How Syrian refugees arriving in Canada became ‘extras’ in their own stories
2016/02/23 2 Comments
Academics! Miss the point that maintaining public support for refugees is equally important, and making Canadians feel good about themselves is part of that.
Media coverage that I follow has included a fair amount of stories about the refugees themselves and the challenges they face.
And Al-Solaylee, the academic quoted, does not base his critique on a rigorous, quantitative analysis of media coverage:
When he saw images of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne greeting some of the first Syrian refugees to arrive in Canada, Kamal Al-Solaylee was overcome with pride. After all, 20 years ago, he was the one arriving in Canada.
“My initial feelings were of euphoria and happiness. This is a great country, this is a very welcoming country,” says Al-Solaylee, a journalism professor at Ryerson University and the author of the 2015 Canada Reads finalist Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes.
But as he saw more and more news stories about sponsors hugging refugees in airports and Canadians knitting toques to keep refugees warm during their first Canadian winter, he began to feel uncomfortable.
“The story is changing. It’s no longer about them, it’s about us as Canadians,” Al-Solaylee says. “The gaze turned inward instead of outward.”
He points to CBC’s “Open Arms” project, which highlights the “outpouring of Canadian generosity and support” towards refugees, as an example of how the conversation has shifted to place the focus on Canadians.
Al-Solaylee says he understands why stories about acts of kindness and refugees’ first visits to Tim Horton’s resonate with journalists and their audiences. However, he worries feel-good stories are “suck[ing] the oxygen” out of important stories about what life in Canada is really like for immigrants and refugees after the welcome is over.
“The truth is a lot of these immigrants will struggle, initially and probably for a long time. They will not be able to find jobs that call on their qualifications or experience. They will end up doing the kind of work that Canadians no longer want to do,” he says.
About Andrew
Multicultural Meanderings 
Love your reaction to Academics! I took out a newly-arrived Syrian family (with my 8 yr old son) to Skyzone and Tim Horton’s this past Saturday, and after reading this article I interrogated myself for illicit feelings of self-congratulation…. Guilty as charged. It was a wonderful outing in any case.
This family (who arrived on the storm day last week!) is sponsored by my synagogue (Temple Israel) and we were all in knots about how the family of devout Muslims would react when they learned they were being sponsored by Jews. They reacted very positively, glad to say.
Hope you’re well.
Thanks. Wasn’t sure I would get away with it but really, sometimes people really do protest too much! Great vignette with your refugee family and synagogue. Humanity brings us together.
Doing fine, pleased to say. Will be at Metropolis next week running workshops on Citizenship and the Election results. Hope all well your end as well.