3. Processes which maintain ethnic diversity Learning outcomes By the end of this section, you should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of o the processes maintain ethnic diversity: discrimination and segregation; pluralism and, multiculturalism o the economic, social and spatial outcomes of these processes o know and understand how these process maintain ethnic diversity in Belfast Key Terms
A short detour into District 9... Check out the website where you’ll find more information, pictures and movie clips all about this film.
District 9 is a thought-provoking, sci-fi action movie which cleverly explores how easily discrimination, bias and segregation can inflame tensions between different groups. Although the movie is about humans and aliens, the fact that movie is set in South Africa, along with the very overt references to aspects of that country’s apartheid past, both draw very obvious parallels with ethnic discrimination and the attitudes that foster it.
By the way, the reason these photos of the movie’s viral advertising campaign are so poignant is that they are based very much in the not too distant past in South Africa and the USA. Check out the photos which follow.
A2 Ethnic Diversity - Lurgan College Geography Department
Various photographs of blatant discrimination in 1930s USA and in Apartheid era South Africa.
How might the things shown in these photographs help to maintain a strong sense of ethnic diversity in the societies they were used in?
A2 Ethnic Diversity - Lurgan College Geography Department
Once ethnic diversity has been created, a number of processes can operate which shape the way a society responds to ethnic contact. These processes may be summarised in the diagram below: Ethnic groups are brought into contact as a result of many different processes (as covered in section 2)
Different responses to pluralistic societies
Segregation & discrimination
Multiculturalism
Assimilation /integration
1. Pluralism When a country has a number of ethnic groups, it may be described as pluralist society. One of the consequences of such ethnic mixing might be the integration or assimilation of different ethnicities into the host country’s culture, as has been the case in the USA, a country made up almost entirely of immigrants. Indeed, many Americans identify their own ethnicity in a double-barreled manner: Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, African-Americans etc. They have kept something of their original identity, but this has been subsumed into the more significant new identity: American. The United States: "No other nation," Margaret Thatcher has said, "has so successfully combined people of different races and nations within a single culture." How have Americans succeeded in pulling off this almost unprecedented trick? We have always been a multiethnic country. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur, who came from France in the 18th century, marvelled at the astonishing diversity of the settlers -- "a mixture of English, Scotch, Irish, French, Dutch, Germans and Swedes . . . this promiscuous breed." He propounded a famous question: "What then is the American, this new man?" And he gave a famous answer: "Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men." The U.S. escaped the divisiveness of a multiethnic society by a brilliant solution: the creation of a brand-new national identity. The point of America was not to preserve old cultures but to forge a new, American culture. "By an intermixture with our people," President George Washington told Vice President John Adams, immigrants will "get assimilated to our customs, measures and laws: in a word, soon become one people." This was the ideal that a century later Israel Zangwill crystallized in the title of his popular 1908 play The Melting Pot. The new American nationality was inescapably English in language, ideas and institutions. The pot did not melt everybody, not even all the white immigrants; deeply bred racism put black Americans, yellow Americans, red Americans and brown Americans well outside the pale. Still, the infusion of other stocks, even of non-white stocks, and the experience of the New World reconfigured the British legacy and made the U.S., as we all know, a very different country from Britain.
ARTHUR SCHLESINGER JR., TIME MAGAZINE, 1991
A2 Ethnic Diversity - Lurgan College Geography Department
o
Using the resource on the previous page on pluralism in the USA to discuss the concept of the ethnic melting pot.
The extent to which pluralism maintains ethnic diversity within a country depends on the extent to which the ethnic groups can (or want to) assimilate into the destination country. Due to improved communications, many migrants can keep in close contact with those at home; many temporary migrants do not learn the language of their new country. The graphs below show information about the intentions of migrants from the A8 countries (i.e. _____ _________________________________________) in terms of how long they see themselves staying in the UK.
o
Briefly outline the patterns shown.
o
Discuss the potential consequences for assimilation based on your answer to the first question.
What are the consequences if assimilation doesn’t occur? And what processes might be operating within societies that tend to prevent it from happening? These are the issues to which we turn next.
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2. Discrimination This is defined as occurring when ethnic groups are subject to different – usually worse – treatment from other ethnic groups because of their ethnicity. Discrimination may be based on raw prejudice, or on attempts to deny the subservient ethnic group access to power or resources. This denial of rights may have consequences, as they may hinder access to education and employment, and may therefore result in the development of feelings of bitterness and resentment towards the ruling ethnic group.
3. Segregation This is the physical separation of ethnic groups. This may have happened because ethnic groups prefers to live close to those with whom they have most in common or it may have been enforced for security or economic reasons. The photo to the left shows a peace wall in Belfast (we’ll explore this in more detail in our case study). We also touched on this in section 1 when we looked at residential concentration in Leicester. What were some of the reasons why ethnic immigrant groups may be concentrated residentially? One of the most extreme examples of forced segregation was found in the Apartheid era in South Africa. Blacks, coloureds, Indians and whites were assigned to different parts of cities and rural areas, and led to the forced relocation of millions of people.
'Too white' towns are labelled unhealthy Professor Ted Cantle, who wrote the report on the 2001 riots in Bradford and Oldham, suggested people from ethnic minorities in some parts of the Midlands might not feel “safe and secure” living near predominantly white communities. Cantle, who has chaired a panel advising ministers on implementing the recommendations of his report, made the remarks in an interview about multiculturalism with a local newspaper last week. In an apparent reference to Heanor, a predominantly white town in the Amber Valley area of Derbyshire, Cantle said he was concerned about the strength of support for the far-right British National party in some parts of the East Midlands. He said: “If I was working in Nottingham, I’d be talking to black and ethnic minority communities about how free they feel to exercise choice over where they live, in particular where they feel safe and secure. Some of the neighbouring areas of Notts and Derbyshire do seem to be unhealthily all-white. There is some evidence to show they are hostile to black and ethnic minorities.” In February the BNP came second in a council by-election in Heanor. A few days later Channel Five dubbed it the “skinhead capital of Britain”. In his 2001 report on the riots in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham, Cantle identified communities living “parallel lives” and highlighted the polarisation of communities with different schools, estates and social lives. He said schools should change their catchment areas to attract a broader mix. At the time one in four primary schools in Bradford were more than 70% Asian while half were totally white. Cantle opposed single-faith and “monocultural” schools, but ministers ignored his advice. Last year Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, warned that unless steps were taken to promote deeper integration, segregation could reach the levels witnessed in New Orleans. He warned that Britain might be “sleepwalking to segregation”. Cantle’s remarks go further by describing parts of the country as “unhealthily” white, a phrase that critics said this weekend appeared to place the blame for ethnic tensions on the white community. Local people agree Heanor is predominantly white. But they deny they pose a threat to nonwhite communities. Brian Lucas, a Labour councillor for the nearby area of Cotmanhay, said: “I’m a big believer in people choosing where they live and not being pushed, guided or forced into an area.” http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article708407.ece
A2 Ethnic Diversity - Lurgan College Geography Department
(i) The article above describes segregation in British cities. Use the Resource to help you explain how and why such segregation can come about. (10)
(ii) The Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality claims that action is needed to promote deeper integration to preserve peace between the different racial groups. Discuss the extent to which you agree/disagree with this viewpoint. (4)
CCEA, January 2008
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4. Multiculturalism You will need to refer to the text book page 107, paragraphs 1 to 3 to help with the following o
What is meant by the term multiculturalism? (Hint: how does it differ from assimilation or integration?)
Study the following photograph, which shows Muslims in Britain exercising their rights within British society regarding freedom of expression – by burning Union Jack in protest. How should we respond to this in Britain? What headline do you think the Daily Express would publish alongside this image? Should we tolerate this in Britain? Is this a legitimate exercising of freedom of expression in a democratic society, or a sign of dangerous lack of integration of ethnic minorities?
Welcome to the controversial world of multiculturalism, an issue that has resulted in a variety of responses by different countries in Europe. Use the text book p107 and the internet to contrast the responses of the French and British governments. French approach to multiculturalism
British approach to multiculturalism
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A2 Ethnic Diversity - Lurgan College Geography Department
Extract 1: UK majority back multiculturalism The majority of British people think multiculturalism makes the country a better place, a BBC poll suggests. But 32% think it "threatens the British way of life" and 54% think "parts of the country don't feel like Britain any more because of immigration". The Mori poll for the BBC also suggests the 7 July bomb attacks have not led to an upsurge in racial intolerance.
WHICH STATEMENT IS CLOSEST TO YOUR VIEW?
Attitudes towards ‘Britishness’ The overwhelming majority of Muslims - 89% - said they feel proud when British teams do well in international competitions, a similar figure to the national population. And the survey suggests broad agreement between the Muslims and non-Muslims on immigrants being made to learn English and accept the authority of British institutions. Ben Page, director of Mori's social research institute, said: "The survey shows that despite 7/7, the majority of both white British people and Muslims share a common level of allegiance to Britain and its institutions and seem very tolerant of each other, in contrast to media reporting following the London bombing. They support the expulsion of those who promote terror, and the use of measures like house arrest, but both groups are more divided over any fundamental changes to civil liberties as a reaction to 7/7, such as trial without jury, or detention with trial."
Source: BBC/ MORI WHICH STATEMENT IS CLOSEST TO YOUR VIEW?
Attitudes towards ‘multiculturalism’ But the survey suggests a more "confused" attitude to the concept of multiculturalism, Mr Page added. Some 62% of the national population believe "multiculturalism makes Britain a better place to live", according to the poll. At the same time, 58% thought "people who come to live in Britain should adopt the values of and traditions of British culture". It also showed that people did not want a "multiculturalist policy" where some communities are encouraged to stay separate and shun integration, he said. Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights group Liberty, said the poll showed the terrorists and "race hate mongers" did not represent Britain. Those who thought it fashionable to bash multiculturalism should think again, she said. Among Muslims, 87% thought multiculturalism improved British society, but only 28% thought people coming from abroad should adopt British culture and values. Source: BBC/MORI Both groups disagreed strongly with the suggestion that the policy of multiculturalism had failed and should be abandoned. But on the issue of Muslim students wearing headscarves opinion was more divided, with 35% of non-Muslims saying they should be made to remove them, compared to 16% of Muslims. Only 2% of the national population described themselves as "very racially prejudiced", but Mr Page said the survey's other findings suggest a "substantial minority of British people are not tolerant". But a third said they thought Islam was "incompatible with the values of British democracy".
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Extract 2: Multiculturalism is compatible with Britishness PROFESSOR SIR BERNARD CRICK , Chair of the 'Life in the UK' report which led to the new citizenship tests I see no incompatibility between multiculturalism and Britishness. Britishness must be part of multiculturalism. In the report I chaired advocating language and citizenship education for immigrants, The New and the Old (2003), we said: "Who are we British? For a long time the UK has been a multicultural state composed of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and also a multicultural society... made up of a diverse range of cultures and identities, and one that emphasises the need for a continuous process of mutual engagement and learning about each other with respect, understanding and tolerance." In other words, dual identities have been common, even before large scale immigration. We further wrote: "To be British means that we respect the laws, the parliamentary and democratic political structures, traditional values of mutual tolerance, respect for equal rights..." But Britishness does not mean a single culture. Integration is the co-existence of communities and unimpeded movement between them, it is not assimilation. Britishness is a strong concept but not all embracing.
Extract 3: Britain 'must scrap multiculturalism' Race chief calls for change after 40 years
BRITAIN’s race relations chief last night called for the abandonment of the policy pursued by successive governments since the 1960s of building a “multicultural society”. Trevor Phillips, the chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, said that multiculturalism was out of date and no longer useful, not least because it encouraged “separateness” between communities. As British-born Muslims burnt the Union Jack on the streets of London yesterday, he said that there was an urgent need to “assert a core of Britishness” across society. In an interview with The Times, he said that multiculturalism — one of the founding principles of his own organisation — “means the wrong things”. He added: “We are now in a different world from the Sixties and Seventies. What we should be talking about is how we reach an integrated society, one in which people are equal under the law, where there are some common values.”
The Union Jack was burnt outside the Central Mosque in Regent’s Park, London, by a small group of Muslim extremists, who chanted: “UK, you will pay, bin Laden on his way.” Their protest dismayed the 2,000 Muslims who had attended the mosque for afternoon prayers.
He said that young Muslims were being indoctrinated by extremists who told them that they would never be part of this society because of their colour or religion. “The first thing we must do is call them British, again and again and again, tell them they are British Muslims and we accept them,” he said. However, the other half of the bargain was to demonstrate that being British meant that they had to “work by the rules of British people — and that excludes terrorism”. The Home Office has already launched citizenship ceremonies for British immigrants. It is also considering plans for “citizenship classes” to help them to integrate into society and learn the English language.
A2 Ethnic Diversity - Lurgan College Geography Department
Extract 4: The Muslim cleric who blames British mosques for the 7/7 bombings, says multiculturalism is a disaster and would throw Islamic fanatics out 'I will give ÂŁ5 to anyone in Britain who wants to live under Sharia law. It will help pay for their ticket to Sudan, Yemen, Pakistan, or wherever it is customary to live under Sharia law. Please, please go and leave us alone. This is Britain, not 10th century Arabia!' We are sitting in a bar, on a busy main road in Oxford. But the man before me is no stereotypical Islamophobe. Dr Taj Hargey is himself an Islamic cleric; perhaps the most controversial imam in Britain today. In an age when the highest-profile Muslim preachers are bearded, anti-Western firebrands such as Abu Hamza or Omar Bakri Dr Hargey seems an anomaly. He does not care much for male facial hair. He believes that women can be both seen and heard, even in a mosque at Friday prayers. And don't even get him started on the sort of fanatics who blow up London buses, or the poisonous teachings that inspired them. After three men were cleared this week on charges of assisting the July 7 bombers, there have been calls for an inquiry into blunders made by the security services. But Dr Hargey has little doubt who, and what, is truly to blame for unleashing such terrorism on our streets. 'It is the extremist ideology present in many UK mosques which is the cement behind nihilistic plots such as this,' he says. 'They are twisting Islam.' Dr Taj Hargey deplores fanatics such as the suicide bombers who targeted London. He has little or no time for the Government's 'pussyfooting' policy of encouraging multiculturalism. 'That is the biggest disaster to happen to Britain since World War II,' he says. 'It has given the extremist mullahs the green light for radicalism and segregation. We have to, we must, adjust to British society. And we can do so without losing our faith.' Hardly surprisingly, such statements have made him wildly unpopular among those who adhere to the brand of ultra-conservative Saudi-funded Wahhabi Islam which currently makes most noise in Britain and around the world. Certainly, if you Google Dr Hargey's name you will find him vilified as a 'charlatan' on any number of Islamic website forums. He wants Muslims to integrate more with mainstream Britain. 'The (Muslim) reaction to 9/11 was to withdraw. I think the best way is to go out and belong. If you met me walking down the street, for example, would you know I am a Muslim? No. I know I am a Muslim in my heart and my actions, not in my beard. There is nothing in the Koran that is incompatible with (living in) British society.'
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Summary of discussion on multiculturalism Benefits
Challenges
A2 Ethnic Diversity - Lurgan College Geography Department
5. The economic, social & spatial outcomes of these processes We have touched on many of the consequences already in the notes, but here is a chance to summarise some of the points we’ve raised. In many countries, the outcomes of pluralistic societies can be largely positive. For example, in Canada (with reference to your population notes, outline some of the economic and social benefits of ethnic minorities having migrated in to Canada over the past number of decades).
Also, in Sao Paulo (with reference to your population notes, outline some of the benefits socially of ethnic pluralism).
However, in many cases, the consequences of pluralistic societies can be negative, e.g. o The debate surrounding multiculturalism – what are the challenges when ethnic minorities don’t integrate?
o
Ethnic violence
See also the consequences in your Belfast case study A2 Ethnic Diversity - Lurgan College Geography Department
Maintaining ethnic diversity in Belfast The role of these processes & their outcomes for one ethnically diverse city Once ethnic diversity has been created, it is very often self-perpetuating via processes including discrimination and segregation, processes themselves that have economic and social consequences. In this case study we will examine the processes that have maintained the ethnic diversity of Belfast before going on to examine the social and economic consequences of these processes.
1. Processes A. Discrimination There is no doubt that the discrimination felt by the Catholic community in Northern Ireland in the decades up to the 1970s served to heighten the sense of alienation they felt and this served to maintain the sense of ethnic diversity between Nationalists and Unionists. Prior to the 1970s, this discrimination took various forms, including: • There have been documented cases of the police forces of Northern Ireland acting in collusion with Unionist political forces in the systematic discrimination and repression of Catholics. • Protestant control of the judicial system and the courts was also maintained by Unionist control of the government of Northern Ireland. In the judicial system, Protestants outnumbered Catholics by sixty-eight to six in 1968. • Catholics were discriminated against in the work place where they worked in less well-paid manual jobs, and had higher unemployment rates in Belfast. This resulted in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, as Catholics campaigned for the same rights as Protestants within Northern Ireland. In fact, this sense of discrimination was so deeply felt in the Catholic community, that even 30 years on it could rear its head again. During the Holy Cross dispute of 2001, a wall mural appeared in north Belfast comparing the Catholics’ ‘right’ to walk up the Ardoyne to the primary school with the Civil rights movement of blacks in 1950s USA.
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B. Segregation Segregation has also served to maintain ethnic diversity in at least the following two ways: Physical separation Firstly, it has physically separated Protestants and Catholics within the city. It is estimated that, during the worst of the Troubles in the early 1970s, around 60,000 people moved because they were in the ‘wrong’ areas. Catholics tended to move towards the West of the city, while Protestants moved either to the Shankill Road area of the West or to East Belfast. One such example was Farrington Gardens, as shown in the photographs below.
Farrington Gardens, Belfast, August 1971: the night before … and the morning after.
As a consequence, segregation levels have increased in Belfast over time. In the mid 19th Century about 50% of the population was estimated to live in segregated streets. By the 1960s, this had risen to 67% of Belfast’s population, 77% by the 1970s and 78% by the 1980s. As the Protestant and Catholics lived in separate areas and did not mix to any large extent, this allowed the ethnic distinctiveness to remain. Research by the Community Relations Council, conducted in 2002 among 4,800 households in a dozen estates across the city suggests the divisions between Catholics and Protestants were greater than ever. 68% of young people said they "have never had a meaningful conversation" with those of the other religion. They said that they had mental maps of where it was safe to go and where it was not safe to go in areas of Belfast. Preservation of ethnic culture Secondly, due to the high levels of segregation, this made it easier to communicate each side’s ethnic identity to their own side. One of the more visible manifestations of this is the street murals that adorn the gable walls of many houses in lower class areas of Belfast. The main purpose of these, in addition to marking territory, was to pass on a sense of ethnic identity and of cultural history to each new generation. They interpreted the shared history of the city and its events, coming at it from differing perspectives, telling different stories and, again, preserving the sense of ethnic difference from the ‘other side’.
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What messages are being passed on in the following murals?
A2 Ethnic Diversity - Lurgan College Geography Department
A2 Ethnic Diversity - Lurgan College Geography Department
A2 Ethnic Diversity - Lurgan College Geography Department
2. Consequences The result of these processes were a series of economic, social and spatial consequences, including the following:
A. Economic consequences One of the main economic consequences of the Troubles was the loss of tourism revenue. The city was renowned for its ethnic violence and this had a very significant impact on the numbers of people who would visit. The graph & table below set the context for the impact the ‘Troubles’ had on tourism in Northern Ireland as a whole.
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Following the ceasefires in 1994, the numbers of tourists visiting the city rose dramatically. In 1994, there were 357,000 visitors. By 1995, this had jumped to 443,000 visitors. Visitors to the City Hall in Belfast went from 33,198 in 1993 to 53,500 in 1995, an increase of 53%. These figures clearly show that, when the burden of extreme violence was largely lifted from Belfast, the city began to fulfil its tourist potential. In fact, on the more positive side, N. Ireland has recently developed something of a market for ‘conflict tourism’ such as those promoted by Citybus tours and websites including www.peacelinetours.g2gm.com. These actually use the conflict and ethnic diversity to market Belfast as a tourist attraction.
A Northern Ireland holiday has become more appealing in the last few years … you can see and photograph yourself standing next to the wall paintings that make Belfast so famous (or infamous you choose), the peace line (a 30' high concrete and steel wall) separating the two religions… EXTRACTS FROM THE ‘PEACE LINE TOURS’ WEB SITE
B. Social consequences The first, and tragic, social consequence of these processes which maintained ethnic diversity was the deaths resulting from the Troubles. The ethnic distinctiveness made it all too easy for some to dehumanise the other side and to justify murder in support of their cause. The dreadful spectre of ‘titfor-tat’ killings hovered over Belfast for years, with random and innocent Protestants and Catholics being murdered at random because someone from the other community was murdered last night. Between these and all other killings associated with the Troubles, over 3000 people lost their lives. Secondly, there was a negative impact on employment. Overall, Belfast’s unemployment rates in the 1970s and 1980s were high and they increased as the Troubles took hold from 8% in 1972 to 21% in 1981. Unemployment was especially high in lower SEG/most segregated areas; they rose up to 50% in some areas in the west of the city. Of course, this should be seen in context of high national unemployment in the 1980s, but still Northern Ireland suffered disproportionately compared with Great Figure 10 % male unemplyment, 1994 Britain: for example, the unemployment rate for Northern Ireland in 1994 was 14%, the highest for 30 any region in the UK.
% unemployed
25
In addition, unemployment rates for Catholics were higher than those for Protestants, as the following graph illustrates:
20 15 10 5 0 Total NI
A2 Ethnic Diversity - Lurgan College Geography Department
NI Catholics
C. Spatial consequences The main spatial consequence is the segregation that is so widespread in Belfast. This has continued to be an issue, even after the violence of the Troubles ended. This is due to the process known as the segregation ratchet.
…until period 2 → further segregation Period 1 → inc segn
…which is not reversed …
The idea behind this is that segregation is cumulative. In other words, something will happen that increases segregation. However, when that initial trigger is removed, people do not revert back to their previous living pattern. Instead, the level of segregation is maintained. So, when another trigger for segregation occurs and people move, that adds to the previous level of segregation. Much research has suggested that segregation has in fact increased since the end of the Troubles. Research by the Community Relations Council suggests that 62% of those questioned felt community relations had worsened since 1994, after the first ceasefire. Only 22% would be happy to go shopping in areas dominated by another religion and 72% of all age groups questioned refused to use health centres in areas where the population was mainly the other religion. One of the most obvious spatial manifestations of this has been the Peace Walls that run through many areas of Belfast; large, visible scars that act as vivid reminders of the degree to which the two main ethnic communities within the city remain divided and distinct.
A2 Ethnic Diversity - Lurgan College Geography Department
Consolidation tasks 1. Study Resources 1 and 2 which show information about a survey into perceptions of ethnic migrants into Canada. (i) Use Resource 1 to help you discuss how perceived ethnic identify can be different in different generations of ethnic migrants into a new country. (8) (ii) With reference to Resource 2 discuss how discrimination can lead to problems for policies of multiculturalism. (6) Resource 1 The percentage of immigrants who identified themselves as Canadians Question: Do you identify as Canadian? Immigrants Immigrants Immigrant Recent* Earlier** Second Generation Third Generation and higher Whites 21.9% 53.8% 78.2% 63.4% 34.4 56.6 Total visible minorities 21.4 Chinese 30.6 42.0 59.5 South Asian 19.1 32.7 53.6 Black 13.9 27.2 49.6 Other visible minorities 17.4 32.8 60.6 * Arrived in Canada between 1991and 2001 ** Arrived in Canada before 1991 Resource 2 An article on a survey into perceptions of migrants into Canada, 2007
How Canadian are you? Canada’s Globe and Mail, Friday, Jan. 12, 2007
Visible-minority immigrants are slower to integrate into Canadian society than their white, European counterparts, and feel less Canadian, suggesting multiculturalism doesn't work as well for non-whites, according to a landmark report. The study, based on an analysis of 2002 Statistics Canada data, found that the children of visible-minority immigrants exhibited a more profound sense of exclusion than their parents. The findings suggest that multiculturalism, Canada's official policy on interethnic relations since 1971, is not working as well for newer immigrants or for their children, who hail largely from China, South Asia and the Caribbean, conclude co-authors Jeffrey Reitz, a University of Toronto sociologist, and Rupa Banerjee, a doctoral candidate. It is also a warning that Canada, long considered a model of integration, won't be forever immune from the kind of social disruption that has plagued Europe, where marginalized immigrant communities have erupted in discontent, with riots in the Paris suburbs in the fall of 2005. The sense of exclusion among visible-minority newcomers is not based on the fact that they earn less than their white counterparts. Instead, the researchers found integration is impeded by the perception of discrimination. That is why even as the economic circumstances of newcomers improve over time, the path to integration does not necessarily become smoother for visible minorities. The study found that 35% of recent immigrants of Chinese origin reported experiences of perceived discrimination, 28% of South Asians, and 44% of blacks, compared with 19% of whites. "There is a perception among minority communities that discrimination is part of their lives. Yet if you ask Canadians in general, they discount discrimination," Prof. Reitz noted.
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