street where I lived, younger generations yearned to be part of the wider assimilated culture, unhyphenated and anglicized. It was an embarrassment to have parents who were unable to speak English or who spoke it in broken vernacular.”

 In the other hand, Shree Paradkar was born and grows up in India, until she decided to move and live in Canada since she was not feeling comfortable with the behaviors of people in her own country. When Shree Paradkar put her feet in Canada, she got a warm welcome from the country. She even said that “Canada felt like my calm partner, and India a tempestuous ex. Life there was vibrant, full-throated, no holds barred. You shouted, you cried, you laughed out loud. Here, for a new immigrant with a job, life appeared tranquil, pleasant and for the most part predictable.” However, within years, she started to recognize that the racialization slowly approaches her life. People started to act differently and look different at her because of her race (Paradkar). Even though she tried to ignore it, but it was difficult, she needs to experience it almost every day in her life?

The struggle that they have to face in their life maybe has made them disappointed with Canada. However, both Rossie DiManno and Shree Paradkar still believe and have hopes that the people in Canada would change on their mindset, their actions, and their inequality for the people who live there but belong to a different race than the Canadians. As Rossie DiManno said,

“My respect for the contribution of immigrants and refugees is boundless. But diversity, the on and on clinging to it doesn't make us stronger or particularly admirable. It makes us fragmented, ghettoized in thought and attitude.”

The same thought also comes from Shree Paradkar as she stated, “Here I am then, once again, poking holes in deeply rooted ideas, questioning traditions about people’s place in society, this time in Canada.”

In the case of Rossie DiManno, her disappointed feeling is larger than Shree Paradkar since she was born and grows in Canada, then why equal rights are not given to her in all aspects than the native Canadians? Although the answer is obvious which is; her parents are immigrants, but from the first time she opened her eyes, she saw Canada. Then what makes her different from the Canadians? Meanwhile, in the case of Shree Paradkar, she was feeling pleased and free on her first days in Canada, but later on, she also found out that people in Canada still act inequality with different ethnics or race.

“The English looked down on the Irish, the Irish looked down on the Italians, and the Italians would look down later on the Portuguese and the Koreans. And everybody looked down on Blacks, some of whom had been in Canada for generations”

Well, racism in Canada is just one of the numbers of racist cases we can find all over the world. What makes it different is that, in the view of the worldwide, Canada claimed to be a promised country for all immigrants to come and make their dreams come true. In fact, everything from its music, laws, sports, or businesses can either draw from their ancestry or been impacted by the immigrants in the country. Canada is even famous as one of the countries with a long history that welcome the immigrants and accepting the multicultural mixing in all aspects.

References of Immigrant Experience in Canada