The experience of immigrating and integrating into Canada is usually different for various Syrian immigrants. Most of the Syrian immigrants who have settled in Canada in the last couple of years have always faced different challenges especially during their first year of settling. Nonetheless, a few others have been able to adjust fast to their new environment and surrounding in Canada. In this respect, such immigrants have shown positive progress with regard to integration to the Canadian communities where they are actively involved in various community programs. However, it is worth noting that majority of Syrian immigrants that continue to arrive into Canada still require time and support for them to integrate fully into the Canadian community and adapt to different life in their new destination. Several players are involved in assisting Syrian immigrants seeking to integrate into Canada. Some of these players include the organizations that are in charge of service provision and supportive social networks among others. Such supportive groups assist immigrants in getting essential information as well as the steps and procedures that are necessary for their integration. Additionally, the immigrants are provided with opportunities to acquire crucial cultural information and knowledge, relevant language skills, jobs, and housing as well as emotional support (Raphael, 2016).
Literature Review
Klein, Dimant, and Bene (2011) observe that Canada started entertaining refugees and immigrants from Syria following the declaration of a promise to have more than 20,000 Syrian refugees resettled by the federal Liberal government that had been newly elected in Canada. An undertaking followed this promise from the civil servants and citizens to try to do everything within their abilities to assist the immigrants to integrate into their communities and cultures. However, the government fell short of meeting its timeline in settling the Syrian refugees but eventually it managed to meet its target of settling at least 20,000 refugees thereby giving the opportunity to integrate into Canada. Previously, integration of Syrian immigrants into Canada has been taking a rather extended duration, which is largely attributable to most of the problems, and challenges that the immigrants carry along with them. In addition, some community organizations have been overwhelmed by the needs and expectations of most of these Syrian immigrants. For example, some of the legitimate concerns of these immigrants have clearly overburdened such organizations to the extent that they have found themselves ignoring critical concerns such as security measures. To this extent, Grubel and Vancouver (2009) explain that Syrian immigrants are still faced with serious integration challenges that have made it largely difficult for them to adapt and come with new life experiences in Canada.
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According to the findings made by Nail (2015), the understanding of local cultures as well as learning the art of communicating in the local language is part of some crucial steps towards integration of Syrians immigrants into Canada. In this regard, the immigrants seeking to settle in Canada would be expected to learn to communicate effectively in English language. In some cases, they would be required to learn the art of communication in French language. However, thousands of immigrants from Syria to Canada in the last couple of years have found it extremely challenging to integrate and settle down due to their inability to understand the local language or learn to communicate using the local language. It is important to note that the Canadian government has attempted to address this challenge by coming up with government-sponsored languages programs and courses mainly targeting refugees and immigrants. The statistics provided by Mazigh (2012) indicate that close to 5,300 immigrants from Syria have been able to enroll in government-sponsored language programs and courses out of a possible 28,000 population that has immigrated into Canada for the last couple of years. As such, the number of immigrants who have managed to enroll for programs meant to improve the communication skills in local languages is a representation of less than 25% of the total number that was initially targeted by the federal government.
Research Question
To what extent has there been effectiveness and success in the process of integrating Syrian immigrants into Canada?
Justification of the Topicality of this Question
The topicality of this question is relevant and crucial in the sense that it attempts to interrogate and critically examine the role of Canada in handling Syrian immigrants. It is worth noting that the war and conflict in Syria has led to the emergence of one of the largest immigration and refugee crisis experienced around the globe in recent times. Syrians have not just been forced to flee for safety and reprieve in neighboring cities and villages but some have had to leave their country with the hope of settling in a safe refuge. In this regard, the research question is provides opportunity for the exploration of conceptual and practical perspectives about the relevant issues affecting the integration of immigrants and refugees from Syria into the Canadian society (Patterson, 2016).
Body
The first surge of immigrants’ arrivals into Canada from Syria was fuelled fundamentally through private means that were already under consideration by the previous conservative administration. The perspective presented by Endicott (2017) clearly indicates that in some instances, integration of immigrants into Canada has been facilitated by the existence of family ties and family networks between the Syrians and the Canadians. Such ties have proved to be advantageous to most immigrants in the quest to quickly adapt and settle down in their new environment of operation or social surrounding. Such a provided groups of immigrants have the tendency of obtaining better medical services, quality education, and higher economic status, which are critical for their swift integration into the Canadian society. On the other hand, the refugees and immigrants who are fully relying on the government are typically identified and selected based on their different humanitarian needs. Such needs often education and social challenges for the immigrants in the course of integrating into the local communities since they have a tendency of taking a long duration to be established and acquired.
According to the observations made by Bonifacio and Drolet (2017), Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are some of the largest cities in Canada that have always attracted the highest numbers of Syrian immigrants. As such, it is largely expected that these three cities will continue to experience an influx of refugees and immigrants from Syria. Moreover, the three cities have the largest population of Syrian-Canadian residents as well as some effective sponsorships and programs that play a critical role in providing the infrastructure of integration of newly arriving immigrants. Integration of the Syrian immigrants into the Canadian culture and communities has not been a smooth and easy affair due to numerous hiccups experienced in the course of the integration process. For instance, there have been complications associated with the attempts to accommodate and resettle families from Syria that are typically larger than the Canadian ones. More than 1,200 families from Syria comprise of eight or more individuals thus making it difficult for them to find rental houses or residences in big cities that are often crowded. Various social perspectives of Syrians immigrants have been cited as some of the reasons that contributed significantly to the low number of enrolment in learning local languages.
One of such social perspectives is the preference by Syrian immigrants to walk to different places rather than boarding public transits. Others are still adamant about replacing Arabic language with English language when it comes to going about their studies and schoolwork. Other reasons and factors that considerable contributed to making it much difficult for the immigrants from Syria to integrate into Canada include the illnesses and diseases that they carry with them from their home country. In this case, it becomes difficult for them to receive the necessary medical attention to issues of registration and clearance from the relevant Canadian authorities. Other Syrian immigrants have been living in Canada without permanent or stable forms of housing or supportive welfare programs thus they have experienced a very slow progress with regard to integration into Canada and the Canadian culture. Unusually young individuals characterize the Syrian immigrant population. Slightly less than half of this population comprises of young people who are under the age of 18 years who are essentially expecting to integrate to the Canada for them to benefit significantly from the public education system. In this case, social integration and language instruction are usually among the primary goals and objectives of the immigrants falling in this age category (Raphael, 2016).
Ostrand (2015) observes that the number of male refugees and immigrants from Syria to Canada is slightly higher than that of female. Initially, the liberal government was categorical that it was not going to pay more attention to assisting single male immigrants and refugees in processing their registration in Canada because of the associated security concerns. The explanation presented by Grubel and Vancouver (2009) indicates that linguistic, cultural and religious factors are the ones that are commonly associated with the process of ensuring that there is an effective integration of the immigrants from Syria into Canada. In terms of health concerns, hundreds of thousands of children in Syria have ended up developing toxic stress disorder brought about by war experiences. This particular health condition has also gone to the extent of affecting most of the immigrants seeking refuge in Canada where some of them have even attempted to commit suicide. A review of the wellbeing of the children involved in Syrian wars and conflicts has been able to reveal that there were negative psychological effects on virtually all children. By extension, most of the refugees immigrating into Canada from Syria either have experienced or have been diagnosed with mental health conditions.
In most cases, Syrian families have been ripped apart in the process of the family members trying to flee from adverse conditions and seek refuge in Canada. This situation often results in high levels of anxieties experienced by those who manage to manage to acquire refuge thus derailing their process of adaptation and integration into their new environments. The findings made by Nail (2015) bring about a different perspective with regard to the manner in which the process of Syrian integration into Canada is influenced. In this regard, the observations made indicate that racism against the Syrian refugees significantly contributes towards making it difficult, if not impossible, for the Syrian immigrant to settle down and fully integrate into the Canadian society. Racism has the ability to cause adverse effects on the psychological and emotional wellbeing of immigrants who are trying to settle and adapt to a new environment or integrate into a new social system. Some of the immigrants from Syria into Canada have found themselves in situations where they have been forced to deal with discrimination from certain institutions, organizations, companies or individuals in Canada thus making them feel that they do not belong in the Canadian social setup. Bonifacio and Drolet (2017) indicate that racism leaves a toll on an individual psychologically especially considering that such an individual is a migrant who is seeking to integrate into new surroundings.
Hollifield, Martin, and Orrenius (2014) identified certain requirements and factors that would be associated with successful integration of Syrian Immigrants and refugees into Canada. Some of these requirements included offering specialized health and medical services to those immigrants who were ailing or suffering various conditions such as mental health issues as well as offering programs aimed at training immigrants about communicating in local languages. Others would include quality and relevant education and training, offering employment and job opportunities to the immigrants as well as coming up with special programs such as those focusing on prevention of gender violence or gender discrimination. Another important consideration for a full and successful integration of these immigrants into the Canadian culture would entail coming up with a program aimed at facilitating the bringing of family member of various refuges to Canada. Canada has managed to play a critical role in responding to the humanitarian emergencies that have become evident in Syria following continued instances of conflicts and wars.
The integration of the Syrian refugees into Canada has been viewed as a complex and delicate undertaking by some researchers. As such, the efficient and effective execution of such an undertaking calls for coordination among various organizations and government bodies. The initiative to integrate refugees from Syria by the Canadian government is something that involves high levels of planning as well as allocation of the appropriate resources. Arvisais (2015) contends that governments agencies in Canada failed to anticipate the mental health conditions and psychological problems that would be faced by Syrian immigrants courtesy of the war experiences in the home country. However, efforts towards speedy and effective integration of have managed to ensure that medical practitioners and social service providers are discharging their duties effectively to attend to the various health and social concerns raised by the immigrants. Moreover, various communities and bodies within Canada have been able to respond positively in providing the necessary care and cultural support to the refugees from Syria.
In conclusion, the process of integrating Syrian immigrants into Canada has been marred with a myriad of concerns that have played a significant role in determining its effectiveness and success. It is worth noting that even though the Canadians have expressed their willingness and readiness to welcome and accommodate immigrants from Syria, a lot of things still need to be done to facilitate a smooth integration where possible. At the very least, the Canadian society through its government is expected to allocate the sufficient resources that are required in executing the programs aimed at facilitating integration of the Syrian immigrants. Considering that the ability to communicate using French language or English language is a fundamental requirement for one to participate effectively in the affairs of the Canadian society, the process of integrating Syrian immigrants into Canada should put more emphasis on funding the training programs for these languages. Moreover, it is imperative for the concerned government bodies and authorities to develop and offer additional programs to the immigrants with the aim of addressing their unique challenges such as psychological and emotional issues. Finally, the realization of a successful integration of the Syrian refugees into the Canadian social system calls for all the relevant stakeholders including the Canadian government to develop immigration policies that will have long-term benefits to both the immigrants and the Canadian citizens.
References
Arvisais, O. (2015). Schooling in Canada for Young Refugees. Perspectives on society through scholarly journals, 6 (2). Retrieved from
https://salons.erudit.org/en/2017/09/07/schooling-in-canada-for-young-refugees/
Bonifacio, G. T., & Drolet, J. (2017). Canadian perspectives on immigration in small cities . [Cham] : Springer
Endicott, R. (2017). The Economic Integration of Canada's Refugees: Understanding the Issues with Canada's Approach. MA Research Paper. 12. Retrieved from http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/sociology_masrp/12
Grubel, H. G., & Vancouver, B.C. (2009). The effects of mass immigration on Canadian living standards and society . Vancouver: Fraser Institute.
Hollifield, J. F., Martin, P. L., & Orrenius, P. M. (2014). Controlling immigration: A global perspective . Stanford, California: Stanford University Press
Klein, R., Dimant, F., & Bene B. (2011). From immigration to integration: The Canadian Jewish experience. Toronto: Institute for International Affairs, B'nai Brith Canada.
Mazigh, M. (2012). Promoting healthy integration of Syrian children into schools. The Journal of Canadian Family Physician, 62(4) . Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4830655/
Nail, T. (2015). The figure of the migrant . Stanford, California: Stanford University Press
Ostrand, N. (2015). The Syrian Refugee Crisis. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 3 (3). Retrieved from https:// www.migrationpolicy.org
Patterson, W. (2016). Syrian Refugees in Canada. The Journal of Public Health Agency of Canada, 42 (2). Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phacaspc/migration/phac-aspc/publicat/ccdr-rmtc/16vol42/dr-rm42s2/assets/pdf/16vol42s-2-eng.pdf
Raphael, D. (2016). Immigration, public policy, and health: Newcomer experiences in developed nations . Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press
