So as if life in Québec
is ever simple, in the last few months it has been getting more and more
difficult for minorities, ethnics, Anglos or anyone else who doesn’t fit into
the mold of what is deemed to be a true “Québécois”. Born and raised here I
have always been proud of Québec’s uniqueness and openness towards people from
all over the world. But as of late, I have been feeling quite unwanted... :( This
breaks my heart because this is the only home I have ever known. I love the
diversity of this gorgeous province and all that it has to offer but I find
myself wondering if I maybe should have left Québec for Ontario a long while
ago...... Bills, language laws, and now a values charter have brought the worst
out in everyone.
A recent viral video
of a man harassing a woman wearing a hijab on a bus has left me angry and
disgusted. I never expected people could be so horrible (and I’m sure there is
more to come). Telling people they haven’t integrated into Québec society and
that they should go back home. How is it that communities like the Greek,
Italian, Armenian, Jewish etc. have been able to leave their home countries and
come here and not only integrate into Canadian and Québec society, but continue
to grow their own traditions and cultures here, without compromising those of
Quebecers? Maybe it’s time for Quebecers to lay the blame where it
belongs....to themselves! If the French language and Québec religion and
culture is not thriving here or at risk of being lost, it is not because of the
immigrants here. Maybe Quebecers haven’t put much effort into growing that
aspect of their lives?? Maybe it’s easier to complain that some Arab took your
job then to actually admit that he was happy for the opportunity to go to
school and worked harder to rise above everyone around him....maybe harder than
some Québec kid who grew up hating going to school?
I think that we are
not seeing the real picture; we are amongst the luckiest people in the world.
Born in a country where we are free to do as we want, become want we want. We
have opportunities and choice. We can work, go to school, or even sit on our
ass and collect welfare! Most immigrants coming here have not been so lucky.
Imagine being a mother with 4 kids, no job, no food, living in poverty, without
any opportunities, day in and day out. Imagine being a preteen, 12 years old,
but instead of dreaming of one direction, you’re trying to run away from the
bombs falling out of the sky. Imagine being an 8 year old girl and not being
allowed to go to school because education isn’t necessary to be a wife and
mother. Imagine being a 25 year old man, fresh out of university looking for a
job, any job, to help put food on the table to feed your parents and 5 other
siblings.
Immigrants who are
lucky enough to get accepted by Canada and Quebec want nothing more than to
live peacefully and to be allowed all the freedoms and opportunities that we
Canadians were lucky enough to be born into.
Immigration is what Canada and Québec are all about. That’s what our
country is built on. Where did it all go wrong? When I was a young kid growing
up, I never ever questioned a turban on the head or wondered why a woman wore a
hijab. We are a multi ethnic and multi cultural society and have been very
successful at it. Why now is all this
hatred coming out? Most of us are educated enough to know and accept the
cultures, religions and traditions of others. We know that fundamentally we are
all the same. We are all human, we all deserve the same rights and freedoms and
most importantly respect and understanding.
This Values Charter,
so far, has divided us instead of unite us, as our politicians would like to
mention every chance they get on the media. Why and how is our Québec culture
threatened by a bank worker or a nurse or a daycare employee wearing a turban
or hijab? Why must we hide our crosses and mask our beliefs? Why must we be so
focused on what makes us different instead of focusing on how our values are
pretty much the same? I can understand neutrality in the police force, in the
justice system, but a 3 year old just wants to get a hug from her caregiver,
with or without a hijab on. A patient in the hospital, suffering and in pain,
really doesn’t care which god his doctor prays to, his only concern is to get
better.
Somehow in 2013, it’s
obvious to me that we need more religion and spirituality in our lives. Taking
it out of our schools, our government buildings, and now our hospitals,
daycares, etc, is not the answer. Part of the problem with our Québec culture
is that the people denounced their affiliation with the Catholic Church many
years ago. I think we should be encouraging religion and opening up our minds
and hearts and learn about others instead of pushing the unknown away. Maybe we
will all end up learning something. We would definitely get a better
understanding of respect and tolerance of our neighbors.
