Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Does everyone know how immigration works?

Sometimes I read about immigrant parents who aren't happy that their kids are assimilating into the new culture, or I read about how there are parenting courses specifically for immigrant parents to deal with this, and I always wonder "Didn't they see this coming?"

I just occurred to me: maybe they didn't see this coming?

I think it's obvious to us here in North America. We all know first generation immigrants, and most of us know exactly when our families came over. We all know that the first generation will work jobs below their education level and always speak with an accent, we all know the second generation will overachieve and assimilate more than their parents are comfortable with and serve as the family interpreters, we all know that the third generation will never be fluent in the mother tongue (unless they're language geeks) and rebel slightly against their parents' work ethic and reach the family's maximum assimilation threshold by adulthood. This is so obvious to us that it doesn't even bear mentioning.

But do people know this in countries that don't have a tradition of receiving immigrants? Or are they going into this situation with no idea of what to expect?

I don't know the answer. I'm second generation myself (second-and-a-half if you count that way) so I have no frame of reference. Maybe it's a stupid question, maybe it's an insulting question, but I'm completely ignorant here.

3 comments:

laura k said...

It's an excellent question.

I was talking to a cab driver last night - rather, I was listening to a cab driver babble on about his native Pakistan. Judging from what he said, I would say the answer to your question is no, they do not.

impudent strumpet said...

I wonder if there's a way to do awareness for that before people even commit to immigrating. Some people talk about it froma more closed-minded perspective, the whole "OMG CANADIAN VALUES!" thing. But if there was a way tto do it more gently, a sort of "Here's what to expect to happen to yourself and your children and their children, so you can decide whether this is the right decision for your family." But they'd need to overcome the parental "MY child would NEVER do that!" reflex.

laura k said...

But they'd need to overcome the parental "MY child would NEVER do that!" reflex.

Right. Plus the forces propelling them to consider immigration are probably very strong. Their desire to get out, plus the "my child would never do that" reflex, would likely overide any future worries. The present is real - the future is just a possibility.