World Children’s Day, 20 November, Promoting and Respecting the Rights of Children

Celebrating Refugee and Migrant Children in Canada: Part 1

Children, particularly migrant or refugee children, face a specific set of challenges in our modern world. Whether it be language struggles, difficulties fitting in with schoolmates, or simply culture shock, newcomer children are in a unique predicament. I remember, when I was 16, one of my high school friends, who immigrated to Canada from Korea, told me how she had to help her parents file their taxes, talk to their phone providers and make doctor’s appointments. Honestly, at 22 years old, I can confidently say that I don’t even know how to file my own taxes. I hear from friends that came to Canada as migrants or refugees that they often feel as though they’re the parents in their families. Refugee and migrant children often have special responsibilities within the home or their families that the average Canadian child does not have. While refugee and migrant children are adapting to their new lives, so are parents. These processes often leave children and parents going through similar struggles.

While doing some research for this piece I found out that the Canadian Paediatric Society reports that PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is common among refugee children and young adults. Evidently, this manifests in different ways based on age group. Some common examples are poor performance in school, fear of separation, guilt and bursts of anger. Often the ways that PTSD manifests are brushed off as laziness, inability to focus, lack of emotional control or immaturity.

Something that I have witnessed firsthand, both when I was young and as I got older, is that refugee and migrant children often fall victim to bullying in schools. The story of Amal Alshteiwi, a 9-year-old refugee girl who committed suicide as a result of bullying at her Calgary school, comes to mind. Amal’s parents reported to the school that their daughter was being severely bullied. She was called stupid, ugly and told to kill herself. The bullying persisted until Amal could no longer bear living any more. Unfortunately, the schoolboard has yet to confirm that Amal was, in fact, bullied.

Amal’s story is one of many. I found a piece written by author Samra Habib, whose family left Pakistan because members of their religious group were in danger of persecution. In Canada, she described her ESL (English as a Second Language) class as a “safe haven”. When she graduated the program and was able to be in class with the rest of her peers, she was heavily bullied. The bullying was both verbal and physical, and created a scenario of heightened awareness of the differences between her and her classmates. Something in Samra’s story that really stood out to me is that she talks about helping with her mom’s ESL homework after school, rather than opening up about the bullying she was facing. Samra tried to commit suicide as well. Thankfully, she survived and is able to now comprehend the effects that her trauma had on her growing up.

It has long been discussed by advocates that refugees and immigrants get treated like they should be “grateful” to be here, rather than being truly welcomed. This is something that I’ve been thinking about often. There are so many vulnerable communities within our society and it seems as though we are not addressing their needs as well as we could be. Schools are in a unique position to shape young children’s lives, so I remain confused as to why so little is being done to support children that have undergone traumatic separation from their lives and home countries. Refugee and immigrant children have more life experience than many of the teachers and adults in their lives do. It’s time to create meaningful change in Canada. So often we hide behind a façade of multiculturalism here, without actually working to BE about diversity and acceptance. This starts with supporting refugee and migrant children and providing them with a truly accepting and safe environment to learn, grow, adapt and heal.

Celebrating Refugee and Migrant Children in Canada: Part 2

The bullying and mistreatment of refugee and migrant children comes from prejudice towards their ethnic backgrounds, cultures and differences. However, so many of these children become activists and move mountains within our society. Knowing the pain and struggles that marginalized communities face inspires many of them to incite positive change for the community. There is so much to be learned from these young people and it is always beneficial to learn from those that have experienced the things that we have not.

I spoke to Rayan Ali, a student at Carleton University in the International Business program, whose family came to Canada as refugees from Kurdistan when he was only one year old. When I asked him about what growing up in Canada was like, he told me that he couldn’t speak for the lives of all refugee children and that many children had a much harder childhood. “I luckily came to Canada when I was really young, so I was able to pick up the language quickly. I do, however, really identify with the struggles that other immigrant or refugee kids have,” he said. When I asked him what those struggles were, he told me that even now his parents rely on him for help writing emails, making phone calls and understanding bills. Rayan has always had responsibilities to help his parents as the oldest of their four children. “When I was in high school, my parents opened a restaurant and I was so involved and had so many responsibilities in order to help them that it became difficult to balance all of that with my schoolwork. I feel like there is an added level of pressure to succeed for me, because from a young age I’ve been so involved in helping my parents. I feel like it is always up to me to do well and be successful to thank them for all they’ve done for me.”

When Rayan was in high school, he discovered a passion for helping less fortunate kids around Canada. He created his own not for profit business called Unique United. Through his company he donated $40, 000 worth of hockey equipment to a children’s team in Nunavut. I asked Rayan about why he felt this was important and what he feels are struggles that children are facing every day. He answered: “Children are victims of their circumstances and it’s too easy to forget about those disadvantaged kids in Canada. In general, whether kids are born here or come to Canada as immigrants or refugees, it seems as though we are too quick to give up on them. I’ve seen it happen in schools or after school programs, where there aren’t enough resources to properly support children who need more attention. This often happens to be children who struggle to learn the language or adapt to Canadian society. Many of these kids have parents that work long hours, aren’t as comfortable with English and struggle to help them through the transition.”

As members of the N4 platform, who recognize and try to bridge the gaps in care and support for newcomers to Canada, it is important to consistently address the vulnerability of refugee and migrant children. It is evident that across Canada these children and young adults are lacking the proper resources, whether that be in schools, health, the legal system or elsewhere, to successfully be able to address issues within their new lives. They are often forced to take on more responsibility within their homes and help support their siblings and parents. Researching this piece has been eye opening for me. Throughout my academic career, I never really stopped to wonder what the realities of refugee children or young adults were. Leaving my life in Canada behind, even at this age, would be shocking, especially under the circumstances that many of these children have experienced. Many refugees are given responsibilities upon arrival to make them eligible for welfare and government assistance – it’s not the free ride that some think it is. What I’ve learned is that while parents are taking on these responsibilities in order to adapt to Canada, the requirements are weighing most heavily on the youngest members of the families. These are the kids who want to help their parents learn the language, that care for their siblings while parents are working, and those who grow up much earlier than they should.

Millie Lazovic, Carleton University Student