What you had to say about the 'dangers of self-ghettoization in Calgary'

Calgary is an increasingly international city, with more and more people coming from around the world to build new homes and new lives here.

Where and how they live — and how we all form community — is something Israr Kasana explored in a recent opinion article published as part of CBC's Calgary: The Road Ahead series.

Kasana is a well known journalist in his native country of Pakistan, where he was senior anchor and executive editor of the Pakistan Television Corporation. In Canada, he has hosted programing on OMNI TV.

Kasana arrived in Calgary in 2014 as a new immigrant and, over the past few years, he's grown concerned about what he describes as "Ghettoization 2.0" among the city's immigrant populations.

"This is not the ghettoization where people are willfully marginalized by broader society into limited geographic spaces on the basis of some perceived ethnic or economic difference but, rather, a subtle form of self-exclusion exercised through free movement," he wrote.

"What our city faces are self-imposed ethnic enclaves."

"We immigrants also need to ask ourselves why we left our homelands and families, what we were seeking here, and in what ways we have tried to integrate," Kasana added. "And if we have failed to do so, then why?"

His opinions struck a chord with many readers. Some agreed. Others disagreed. Others, still, had mixed feelings.

What's certain is that his article has spurred a discussion.

Kudos and concerns

Numerous readers thanked Kasana for articulating something that's on a lot of people's minds but isn't often spoken about publicly. (And just a quick note here to acknowledge that we realize people don't always use their real names in online comments. Throughout this article we'll be quoting people based on their online handles.)

"This is an exceptional piece that provides true insight and thoughts on this subject that are very difficult to put into words and expand on," Geoffrey Gordon commented. "I will be sharing this on social media as it truly needs to be read by as many Calgarians as possible."

Jacqueline Tjandra felt the same way.

"Most welcome article and much more open and frank talk about this issue is needed, especially these days when immigration has become in many countries a political and social minefield," she wrote.

Others, however, had concerns about the way Kasana framed the topic.

"As an immigrant who has lived in three different countries, I could see the reasons why new immigrants tend to form a cluster," Joe Lai commented.

He added that he doesn't like the term "ghetto," which he believes has overly negative connotations, to describe what's happening in northeast Calgary.

"People from the same culture tend to provide the necessary social fabrics to help the new immigrants survive and slowly acclimatize to the new culture," Lai wrote. "There is nothing wrong with that and there is nothing to politicize about the situation."

Other readers expressed mixed feelings, saying they saw the issue from more than one point of view.

More than one side to the story

Jyoti Gondek, a Calgary city councillor, shared the article on Facebook, saying it's "an important opinion piece" that tackles a complex issue.

"While I may not agree with everything written here, it is thoughtful and forces us to look at a reality otherwise masked by political correctness," Gondek wrote. "Acceptance and integration are the keys to successful immigration practices and policies, goals that are often sidelined by a focus on diversity at all costs."

"Anyone who moves to another place — whether it's a new community or a new town or a new country — has a responsibility to learn more about the people and practices in that new place," she added. "It is also the responsibility of organizations that support newcomers (officially or unofficially) to promote the goal of integration as a means to civic participation."

Nat Ridley commented on the story to say it brings up issues that are "real, valid, and deserve serious thought and action."

"It's about the bigger picture here: people segregating themselves only leads to more and more inequality, mistrust, and misrepresentation in an endless loop," Ridley wrote.

"It leads to people becoming angry at, and fearful of, immigrants, which leads to immigrants becoming fearful of and angry at the wider Canadian society. On and on it goes. ... Integration must happen, but not at the expense of giving up one's entire self-identity."

And while the article focused on Calgary, it wasn't just Calgarians who weighed in with their thoughts.

Parallels in other Canadian cities

Several readers said Kasana's description of northeast Caglary paralleled what they've seen — and experienced — in other cities.

"Israr, much if not all of what you most thoughtfully wrote applies to Vancouver as well," Agan Kunic commented.

"It's nice to finally get some perspective from an immigrant's point of view. I was born in Canada but I was also once an immigrant in Europe and have a sense of how it feels to be away from home. Thank you for your insight and honesty."

In Winnipeg, Dave Hall said self-exclusion isn't exclusively practised by immigrants.

"I share the writer's discomfort with segregation," he wrote in a comment.

"But in Winnipeg the more common extreme segregation tends to occur in bedroom communities around the city. Even some of the suburbs are almost totally filled with Canadian born Caucasians. Some folks — no matter where they are born — just are not comfortable with the 'different.'"

Hall added that he worries about the segregation in his city, but isn't sure what can be done about it.

Christian Jane, however, said communities tend to desegregate over time — at least, if parts of Toronto are an example.

"When I was young in Toronto (nearly three-quarters of a century ago) I lived downtown, near the Italian quarter, the Jewish quarter, Chinatown," Jane wrote.

"Now, that's all prime real estate and as stylish as it used to be ethnic. That was after a major post-war wave of immigration. The ghettoization did not last. Why would this be different?"

Other readers were struck by how the article resonated with their own, personal experiences.

Personal perspectives

In a Facebook comment, Tamara Ann Lee described how the article provoked thoughts about her own family history.

"My grandparents immigrated and were restricted to Chinatowns; my Canadian-born parents refused to be ghettoized and chose to integrate as much as they could given the racism of their time (didn't get the vote until 1948)," she wrote.

"I'm most likely seen as a 'banana.' My kid is fourth-generation Canadian-British, third-generation Albertan, second-generation Calgarian but lumped in as 'minority' or possibly sometimes 'immigrant.' Have we lost much of our ancestral culture? Yes. Have we gained a sense of belonging and being utterly Canadian? Yes."

Rose Smith said her own experiences living in another country taught her how integrating into a new culture can be challenging and rewarding at the same time.

"My husband and I lived in Germany for four years and we purposely moved to a small farming community away from other Canadians or Americans," she wrote in a comment on the story.

"We watched and interacted with our neighbours, asked questions, attended their functions, learned to speak their language. Our first Canada Day we invited all the neighbours over for a BBQ with hamburgers, hot dogs and Canadian beer. They all loved it. (Maybe not so much our beer.) Visited with seniors in the village to help when needed and essentially became as German as we could for four years. It was a wonderful experience and we made life-long friends."

Patrick Morris also expressed how difficult but necessary integration can be.

"I'm of Scottish-Irish ancestry dating back to the mid 1800s, and I fully understand why newcomers would be fearful of integration into mainstream Canadian society," he commented.

"Thirty-plus years of teaching in the public school system taught me to be a very wary parent of two daughters, and an immigrant from a more highly controlling society should be wary as well. Nonetheless, it behooves us to facilitate the integration of all newcomers, for their sake and ours."

Sunny Grewal said the article rung true.

"I've lived in the northeast my whole life," Grewal wrote in a comment.

"Growing up I remember I played a hockey game in the deep south and the opposite team had teens calling us racial slurs. Minorities have always had the impression that the south is extremely racist. Moving along now, Calgary is a lot more diverse but this ghettoization of the northeast is starting to become dangerous ... I think something needs to be done to spread out everyone more, before its too late."

Personal experiences aside, a lot of readers felt the issues Kasana raised are part of something bigger.

Namely, human nature itself.

The human experience

Colin Smith believes self-segregation is something that goes well beyond ethnicity.

"We all do this. Not just immigrants," he commented. "I see it where I live. There are communities based on wealth, education, the work people do and religions."

Brunoslav Korchinski believes integration has been too slow in Canada and felt the article was "honest" about the situation the country faces.

"We are a multicultural country but we do not mix well or encourage mixing," he wrote.

Cameron Kernick said he was struck, in particular, by Kasana's discussion of how some immigrants fear "losing their children" to a new culture and, in response, become reluctant to allow too much integration, too quickly.

"These ethnic enclaves attempt to keep the children immersed in 'their culture' but this also leads to losing them because the children are growing up and being educated as Canadians," Kernick commented.

"Trying to keep their children tied to the cultural ways of the past and ties to a foreign country just increases the generational gap and contributes to children feeling much more separated from their parents, who have a hard time understanding them."

In Volodymyr Katzman's view, however, it's those younger generations that hold the key to greater integration, by virtue of their innate openness.

"It will usually be the children, in their innocence, that will be doing the mixing," he wrote.

Do you have your own thoughts on these readers' thoughts?

Feel free to add your point of view in the comment section.

Or if you're interested in writing a more substantive article of your own and submitting it for The Road Ahead series (on this topic or something altogether different), send us your pitch. Our email address is below.

Calgary: The Road Ahead is CBC Calgary's special focus on our city as it passes through the crucible of the downturn: the challenges we face, and the possible solutions as we explore what kind of Calgary we want to create. Have an idea? Email us at calgarytheroadahead@cbc.ca

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