“I Am Canadian”: Challenging Stereotypes about Young Somali Canadians.... IRPP STUDY--JANUARY 2013

[LayZie G.]

Summary

 

This study challenges the perceptions that the Somali Canadian community has failed to an unusual degree to integrate into the wider society; that this is the fault of the community itself; and, moreover, that this supposed failure represents a threat to Canadian security because of suggestions that some Somali Canadian youth have been lured to the radical extremism of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab movement in southern Somalia, and because some have become involved in drug trafficking and street violence.

 

 

Drawing on her previous research and some 40 in-depth interviews with young Somali Canadians, Rima Berns-McGown finds that most of these youth self-identify as Canadian and want very much to be a part of this country, which they see as their home. They also, and not in contradiction, feel strongly Muslim and Somali. Extensive quotations from the interviews provide insights about these multiple identities. To the extent that integration involves the identification of newcomers with their adopted home, most of these young Somalis appear to be integrating well.

 

 

But integration is a two-way street: it entails the willingness of new Canadians to embrace their new home and — equally significantly — the willingness of the wider society to lower the barriers to their becoming active and productive members of their adopted home. And in that regard, many young Somali Canadians encounter significant roadblocks that are not conducive to integration or social cohesion. These include systematic, institutional racism on the part of schools, police and intelligence agencies, and the media. In light of the significant challenges the Somali Canadian community has faced, the author’s assessment is that its achievements have been quite extraordinary.

 

 

Berns-McGown found no widespread or significant support for al-Shabaab or any other organi- zation that threatens the public safety of Canadians, and she maintains that characterizations of the community as disengaged and a security threat are unwarranted and deeply problematic.

 

 

The author concludes that social cohesion would be much better served by addressing the spe- cific challenges Somali Canadians continue to face, rather than stigmatizing the community and contributing to the criminalization of its youth. She offers proposals for school boards, law- enforcement agencies, federal and provincial governments, and the media, among them targeted supports for Somali Canadian youth and ways to address institutional barriers and ste- reotyping. According to Berns-McGown, these measures could both enhance Somali Canadians’ inclusion in the wider society and foster a balanced approach to public safety issues within the diverse, diasporic space that is Canada.

 

Excerpts from the sample interviews:

 

'I think of myself first as Muslim. That’s what I am. Then would come Somali, but it’s not that I’m not nationalistic. It’s just something you are. Somali culture is Islamic. It’s been a part of us for so long. Even if you’re not religious you won’t eat pork and you will cover up'. (Layla)

 

 

 

'I am a Muslim person, then a Somali and Canadian. To me religion is the primary part of my identity; religion and culture are interwoven together'. (Abdurahman)

 

 

 

'I am Muslim first, then Somali. In every culture there are people who follow Islam. Being religious is not about

being more Somali; if anything Somali cultural practice interferes with religion'. (Farhia)

 

 

'I have a religious heritage from grandparents, which I’ve held on to. Out of my family I’m the most religious by

leaps and bounds. I practise differently from them; I’m a lot more observant and aware of it. I’m more

conservative than my brothers. I follow religious doctrine and apply it to certain life situations. I use it as a

moral compass. I’ve always done this, even in high school — where there were almost no other Muslims'.

(Osman)

 

'I consider myself very religious, although I don’t cover or pray. I think of being Somali as being equivalent to

being Muslim'. (Amina)

 

Read more....http://www.irpp.org/pubs/IRPPstudy/IRPP_Study_no38.pdf

 

 

About the author:

 

Dr. Rima Berns-Mcgown specializes in Diaspora & Transnational Studies and History. Her her book, entitled, 'Muslims in the Diaspora: The Somali Communities of London and Toronto," was published by the University of Toronto Press in 1999.

 

 

Source:

Berns-McGown, Rima. 2013. “I Am Canadian”: Challenging Stereotypes about Young Somali Canadians. IRPP Study 38. Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy.

[GaraadMon]

Why do all these studies make it appear as if the Somali diaspora is unique? There are countless other groups who have fled civil war and are now flourishing here. The Hmong are an excellent example as their community in Canada was riddled with crime and unemployment but they've turned it around in the last 20 years. We don't exist in a vacuum and the benefits of that is that we can observe the successes and failures of other communities in Canada.

 

I guess there is cause for celebration as we no longer have the lowest graduation rates in Toronto, Spanish-speaking students do:

 

TDSB 2011 Cohorts

[Nin-Yaaban]

Blackflash;910601 wrote:

 

I guess there is cause for celebration as we no longer have the lowest graduation rates in Toronto, Spanish-speaking students do:

 

TDSB 2011 Cohorts

Wow, there are Mexicans up there too? There goes the neighborhood.

[GaraadMon]

Nin-Yaaban;910608 wrote:

Wow, there are Mexicans up there too? There goes the neighborhood.

We have more of a mixed bag here in Canada. They're Guatemalan, Colombian, Argentine etc. I've met a few in my neighbourhood and I've always wondered why their countries could be so violent when they seem to be the nicest people on the planet.

[Nin-Yaaban]

Blackflash;910609 wrote:

We have more of a mixed bag here in Canada. They're Guatemalan, Colombian, Argentine etc. I've met a few in my neighbourhood and I've always wondered why their countries could be so violent when they seem to be the nicest people on the planet.

Just wait until they start breeding and setting up gangs. Then you'll see how nice and polite the illegal Mexicans are. Some drunk Mexican stabbed this Somali kid few yrs back because the Qashin said he hated Mayetes.

[Alpha Blondy]

Canadians,

 

can you please provide a brief summary of your experiences of being a Canadian and living in Canada?

 

maybe include the following:

 

1. your lived experiences in relation to accessing public services, education, employment etc?

2. feelings of loyalty to Canada?

3. how inclusive do you feel in canadian society?

4. race and integration - are Canadian values consistent with being a Somali, Black, Muslim....?

 

cheers,

 

Al.

[underdog]

Nin-Yaaban;910618 wrote:

Just wait until they start breeding and setting up gangs.

Isn't that what people are thinking/saying about Somalis everywhere?

[Wadani]

I was interveiwed by the Prof who did this study, but I was dissappointed to see that she didn't quote me in her work despite the gems I dropped on her. Had I known my time and effort would have been in vain I would've at least had her pay for a cab ride home haha.

[Nin-Yaaban]

underdog;910624 wrote:

Isn't that what people are thinking/saying about Somalis everywhere?

Somalis don't commit anywhere near the crimes the Mexicans get arrested for. If you have lived among Spanish speaking illegals for a while, than you'd really know Somalis are no where close to them or hated as much.

[underdog]

I was implying YOU sound as racist as David Duke

[Nin-Yaaban]

underdog;910630 wrote:

I was implying YOU sound as racist as David Duke

Just what I observed from working, living among Spanish people sxb. Of course they are not all bad or illegals. But they def don't do anything to fight the stereotypes either.

[Alpha Blondy]

Wadani;910625 wrote:

I was interveiwed by the Prof who did this study, but I was dissappointed to see that she didn't quote me in her work despite the gems I dropped on her. Had I known my time and effort would have been in vain

I would've at least had her pay for a cab ride home haha

.

based on this admission alone, we can assume with some certainty, Somali-Canadians are still largely dependent on the whites for handouts in meeting Millenium Development Goals. what's more, it can also be deduced with some level of accuracy, these high levels of dependency go beyond the social sphere but may also provide an explanation as to the high crime rates among Canada's impoverished Somali community. still a community in a state of flux: unsettled, neglected and fragmented in both attitude and orientation, Somali-Canadians are a long way away from achieving the ''Canadian dream''

[Wadani]

Alpha Blondy;910640 wrote:

based on this admission alone, we can assume with some certainty Somali-Canadians, are still largely dependent on the whites for handouts in survival. what's more, it can also be deduced with some level of accuracy, that these high levels of dependency go beyond the social sphere but also provide an explanation as to the high crime rates among Canada's impoverished Somali community. still a community in a state of flux: unsettled, neglected and fragmented in both attitude and orientation, Somali-Canadians are a long way away from achieving the ''Canadian dream''

Alpha, first of all I was joking and second of all at the time I was a broke student. Alhamdulillah i've graduated now and have a solid career. And besides there was never a 'Canadian dream' in the same way people speak of the 'American dream'. America has always been, before the economic downturn that is, the greater land of opportunity compared to it's neighbour up north. But overall Canada does afford one myriad paths to success if they have the know-how and drive to to take advantage of them.

[GaraadMon]

Nin-Yaaban;910618 wrote:

Just wait until they start breeding and setting up gangs. Then you'll see how nice and polite the illegal Mexicans are. Some drunk Mexican stabbed this Somali kid few yrs back because the Qashin said he hated Mayetes.

They don't congregate in to neighbourhoods like they do in the U.S and we get very few of the illegals here in Canada. It's similar to the differences between Indians/Pakistanis in the U.S and Canada.

[Wadani]

Blackflash;910648 wrote:

They don't congregate in to neighbourhoods like they do in the U.S and we get very few of the illegals here in Canada. It's similar to the differences between Indians/Pakistanis in the U.S and Canada.

What are the differences between the indo-paks in Canada vs the U.S.?