I am the ‘grateful immigrant’
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I will preface by saying that I am rather biased regarding this issue. I am what you may call a ‘grateful immigrant.’ The opportunities I was granted in this country are unique, special, ones I would never have otherwise achieved. I, of course, have faced hardships including racism, xenophobia, and hate for being who I am. But if I holistically reflect on my experience, I have been welcomed with open arms and have been given the chance to contribute, to learn, to grow, and to be an active member of Canadian society despite not being from here.
Thobani’s text is insightful and engaging as it displays the intentions behind the Multiculturalism policy that are otherwise hidden behind the rose-coloured glasses the state places on the eyes of its subjects. She discusses the “crisis of whiteness” emerging in the post-war era where there is a “national amnesia regarding inconvenient histories” and “global anti-colonial solidarity.” Thobani discusses the nuances of the government policy’s interplay between multiculturalism and its policy regarding Indigenous peoples in Canada; Canada’s push on Indigenous peoples to accept the ‘liberalization of immigration and citizenship policy.” Thobani argues that “emphasis on tolerance and diversity, multiculturalism has discredited Aboriginal claims to special status as the original inhabitants of the land.”
I cannot speak on Indigenous issues and identity. I come from a privileged place as an immigrant having not been through ethnic cleansing, genocide, and the push to accept the ‘hard-working’ immigrant and being labeled as the one who is unwilling to participate in society. However, I could speak on the immigrant identity.
Thobani argues multiculturalism would enable a “national amnesia regarding inconvenient histories.” I frankly disagree. Reconciliation is a growing national concern and policy which is still in its infancy. Yes, I agree with the sentiments that Canada needed to seriously detach itself from white supremacist sentiments that had existed in the West, and so multiculturalism was a continent solution. However, that does not take away from multiculturalism being a step forward—whether or not it provided economic value and relief, and whether or not it was an opportunist move, it, at least to some level, gave light, hope, acceptance, and respect to ethnic minorities.
Thobani later talks about citizenship and that equating immigrant and citizen identity through which “the constitution of cultural communities as homogenous entities erased the very many differences among them. Inequalities…were all rendered secondary and less material.” I may be confused, but it sounds like Thobani is arguing for creating second-class citizens. That an immigrant should never be in equal citizenship status as the White national. I believe citizenship should not be balanced over cultural or gender identity.
Thobani later discusses the bilingual nature of Canada and that through its push for immigrants to learn one of the two languages to strengthen the “cultural and social fabric” would be balancing an impossible act of remaining multicultural and maintaining the national character at the same time. The bilingual character of the country is a representation and manifestation of its history, its roots, and its present. Being a country with two official languages was a necessary means to address Anglo-Francophone issues, as well as limit discrimination against Francophones. It is true that Canada’s roots are colonial with ethnic cleaning, violence, and genocide to Indigenous peoples. But the country must accommodate for all its citizens as it stands today. It certainly does not do a great job in that, because Indigenous peoples still suffer their government’s failure to face reconciliation and fix the condition in which Indigenous peoples remain. I am not denying that. But I will also say that the country’s colonial roots are founded in French and British cultural identities, and it has to adhere and address those roots whose impacts sustain.
Canada balances addressing reconciliation, Anglo-francophone issues, as well as multiculturalism. To argue that it is all so faulty, to paint it all in a negative image, to ignore the benefit, real stories of growth, hope, and opportunity that Canada continues to narrate are also ignored. It is not perfect, neither is any policy or any state. But I will not sit here and ignore all that multiculturalism has done for me, my family, my peers, and the many generations that will come after me.