Since the foundation of the work I do is helping people to become aware of the assumptions, stereotypes, and perceptions they carry – and how these (often unconsciously) create barriers for others and between themselves and others – I have to comment on Tim Hudak’s use of the term “foreign workers.”

Foreign worker, to me, implies someone that arrives here to work, but goes back to their country of origin. We have many foreign workers (also known as migrant workers) who (for instance) come to work the land from Spring to Fall. You may have seen some of them working at your local Farmers’ Market.

One could argue that foreign workers are doing work that Canadians won’t do (at the very least, they are doing it for less, and often in abysmal conditions).

But someone who comes here to start a new life for whatever reason is an immigrant. Many immigrants come with a rich background, ready to contribute, and very often find it difficult (if not impossible) to work in their field. They are very often Foreign Trained Professional (or Internationally Educated Professionals).

Hmmm….Foreign Trained Professional or Internationally Educated Professional has a different ring to it, doesn’t it? Hmmm…I wonder why Hudak isn’t using those terms?

Words are powerful. They can impact what we see, think and feel – and consequently also what we don’t see, think, or feel – and thereby impact the way we treat others.

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copyright 2011 Annemarie Shrouder

I’m listening to Austrian Radio. The show is called Moment – Leben Heute (Life Today)  Today’s topic is the mosque in Vienna and the public opinion that surrounds it.

It’s worth noting that these are not solely Austrian opinions that I am hearing on this show.  I also hear these arguments in Canada (and I can safely assume one would hear them all over the world) about immigrants and people that are “not like us”.  There is a name for this: xenophobia. In this case, we can also call it Islamophobia.

The complaints about the Mosque, it seems, are not about religion, but about the things that accompany it: congested streets, lack of parking, noise.  In particular they mention the Eid celebrations with firecrackers and the lack of street parking during Ramadan. It occurs to me that these are the types of things we pick at because we don’t want to show our intolerance and racism. At one point a bus passengers complaint is shared as the bus stops to let a large crowd of Mosque-bound people cross the street. His fellow passenger replies “My God, they are just going to pray. We’ve been doing that for ages.” And I have to smile. Because in a predominantly Christian country, I’m sure there are parking issues at Easter and Christmas (and maybe every Sunday, depending on the size of the town), and I can imagine there are firecrackers at New Years. And I wonder who complains then.  You see, it’s not about that. It’s about the fact that we as a human race continue to have trouble accepting difference – and seeing the common humanity beneath it.
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© Annemarie Shrouder 2010