Douglas Todd: Iranian-Canadians find road to integration is a rocky one

While largely anecdotal in nature, interesting piece on Iranian Canadians by Douglas Todd, focussing on Vancouver but including Toronto.

My sense is that most Iranians integrate reasonably well. NHS 2011 data shows 55 percent of working age adults (25-64) are university-educated, 77 participate in the workforce, although unemployment is higher at 9.7 percent than non-visible minorities. Median employment income is about $50,000, comparable to those of Canadian ethnic origin. 73 percent have Canadian citizenship.

Like other groups, of course, Iranian Canadians tend to concentrate in a number of neighbourhoods, as any drive in North Vancouver or north of Steeles on Yonge St in Toronto will attest:

“There is little or no incentive for some recent immigrants to integrate into mainstream Canadian society,” says Ahmadian.

“Immigrants who do not want to get a university degree (in Canada) have little or no incentive to learn English fluently. For recent immigrants from Iran, there are Iranian brokers, Iranian financial advisers, Iranian salespeople and Iranian physicians.”

This creates something that sociologists refer to as an ethnic economy. “Iranian immigrants who do not know the rules and regulations in Canada have no choice but to trust the service providers. And when there is no need to master the English language, some people take the easy route of staying in their ‘own community’,” said Ahmadian.

The social pressure among Iranians to communicate mainly in Farsi has recently been on display among the thousands of Iranians in Metro who attend events devoted to the poetry of the Persian mystic, Jalaladin Rumi. An outcry recently ensued when some Iranians suggested the city’s Rumi events occasionally be switched from Farsi to English.

Language barriers are most noticeable among immigrants who arrive in late adulthood, says Karimaei, a building developer who is also founder of The Iranian Calligraphers Association of North America, which is centred in the North Shore cultural centre.

“They have nothing to do,” Karimaei said. “They say they are not good over here. They don’t want to integrate. They’re just involved in the Persian events.”

Despite inevitable difficulties learning English as a second language, Esmaeilpour said it is the responsibility of new Iranian immigrants to do so.

“If you are a guest in a house, the first thing you should do is learn their language. That is out of respect for the host.”

Religion’ role

While Iran is often portrayed in the Western media as a country full of rigorous Shia Muslims, many Iranian-Canadians say they have gone a different path.

“You don’t even need to go to the mosque to be spiritual,” says Esmaeilpour.

Although some among the most recent wave of immigrants are devout Shia Muslims, Karimaei estimated only 15 per cent of Iranians in British Columbia regularly go to mosque.

Rohani, a member of the Baha’i faith that has been persecuted in Iran, believes only a tiny portion of Iranian-Canadians are religious hardliners.

Indeed, Rohani said many Iranians are like most other Canadians; open to secularism and alternative spiritualities.

That’s why, he says, evangelicals on the North Shore and elsewhere have recently had success in starting Christian congregations specifically designed for Iranians.

Source: Douglas Todd: Iranian-Canadians find road to integration is a rocky one