We live more than ever in an interconnected world that allows us to be more aware of the realities of the different societies that populate our Earth.
This planetary awakening brings great confusion, however, because it multiplies the perspectives from which we can opt, starting with those of English Canada and the United States, in order to appreciate our own local reality. Suddenly, any event taking place in the four corners of the world has the potential to have a butterfly effect even in our cottages.
The problem with this awareness is that we sometimes turn off our own lights by dint of contemplating those of others.
Nowadays, it is possible to shut oneself up at home and become a citizen of the world without even speaking to one’s own neighbour. This phenomenon inevitably translates into social bubbles that rub shoulders briefly without really taking root or leading to a real dialogue.
Reading the title of the article, you are probably wondering: but where exactly is he coming from?
As the son of Vietnamese immigrants, I would never have been able to fully understand Quebec culture without having been personally in contact with the people who bring it to life.
Significant experiences
Without the nicest family from Jonquière who took me and my Lebanese friend to hockey every weekend, because our parents were too busy putting bread on the table, I would never have had the chance to be exposed to such a warm welcome and to discuss our cultural particularities such as the difference in supper time!
If I hadn’t gone to French-language school, I wouldn’t have realized the journey of French Canadians through their emancipation that led to the development of a unique society in America in which I wanted to participate. I probably wouldn’t have made a network of lifelong friends either, and I wouldn’t have developed the accent from here!
Without all my medical internships which allowed me to exile myself the story of a few months in Abitibi or Gaspésie or my trip with my Vietnamese friend to the native land of Gilles Vigneault on the borders of the North Shore, I would never have been able to taste all that the locals have to offer, and especially not the good scallops at Chez Julie in Havre-Saint-Pierre!
And finally, without my student exchange in the Maritimes, I would never have been able to discover Acadian history and culture and the importance of preserving and promoting French in an English-speaking ocean.
All of these stories have a common denominator. The immersive experience is the most powerful instrument to reduce ambient polarization, prejudices and fears in addition to balancing relationships.
It allows us to refocus human relations on the essentials and to pierce the solitudes, because by sharing our intimacy, we expose all our vulnerability and our humanity. However, open-mindedness on all sides is a condition sine qua non at the very beginning of a conversation.
In a context where several visions collide and where social networks make us all on edge, civil society and the government must implement initiatives for cultural rapprochement by taking inspiration, among other things, from what is being done here as elsewhere. Immersion can take place in different ways and involve a multitude of organizations and people, but the younger the players or have just arrived in the country, the more lasting the impact, while the later the immersion occurs. , the harder it is to break down preconceived ideas.
Educational institutions, community organizations, municipalities and cultural associations throughout Quebec have the knowledge of the field to promote these meetings.
Host families and sponsorship communities quickly formed to facilitate the arrival of hundreds of Ukrainians. This surge of generosity could be transformed into a more structured reception network. Cultural experience programs coupled with community service and exchange programs could see the light of day for first or even second generation young new Quebecers. These steps could also support the famous reconciliation between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals.
The Government of Quebec can act as a support for this confluence of cultures in order to accomplish its objective of integration, social cohesion and even better, rootedness. Nevertheless, the will to unite and define themselves must come from all the communities who will have to appropriate naturally and at their own pace a common space, which will require the emergence of innovative and unifying leaders.
We can never live and survive alone. The first European settlers had benefited from sharing the great knowledge and essential know-how of the First Nations without which it would have been untenable to survive the harsh winters. Isn’t it time to give back to others?