Topic of the Week: Enough with Immigrant Stereotypes

So, let’s kick this discussion off by going back to one of my initial posts about what the definition of an immigrant is. Notice that the definitions of immigrant, emigrant, refugee, and expatriate DO NOT involve race. These definitions are open and allow for this truth: anyone from any country, region, ethnicity, race, gender, creed, or belief can immigrate/emigrate from anywhere to anywhere else. At its core, the word immigrant does not denote any particular “kind” of person. Anyone could potentially be an immigrant.

So why is it that so many Canadians conjure up a racially/ethnically-specific image in their minds every time they hear the words “Immigrant” and “Refugee”? Why is it that so many people are shocked when their Caucasian neighbors are in fact proud immigrants? Why do people say things like “oh, but you’re the kind of immigrant we want” to immigrants from certain regions of the world while behaving rudely towards those from other areas? Where does all of this discrimination and racism come from?

Do people forget that if you’re living in Canada today, you are the result of immigration? Even Aboriginal peoples, the original inhabitants of our country, are said to have come to Canada in the distance past from somewhere else. If the theory that human life emerged out of Africa and spread from there is held to be true, nearly everyone everywhere is an immigrant.

I’m proud to be the descendant of immigrants. On my father’s side, my great-great-grandfather immigrated to Canada from the United States. And yes, that counts as immigration. Immigrants don’t have to come from half a world away! Remember: an immigrant is just any newcomer to a country who has settled there. My ancestor was a newcomer to Canada from the United States who settled here. He, his family, and another family went on to found a town which still exists today. On my mother’s side I am also the descendant of immigrants. My great-grandparents came from Europe after the First World War. They were newcomers who settled on farms in the west. Today, my grandparents and my one aunt have carried on the family tradition of farming food and raising livestock to help sustain our country.

My family is the result of immigration. If both sides of my family hadn’t come to Canada I wouldn’t exist today. We’ve done relatively well for ourselves in Canada. However, my family is not representative of the whole picture of immigration in Canada. Then again, no one family can ever be representative of what it means to be a Canadian Immigrant because Canadian immigrants are a diverse bunch! Immigrants come from all over the globe; near as well as far. Immigrants come from all kinds of backgrounds, occupations, races, genders, religions, and situations. Every immigrant’s story is different. Some of the challenges Canadian immigrants face are the same, but many of them are unique to their particular situation.

So, the next time you think of an immigrant as a stereotype stop yourself. Immigrants don’t just come from one or two countries. They don’t conform to stereotypes. They are individuals. It is unfair to everyone to generalize about who is an immigrant.

LETS START A MOVEMENT:
Shake up the stereotypes and show Canada that anyone can be an immigrant by making and Immigrant Pride video on www.youtube.com or...
If you are an immigrant:

And if you are the descendant of immigrants: