Have you noticed the presence of many faces of people from the migration background of the last decades in all aspects of our lives? Have you become aware of the incredible contribution of all these new ethnic groups who have come to Quebec for a better life for their children? Do you recognize the importance of this influx of new people who want to contribute to our common well-being and who agree to share their cultures, skills and new ideas for our advancement as a society?
I was exposed very early on to what was called “culture shock”. From a young age, for me, it was rather a tremendous enrichment that contributed to my quality of life and my personal development, never a shock, never a brake on my culture, quite the contrary.
First, in my life, there were the English speakers and the Syrians of Grand-Mère who were among my best friends when I was young and who very early on opened me up to other worlds and to the dream of discovering even more. on other peoples in the future. It was also my father’s bosses (Arabs and Anglophones) at the factory who offered to pay for my studies at the Seminary to open other doors for me in the future…
Then, there were recently immigrant teachers, French and Belgian, who opened me up to the European mentality and cultures and who aroused my curiosity about the people of this continent of our ancestors. We teased them of course and we also made fun of their accents, but, deep down, we understood their importance in our lives as college students to open our minds more.
Subsequently, my greatest inspirations as a doctor and social pediatrician were Dr.r Nicolas Steinmetz, English-speaking pediatrician at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, and Dr.D Gloria Jeliu (born in Paris, with Bulgarian roots), from Sainte-Justine Hospital. Both have contributed greatly to what I have become today as a social pediatrician.
My nomadic side, strong for several years, certainly originates from all these exposures to people who immigrated to us to share their experiences and their wealth. These “strangers” have greatly changed my life. My contacts in the field with Comorians, Albanians and Inuits were also a great inspiration that influenced my professional trajectory and better defined the social medicine approach for the most vulnerable and suffering children that I created. afterwards.
In the Montreal neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges, I saw entire classes of immigrant or refugee children of all nationalities who, from kindergarten, could learn French in a few months as a second or even fifth language. You have to see it to believe it.
Professors, doctors, scientists, caregivers, engineers, etc. of immigration fully contribute to our development as a distinct society, as we like to say. If we are distinct, it is because we are strong, and proud, and without fear of losing out. The richness of diversity and openness to others should guide us in favoring the reception of immigrants, it is really an “added value”.
The fear of losing our language or our knowledge by opening our doors is a very bad advisor to ensure the strength of our identity. To deprive oneself of the contribution of migrants entails an immense risk of regressing as a distinct society and as a people, not to mention all the personal benefits, which I have briefly recalled, which we would do without. Welcome to our house !