Srijana

“Whatever we are is good. Our clothes are good, our food is good, our language is good.”

Srijana is a junior from Vaughan, Canada. Her parents were used to moving around in the Middle East for work but finally decided to settle in Canada in 2010 for Srijana’s education.

“They had the resume, they didn’t have any obstacles in that sense, it’s just the fact that being a new immigrant, neither one of them had a job for multiple months. But we were living with people at the time. So it was just them unemployed, and then expenses with me being there and everything. That, I know was an extremely tense time. But luckily, I think after, it was a couple months into the whole ‘phase’ I think, within two weeks, both my parents got their jobs and things slowly started to get back and settled. But for them, coming here was busy…I don’t think they liked talking about it that much. ‘Cause I can imagine it wasn’t that good to remember being completely new. I can’t imagine there were that many good memories at all.”

The immigration had been a difficult start for her family, as they lived at a friend’s house while busily searching for employment, despite their excellent credentials. Although tense and hectic, her family found enjoyment in the simplest forms and tried to make the best of their situation.

“Obviously, no money, so we couldn’t go out and do anything, right? So I remember my mom saying,  just for fun, all three of us would go on the bus sometimes, go all the way down to wherever the end stop is, and then just come all the way back. So we were just riding on the bus for amusement, ‘cause we couldn’t do anything else.”

Srijana’s family’s story is an example and a reminder that there will always be a silver lining in every struggle and even little moments can become a beautiful and vivid memory. 

Even as a child, she knew she was inherently different culturally and ethnically from many of the other kids around her. She looks up to popular Toronto, Canadian social media influencer, Natasha Thasan, who is also unapologetically proud of and unafraid of displaying her culture. As a pioneer of contemporary and unconventional ways of draping her sarees—a traditional South Asian garment elaborately draped around a body—she shows her passion for her heritage and is a role model for many. Srijana has adopted the same love for the traditions in her homeland while yearning for an ethnic community of her own.

“I miss a community, in the sense of—this is off topic, but relevant, there’s not that many Bengali Canadians here. And, even if there are, my parents haven’t really reached out and connected with that. And I have a lot of friends who are Tamil, and their communities are always really tight-knit, and I, I can’t lie, I’m really jealous of that. I’m really jealous of just having people my own age that I can connect to in that way, that I can speak Bengali with.”

In addition to her love for her culture and longing for cultural inclusion, she often notices a tense division between immigrants in Canada. There’s a contrast between the different generations of Indian immigrants, from those currently or recently coming to Canada, and those who came around her parents’ time—and a disdain for new immigrants that permeates through some in her community. In India, the Canadian dream is so popularized that many are willing to give up their lives back home and come to North America with almost nothing.

There is a common belief that the way Indians are chasing this Canadian dream has gradually transformed from assimilating into the country and earning money, to simply being able to be in the country itself. This vision is shared amongst many older immigrants who had assimilated into the country and strived for their success and view younger immigrants as less hardy in striving for success. This assumption has created conflict and strong waves of opposition to the acceptance of immigrants in Canada—even by those who have experienced immigration themselves. As a first-generation Canadian, Srijana sees this issue first-hand and finds it an obstacle to a holistic and integrative cultural community and its reputation in Canada overall.

This idea is prevalent in every ethnic community that was formed historically through immigration, and even more so in Canada, a country that has fostered multiculturalism and ethnic diversity for decades. Although the concept of new immigrants vs. old immigrants and the lack of adaptation of new immigrants in the Western world is popular, numerous studies have shown that this is all but a myth. Based on Alex Nowrasteh’s research in the Cato Institute, he points out three sources proving that new immigrations are adapting to their new environments much more thoroughly than their historic counterparts. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) reported in 2015 through its book, The Integration of Immigrants in American Society, that intermarriage has become more common. It is a sign of strong assimilation (Nowrasteh 3-4). A historical comparison also proves that with globalization and media, naturalization and English proficiency have only improved in every new wave of immigration.