بەر لەوەی خوێندەوار بم، بیست ساڵ بەر
لەوەی فێری زمانی ئنگلیزی بم و ناوی هانا ئارنت ببیستم، لە بابەتێکدا لە ساڵی
١٩٩٩، سەبارەت ئەنفال و جینۆسایدەکانی
کورد ، لە ڕوانگەی ئەزموون و ئەو دۆخەی لە
باشووردا تێدا دەژیاین، باسی شتێکی هاوشێوەی ئەو (ئارنت)م کردووە، بەڵام من باسی سێ
بۆ چوار جۆر دەسەڵاتم کردووە ، دەسەڵاتداری، دەسەڵاتبازی ، دەسەڵاتگەری. ئەمەیان زیاتر
بۆ ژینگە و دۆخی دنیای سیاسی کورد گونجاوترە. تایتڵێ بابەتەک جینۆسایدی کورد بە
ناوی ئیسلام و هەڵویستی ئیسلامیەکانی کوردستان. وەکو هەموو بابەتێکی کوردی ، کوردێکەی
ونە و لە گوگڵ نادۆزرێتەوە، بەڵام کە گوگڵـ کرد بینیم ڕۆژنامەی ئیلافی عەرەبی، بە
عەرەبی ساڵی ٢٠٠٤ بڵاویکردوەتەوە:
https://elaph.com/AsdaElaph/2004/9/10993.html
[iii]R. Lemkin (1944) “Axis
Rule in Occupied Europe: Laws of Occupation, Analysis of Government”, Proposals
for Redress. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Division of International Law.
Kurdish heritage festival 2019. Some members of the Greater Toronto Kurdish House have sent emails to politicians trying to make them aware that Newroz is celebrated by millions of people outside of Iran. (Photo supplied).
Calling Newroz a "Persian holiday" is offensive to more than 300 million people and the many Canadian communities who have been celebrating it for over 3,000 years, writes Kaziwa Salih, a Kurdish journalist in Canada.
Canadians who’ve arrived from many countries and those who trace their heritage to regions across Europe and Asia are getting ready to celebrate the ancient New Year’s holiday of Newroz, marking the spring equinox on March 21. Yet, Canadian media and politicians continue to call this a “Persian” holiday, bringing to Canada the ethnic politics that various minorities thought they had left behind.
Calling Newroz a Persian holiday is offensive to more than 300 million people and the many Canadian communities who have been celebrating it for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Middle East.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, despite efforts over the years — including personal appeals from myself — to raise awareness, continues to propagate this pro-Iranian language.
Last year, Trudeau did at least adopt the name of many communities that celebrate Newroz in his speech, but he still went on to say that these communities “will celebrate Newroz and the start of the Persian New Year.”
This message from our politicians will alienate the many non-Persians who celebrate Newroz as their new year. This occasion should be called “International Newroz Day,” as the United Nations has named it, without referencing any one specific community’s calendar since it’s celebrated widely.
Community Position
In a petition started on Jan. 30 and signed by over 700 people as of time of writing, the Canadian Group for Preserving Newroz as an International Day have asked Prime Minister Trudeau to stop identifying it as the “Persian New Year.”
“We moved to Canada to not have to fight to protect our cultural heritage any longer, but we are doing it here too,” said one of the organizers, who asked not to be named.
“Even here, I am not able to talk freely and give my name if I want to avoid being killed or imprisoned like Zara Mohammadi was by the Iranian regime, and like many other Kurds, if I go back.” (Zara Mohammadi is a young Kurdish woman who was sentenced to five years of imprisonment in Iran simply for using her mother tongue and promoting her cultural heritage.)
Why is Canada taking so long to follow the United Nations’ lead in adopting more inclusive and accurate language, something that organization did 12 years ago when it named March 21 as International Nowruz Day. According to the UN, “The word Newroz (Novruz, Navruz, Nooruz, Nevruz, Nauryz) means new day; its spelling and pronunciation may vary by country.”
Several years ago, I emailed a number of politicians, including Trudeau and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, as well as former federal immigration ministry officials, and explained that Newroz is not celebrated only by Persians, regardless of the number of regions they may have occupied in ancient days, regardless of how these occupied regions were obliged to celebrate it under ancient imperial control, and regardless of the fact that they are the ethnic group that holds authority in Iran.
Except for the Kurds, a majority of these ethnic groups and regions have been free for hundreds of years. Logically, neither those nations nor the 45 million oppressed Kurds living in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey would celebrate Newroz for the sake of Persians.
Furthermore, based on the historical facts about each aforementioned geographical region, their ethnic and religious backgrounds, and the number of people who celebrate it, Newroz is also in the calendars of many ethnic groups with an Indo-European origin. In fact, several other people claim to have contacted the Prime Minister’s Office about this issue, though those attempts were not taken seriously.
Professor Jaffer Sheyholislami of Carleton University’s School of Linguistics and Language Studies said that regardless of ancient history, nowadays, “thousands of Kurds, as well as many other non-Persian nationalities, call Canada home because they fled the assimilationist and discriminatory hegemony of Persian language, culture, religion, and politics.” That’s why Sheyholislami believes our leaders should not refer to Newroz as “Persian” as it is a multilingual observance.
Since some members of the Greater Toronto Kurdish House have also attempted to raise awareness by sending emails to politicians, I asked Chato Wany, the president of the Kurdish House, about his concerns.
He states: “They should know that our disappointment and sense of loss of culture and heritage are real. We feel challenged to explain and prove our culture in the workplace and schools, in the heart of democracy. A denial of our cultural identity, as well as a violation of our rights to identity and heritage, we believe. Also, our new generation may face an identity crisis.”
‘Influential’ groups
Multiculturalism is a defining feature of Canadian society. Our leaders make an effort to participate in events celebrated by various Canadian communities, to congratulate them, and to send them encouraging messages.
However, Canadian politicians are often unaware of disenfranchised and minority backgrounds, perhaps because they have created a political market for ethnic communities and those with the highest value seem to be those with the most members and the greatest economic influence.
Cultural heritage advisers to Canada’s politicians play a key role in explaining political sensitivities. If these advisers are hired based on their prominence within their respective communities, then their advice risks serving only the interests of that one, dominant group.
Therefore, as Sheyholislami puts it, our MP may have been “ill advised” about the Newroz celebration. This political pandering is dangerous. If left unchecked, it could lead to ethnic conflict or sectarianism in the near future.
To summarize, since Newroz is the new year for many different Canadian communities, our leaders shouldn’t link it to any one heritage in particular. Although some believe that the Prime Minister is not required to participate in community events, I value his engagement and say that every war, atrocity, and ethnic conflict began with words. Therefore, leaders and citizens must consider each word carefully. Regardless of the circumstances, we want our leaders to constantly encourage peaceful coexistence in their speeches.
Kaziwa Salih holds a PhD from Queen’s University, Canada, where she specialized in cultural sociology of violence/genocide and the way microaggressions foster macroaggression. She is a multiple award-winning author of over 10 fiction and non-fiction books and has written many articles and academic papers. She founded and was editor-in-chief of two Kurdish journals,
Many new Canadians come from countries where grandparents often help take care of their grandchildren. Not having this option is a financial and emotional burden on many newcomers. Photo byAlvaro ReyesonUnsplash.
Canada squanders economic, social benefits by keeping out new Canadians’ relatives
Canada goes against its own interests and values when it denies visitor and study visas to relatives of newcomers for fear that family ties in Canada will prevent them from leaving, says reporter Kaziwa Salih in this analysis.
Canada is losing manifold economic and social benefits and going against its own values when it denies visitor visas and study permits to family members of new Canadians. Denials are rooted in belief that visitors with family ties in Canada are more likely to overstay their visas, but while no data exists to back up this claim, why should that even be a concern?
In the last century, Canada has earned a great reputation for accepting a large number of immigrants and valuing multiculturalism. Immigrants are a great boost for the economy. In fact, Canada’s current plans to accept 411,000 immigrants in 2022 and 421,000 in 2023 were touted by former Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Marco Mendicino as a way to help the Canadian economy recover from COVID-19.
Such framing emphasizes how immigrants benefit our economy not just by filling labour force shortages and paying taxes, but also by significantly increasing employment creation.
Despite this warm welcome, new Canadians often face hurdles when their family members wish to come to visit. When applying for a visa, relatives of new Canadians frequently receive the following response: “I am not satisfied that you will leave Canada at the end of your stay as a temporary resident, as stipulated in paragraph 179(b) of the IRPR [Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations], based on your family ties in Canada and in your country of residence.”
The first three thoughts that come to mind when I encounter a sentence like this are: Do people with family ties stay and those without them return? Is this a favourable decision for the Canadian economy or even the IRCC’s plan? Do officers denying visas consider the repercussions of such a decision?
New Canadians: welcome but not included?
For this article, I spoke with 11 new Canadians whose family members had gotten multiple denials because of their ties to Canada. These dismissals have affected each of them in various ways.
Many said they felt guilty, believing that rather than being of assistance, they were obstructing their families’ dreams. This is especially true for those whose siblings had education or job opportunities but were turned down because of their familial ties.
Some of the people I spoke to said their family members, particularly their parents, felt Canada could reject their submission multiple times. This resulted in either familial issues or a sour relationship.
No one I spoke to wanted their names or photos to be made public for fear that expressing their unhappiness might result in troubles in Canada or further denials of their relatives’ applications in the future. It is hard to imagine they are feeling included in the Canadian society.
“Family ties in Canada”: an excuse with no backing in data
Due to the lack of official statistics regarding the number people who had family ties in Canada and didn’t return to their countries of origin compared with people who didn’t have family ties and didn’t return, I put the question to immigration lawyer Steven Meurrens.
“Logically it would be a reason not to go back,” Meurrens said of people with family ties, but quickly added he had clients of both types and couldn’t tell which category was more likely to stay.
“I have clients who did not go back because they had family here and clients who didn’t have family.”
Andrew Griffith, the former Director General for Citizenship and Multiculturalism at the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, and Mikal Skuterud, Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Waterloo, point to Immigration Canada’s concern to keep the system’s integrity.
Skuterud added that Immigration Canada understands the importance of public trust in the immigration system. There are numerous alternatives available, including family class, refugee, workers and students. In any case, people have to follow the correct procedure.
However, one must ask whether these programs are effective. Based on anecdotal evidence, the various visa programs don’t function as promised. I am aware of several refugees who have been working on family reunification since 2017. So far, to no avail. They haven’t seen their kids in at least four years.
My experiences as a refugee in Canada may prevent me from supporting the IRCC’s immigration plan. However, they allow me to reflect on the above questions and on how such a policy approach undermines Canada’s economic and social interests, especially given the lack of official statistics on overstayers with and without family ties in Canada.
Remittances: money that could stay in the country
Immigrants spend a significant amount of money and time on their family members in their countries of origin. For Canada, this has various negative economic consequences. One is the financial outflows in the form of remittances, as immigrants send a portion of their earnings back to families in their home country. This is typically sent to immediate family members such as parents, children, and siblings.
Another way that Canada misses out is that immigrants return to see their remaining family members more frequently, sometimes once a year. Not only does this mean that their holiday money is spent abroad but also that they often have to quit their jobs and stop earning an income in order to travel.
If the immigration system had less stringent rules for immediate family members, these funds would have been spent in Canada. Furthermore, new Canadians would be safer, as many of them travel to dangerous countries.
Missing out on savings in the settlement sector
Canada sets aside a large sum of money each year for the settlement of newcomers. In the fiscal year 2021-2022, IRCC has around $1.7 billion to spend on settlement services across Canada. In Ontario alone there are nearly 1,260 newcomer services provider organizations.
Settlement services aren’t required for most newcomers who have family members in Canada. Relatives who are already familiar with the system can help new immigrants in finding a home, a family doctor and a job, all needed to build a new life in Canada. This safety net translates to significant savings for the Canadian immigration system.
Griffith and Skuterud also believe that having family ties is vital in the job market, as newcomers will be assisted in finding work and integrating.
The value of social ties and emotional safety
I often hear from the new Canadians I know that they want a large family with more than two children if the circumstances allow for it.
As someone who has cared for two children whose parents aren’t in Canada, I can attest to the fact that Canada is one of the most challenging countries in which to raise a child if you don’t have a stable source of income.
Canada is one of the most exhausting countries socially and emotionally if you don’t have your own big circle, and the same goes for work and everything else. I’m not going to list the dozens of barriers; instead, I’d like to point out that having family members in Canada helps alleviate some of the burdens that immigrants face.
People I spoke to believe that Canada considers parents who come to live with their adult children in Canada as merely a financial burden on the system. In fact, the opposite is true. Parents and grandparents make a significant contribution to the Canadian system in the form of social and emotional support that is converted into financial benefits.
In many countries that Canadian immigrants come from, family members, particularly grandparents, aid in the upbringing of children. The perspective that their children will have a large circle of relatives to turn to in times of hardship, and that they will grow up in a community encourages single individuals to start families and immigrant families to have more children.
Furthermore, having family members nearby not only means not having to send remittances abroad, but also that the cost of daycare is reduced, if not eliminated entirely. This contributes to lowering the cost of government child-care subsidies for low-income families.
Above all, having immediate family members nearby provides both partners with peace of mind and contributes to their mental and emotional well-being. Because Canadian health care is publicly funded, this can also be viewed as an economic gain.
The Canadian immigration system is without a doubt one of the best in the world. Canada is also one of few countries to have formally adopted multiculturalism, which should imply more kindness and inclusion.
Why then should we not address our problems before they become unmanageable? Why not become more flexible with temporary visa offers for visitors with family ties in Canada, rather than exclude a segment of our society and miss out economically?
Editor’s note: This story uses pseudonyms or anonymous sources. Our ethical guidelines require that all claims must be corroborated and backed up by evidence and credible sources who are clearly identified. However, this isn’t always possible to do when security and safety issues, for instance, are at play. Please review this guide to learn more about the ethics behind naming sources and using anonymous ones.
Kaziwa Salih holds a PhD from Queen’s University, Canada, where she specialized in cultural sociology of violence/genocide and the way microaggressions foster macroaggression. She is a multiple award-winning author of over 10 fiction and non-fiction books and has written many articles and academic papers. She founded and was editor-in-chief of two Kurdish journals, Nvar and Newekar, and has worked in several human rights organizations in Canada, Kurdistan, Egypt and Syria, including the United Nations Association in Canada and Amnesty International.
