Friday, October 23, 2009

Affects on Children


Okay...forgetting the fact that immigration is hard on everyone, did anyone think how hard it can be for young children immigrating from their home country to another? To them it seems like a whole new world, better yet, a new planet. They are so accustomed and used to how and where they grew up that leaving everything they know behind to immigrate somewhere else is almost terryfing. Most people think that since they are young, children would be able to adjust to just about everything because they did not live their entire lives in the country they were born in just as their parents have. That they will make friends just as they have when they were little and playing in the park with other children. That is not necessarily true. They are affected just as much, maybe even worse. The reason for that being is because they are the ones that have to attend a new school, make new friends, and along the way maybe even get teased either because they are new, or because they have an accent or even because their beliefs and knowledge on things are different. And it is not until the time they learn the language that they can finally confront others who bother or bully them. Just like their parents, it will take a while for children to adapt to the new schooling system, community, and rules of the country, society, and schools. They too, will have to endure and go through tough times just like their parents.

Immigration Affects on Families

For some families it is hard to immigrate for a variety of reasons: they either cannot get a visa, they may not want to immigrate, or they are afraid to immigrate because they know that they will not be able to provide as much for their family members in their home country when they leave. Unfortunately, many things can affect an immigrating family. If the family wants to adapt and fit in with the country's community, there are certain occasions where they have to leave behind their own cultural beliefs to be able to adapt with the "new world", as it seems to them, that they are entering.
Normally both partners are affected, however, women are more sensitive to the change they have to make. At the beginning, some women/ mothers may have to stay home and take care of their children and help them adapt to the new system and the new schools they are attending. It is also a negative aspect because they know it would help if both parents worked, that way their survival would have a more positive and bigger impact. Especially if the family comes from a country or a culture where the mother stays home and watches the children all the time, by immigrating, they would want to find work because that way it would give them a sense of independence and equality with their partner.

New Immigrants

Everyone knows that immigrating to another country is not an easy process or transaction. It is hard because you are leaving everything you have and everything that made you, behind.
Families that immigrate to Canada usually come to have a better future. This can easily be provided. Because Canada is a multicultural country, it welcomes all types of cultures and traditions, and treats everyone as an equal. Because of this, immigrants find themselves to be more at ease from this point of view.
Adapting to a new system, whether it would be for work or school, comes with a lot of discomfort, insecurity and fear of not being accepted. It also comes with a lot of stress. You have to find work, and, if you're an immigrant with English as your second language, you have to attend ESL schooling as well. Fortunately, there are immigrant-serving organizations that you can contact such as the London Cross Cultural Learner Centre which provides newcomers with basic services such as Settlement Counselling, Job Search Workshop, Translation Services, etc., making life easier in Canada to adapt to.