Preparing to Welcome the Rohingya to Canada - the Perspective of a Canadian University Student

In October of this year, the government of Canada introduced a revised immigration plan for the coming years. The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced that between 2021 and 2023, Canada plans to welcome approximately 400,000 immigrants per year. In light of this news, professionals working with newcomers in the health, legal and settlement and other sectors must be able to prepare themselves to welcome refugees and immigrants from different cultures and backgrounds.

In the coming years, it is possible that we may see e a few Rohingya immigrating to Canada as a result of the persecution and genocide that they are subjected to in their home country of Myanmar. As with any group, adapting to Canada will be difficult for the Rohingya. To help ease this transition, it is important for professionals to understand more about them and to continue learning in order to better support them through these life altering changes.

The Rohingya come from the poorest state in all of Myanmar. Nearly one million of them have left their home country since the late 1970s and 55% of all refugees are and have been children. It is important to keep in mind that these children would have difficulties adapting to their school communities and would need a significant amount of help addressing their traumas. The Rohingya speak Rohingya or Ruaingga, a dialect that is specific to them and is not spoken anywhere else in Myanmar. Collaboration with experts in Rohingya dialect will facilitate the work of professionals and organizations helping the group through their transition. The experiences of the Rohingya, over decades, have been nothing short of traumatic. It will take time and a substantial amount of care to make them feel truly safe in Canada. In particular, many of the children will grapple, for years, with the death and destruction that they have seen in their villages. It is crucial to establish a sense of trust and support for Rohingya refugees and migrants. The experiences that they have endured in Myanmar, where the military continues committing heinous crimes against them, have made them weary of trusting government officials.

Rohinga - photo by Doinik Barta

Being that the Rohingya are a majority Muslim group, they do not consume pork or any animal that was not ritually slaughtered according to their Halal tradition. In addition, they observe prayer 5 times a day, facing Mekkah, and must have the facilities to adequately bathe and clean themselves before prayer. The Rohingya have demonstrated immense commitment to their religion. They have been fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, even in refugee camps in Bangladesh during the Coronavirus pandemic. For the Rohingya, who were denied many of their religious rights while living in Myanmar, having the ability to freely observe their religion is incredibly important. A devout group, many of them will find solace and peace in being able to pray and engage with their beliefs openly. Rohingya that will be working in Canada would need to be aided in finding work that will allow them the opportunity, including quiet designated facilities, for prayer.

A majority of Myanmar’s population is incredibly superstitious and believe in things like fortune tellers and astrology. It is important to note that, unlike in Buddhism which is the primary religion practiced in Myanmar, in Islamic religion, fortune telling and psychics are regarded as black magic. These things are said to go against the teachings of the Quran and are prohibited. While there are many superstitious beliefs in Myanmar, being that the Rohingya are quite religious, it is safe to assume that they would not believe in these same things.

There is so much more to be learned about the Rohingya. At this time, there is a limited amount of information about the group and much more knowledge will come through real interaction with them. Immigrants, and what they offer our society, is crucial to Canada. Some may view migrants and refugees in a negative light; as if they are ‘freeloading’ off of the Canadian government, or ‘stealing Canadian jobs’. But it’s important to ask ourselves: Do we, as Canadians, really want to work at the jobs that migrants are supposedly ‘taking’ from us? I have never seen a fifth generation Canadian be excited to work as a school janitor, but I have seen an immigrant from a struggling country jump at the same opportunity. It’s important to remember that immigrants and refugees can be well educated or have lived a fairly good life in their home countries; however, for many, their education is not recognized when they come to Canada and they encounter monumental changes to their way of life. Putting their pride aside, they take low-paying jobs in order to be able to support themselves and their families. There are many preconceived notions that shape our views of who refugees and migrants are. It is important to always put this aside and recognize that before all else, they are people who need help and compassion to be able to adapt to life here. Canadian culture does not exist without migrants; rather it has been created and shaped by migrants.

Millie Lazovic, Carleton University student