Current national statistics about immigrant and refugee families in Canada reveal that there is a significant living therein. Canada divides immigrants into three major groups. These are family class, refugees and independent immigrants. Family class immigrants are those that have close relatives residing in Canada.
Independent immigrants refer to those allowed to stay in Canada because of their skills, health or age. Current statistics show that in the year 2008 there were approximately 21, 900 refugees. In this case, the refuge families were approximated to be thirteen thousands one hundred. This is considering the fact that the previous figures included young unmarried men and ladies who are not single parents.
During the same period, the family class had approximately 65, 600 people and this consisted of approximately forty five thousand families. Independent immigrants totaled to 150, 072 and they had a total of seventy two five hundred families. The census statistics show that most of the immigrant families are from United Kingdom, china and India and the least from Taiwan and Greece.
There are various challenges or issues that refugee and immigrant families in Canada go through. They still face some form of discrimination from natives. Refugees and immigrants find it quite hard to adjust to new culture. This is very evident among immigrant and refugee families from other nations apart from western nations. They find it quite difficult to adjust to new social life. This is more so to the families that immigrated to Canada after staying in their native countries for quite along time.
They go through so much economic pressure where they have to work extra hard to manage decent living. This is very common among refugee families. It was also noted that some of the immigrant and refugee families go through break ups as some men and women find new Canadian partners. This is quite perennial for partners who find richer Canadian spouses. Other issues that were noted among refugee and immigrant families were radical changes among the roles spouses. This leads to complex social changes within the families of immigrants and refugees.
Research also shows that immigrant and refugee families go through so much marital conflicts that emanate from issues of employment and wages. Most immigrants have feelings of failure as far as this issue is concerned. Another common aspect that is challenging to immigrant and refugee families is when family members become westernized. This is by embracing egalitarian gender relationships.
For instance, immigrant and refugee children tend to embrace aspects of lesbianism, homosexuality and gay marriages which may be detested in their culture. New immigrant and refugee fathers face challenges of unemployment and underemployment. Some of these families cannot speak English fluently and this hinders them to interact with other Canadian families hence some form of loneliness. They do not identify so much with natives culture and these results in a form of isolation.
Most of the refugee and immigrant families in Canada go through periods of separation from their family members. Immigrant and refugee families go through so many worries about their next of kin and property that they left behind. The degree highly relates to the reasons for moving to Canada. In cases of war and natural disasters, immigrant and refugee families go through so much stress as they ponder about the whereabouts of their friends and relatives. Refugee families also face issues of education. This is where they may not even know at what level the children should continue with their education. This is quite common in case where the education system from their country of origin is different from that in Canada. Other issues concern the weather and even adjustment to different diet.
Based on the issues above, a teacher in a child care environment can offer diverse support to this family. First of all, a teacher can simply try to befriend immigrant and refugee families. This can be initiated by meeting some of their needs where possible. A teacher can offer to teach immigrant and refugee families new language, give them books, so that the family members can quickly start interacting with the natives. He or she can also guide the family on what stage children can pick up their education and even direct them to relevant schools and institutions.
In case of family members that are changing or emulating new culture, a teacher can offer intensive guiding and counseling. This is to both the person in question and the rest of the family members. A teacher can educate refugee and immigrant families on how they need to dress etc to cope with the new weather.
In case of possibility o breakups as spouses look out for greener pastures, a teacher should guide and counsel them. This is such that the spouses stick to one another even in the toughest times. A teacher can help refugee and immigrant families to seek for information concerning their loved ones left in their nations. This is through calling them in case they have phones etc. In case this is not possible, a teacher should re-assure the families that all will be well.
A teacher can help unemployed immigrant and refugee family members to secure some employment that can help sustain them. In case this is not possible, he or she should link the families to organizations that help such families. The other best way to help such families is to help them link up with other refugee and immigrant families from their country or continent. This helps them feel at home and to learn quickly the coping mechanisms. These strategies will help enhance partnership between the family and the centre. There are various organizations that offer support to refugee and immigrant families. They include the following (Arnett, 1995)
Women For Women Refugees (WFWR)
Refugee Women and Children (RWC)
Calvary Immigrant Womens Association (CIWA)
Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization (OCISO)
In conclusion, immigrant and refugee families in Canada go through myriad issues. These range from weather issues and trying to adjust to new eating diets. Some refugees usually dont know how to speak neither English nor French. This makes them isolated and lonely. Many refugee and immigrant families also go through issues of unemployment and underemployment. A new environment puts so much economic pressure on these family units. Some family members try to imitate the western culture leading to conflicts. Other families separate as loved ones seek for greener pastures.
A teacher in a child care environment can support these families by helping them learn new language. He or she can also offer advice on which levels of education the children can join. One can also help them get employment in different organizations. Linking up these families with other immigrant and refugee families from their country of origin can help them adjust quickly. A teacher can also link the families to community based agencies that specifically deal with immigrant and refugee families. This can help to enhance partnership between the families and the center.
Categories:
0 comments:
Post a Comment