At first, I counted them. Now I find myself spontaneously saying “seven”. Seven years, already seven years separate me from the day my foot set foot on Quebec soil. On the eve of my twelfth birthday, I jumped on a plane to Quebec, convinced of one thing: I was bringing my Moroccan roots with me, and I would make them flourish in Quebec. Besides, I wasn’t sure of anything. I didn’t know if I was going to have a culture shock, if I was going to miss the comforting warmth of my beautiful country, if the snow here was going to protect me with a white layer.
It’s like that when you arrive, always. There are those we leave behind, those we find and those we discover. I liked what I discovered in Quebec, I got used to it, I recognized myself there and, above all, I became attached to it. Attached to history, climate, people, landscapes, institutions and culture.
Of course, let’s face it: there are some integration gaps, and even with the best of individual intentions, all parties involved in immigration need to be active, since newcomers, c is everyone’s business.
That said, what are the keys to successful integration? Well, the answers differ, ranging from questioning the notion of integration to assimilation. As far as my opinion is concerned, from the perspective of individual approaches, I would say above all that it is the result of a mixture of cultures, a mixture that only brings benefits to the host country. Bringing the fresh wind from elsewhere, mixing it with the Quebec breeze, then making the most of it so as not to lose its identity in the process of consolidating a new one.
Educate yourself. A simple verb happens to be my second key. A word that alone conceals the secret of sustainability. Learn more about the history of Quebec, its policies, its place in the world, its size and its diverse culture. This can be done through various means: through community involvement, for example in municipal youth councils, through volunteering, through participation in various multicultural events, etc. We are aware that all this requires resources as well, but here is another workhorse.
Third access to successful integration: you have to dare and open up. It can be very tempting to hang out only with the diaspora, it’s comforting and reassuring. On the other hand, immigrating goes hand in hand, in my view, with being destabilized. Rather positive thing in the perspective of bouncing higher, ready to face adversity. I had to move to Lac-Saint-Jean from Montreal, and there was no shortage of apprehensions. However, there was more fear than harm, because it is enough to have strong convictions not to forget oneself, at the same time as a spirit open enough to take advantage of any exotic experience.
We often forget it, but it is never too late to fan the flame towards your host country, never too late to strengthen your ties with the native land either. It is simply a question of sowing, in these two fertile places, its efforts, in expectation of a forthcoming flowering.