What
if Canada's first nations people looked at the people who arrived here
on ships and said "Look at them! They have no respect for nature or our
gods, they are destroying what we believe in, they are having lots of
children and more and more are coming, they have their own laws, they
are taking our land, they don't respect women as we do, they are going
to force us into becoming like them or we will pay the consequences
because they have powerful weapons, they are not like us and they have
no respect for us, they stick with their own and won't mingle with us."
What if they did? They would have been right. We see the results. We are
all immigrants. How do we make it different this time?
It is important to understand that the Syrian refugees are just that--refugees. They are not immigrants in that sense. These are refugees fleeing from a country in ruins. They had no choice. They are uprooted, displaced and dispersed far from family and what they knew, running from a horrible situation. Why are they refugees in the first place is a question best left to others to determine. Canadians saw an influx of refugees during and after the Second world war. One of its sad realities is that the children of these refugees often were subjected to being raised by traumatized and alienated parents. It became for many a source of great suffering through the generations. How do we make it different this time?
One thing is clear: Politics will not solve this problem. If anything, in this political climate, it is creating greater divides than need be. Polarized as it is. This is a people problem. This is a neighbour to neighbour problem. If a person is hated, they learn only to hate. Hate is a function of fear. That is all. For this, the onus is on all of us and on the refugees themselves, struggling as they are to learn a foreign language and foreign ways and deal with trauma and isolation, to dispel the fear and make common ground. And that common ground is one that requires dialogue and good neighbours.
Out there in the world, law enforcement is facing the results of what happens when fear rules. This is an undeniable fact although it is denied. The level of frustration, anger and concern is palpable because these are men and women who have put their lives on the line to protect the public. And the general public does not know what they know. And they are burning out, leaving, if not committing suicide. Their reaction is understandable because it is not discussed in the public arena in a meaningful way. Their hands are tied and they have no place for honesty. And by not being discussed or faced then how can there be solutions? It is not up to the media nor the politicians to silence reality. Reality is what it is. No amount of social engineering or positive thinking can replace honest dialogue. The onus belongs to those who can see a better way and that includes overcoming fear to bridge the gap. I believe it is possible. It requires good will from both sides. How do we make it different this time? That is a question I put to the politicians, the law enforcement agencies, the refugees themselves and we ourselves.
No amount of arrogance; of race, religion, class need be tolerated from any of us on any side. When it comes to human to human relations, one is no greater than the other. We are all in this together. How do we make it different this time?
It is important to understand that the Syrian refugees are just that--refugees. They are not immigrants in that sense. These are refugees fleeing from a country in ruins. They had no choice. They are uprooted, displaced and dispersed far from family and what they knew, running from a horrible situation. Why are they refugees in the first place is a question best left to others to determine. Canadians saw an influx of refugees during and after the Second world war. One of its sad realities is that the children of these refugees often were subjected to being raised by traumatized and alienated parents. It became for many a source of great suffering through the generations. How do we make it different this time?
One thing is clear: Politics will not solve this problem. If anything, in this political climate, it is creating greater divides than need be. Polarized as it is. This is a people problem. This is a neighbour to neighbour problem. If a person is hated, they learn only to hate. Hate is a function of fear. That is all. For this, the onus is on all of us and on the refugees themselves, struggling as they are to learn a foreign language and foreign ways and deal with trauma and isolation, to dispel the fear and make common ground. And that common ground is one that requires dialogue and good neighbours.
Out there in the world, law enforcement is facing the results of what happens when fear rules. This is an undeniable fact although it is denied. The level of frustration, anger and concern is palpable because these are men and women who have put their lives on the line to protect the public. And the general public does not know what they know. And they are burning out, leaving, if not committing suicide. Their reaction is understandable because it is not discussed in the public arena in a meaningful way. Their hands are tied and they have no place for honesty. And by not being discussed or faced then how can there be solutions? It is not up to the media nor the politicians to silence reality. Reality is what it is. No amount of social engineering or positive thinking can replace honest dialogue. The onus belongs to those who can see a better way and that includes overcoming fear to bridge the gap. I believe it is possible. It requires good will from both sides. How do we make it different this time? That is a question I put to the politicians, the law enforcement agencies, the refugees themselves and we ourselves.
No amount of arrogance; of race, religion, class need be tolerated from any of us on any side. When it comes to human to human relations, one is no greater than the other. We are all in this together. How do we make it different this time?
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