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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/02/15/f-audio-photos-immigrant-canadian-children.html
Children of immigrants caught between 2 cultures
Second-generation Canadians open up about bullying at school, cultural conflict at home
By John Rieti, CBC News
Posted: Feb 15, 2012 3:04 PM ET | | | | |
At Winnipeg's Churchill High School, Ronia Arab just looks like a typical student. But at home, she’s been fighting with her parents over the “Canadian” way she dresses and carries herself.
"My parents don’t like the way I dress," said the 16-year-old. "They want me to be like them, but I don’t know anything about their culture."
While her Iraqi family wears traditional Muslim garb – her mother wears the hijab in public and her father wears suits – the Edmonton-born teen is more likely to dress in leggings, boots, T-shirts and cardigans. After numerous fights with her father, Arab left home and has been living in a group home for about a year.
Generation One: Children of immigrants
Arab is a second-generation Canadian, an academic term that refers to children of families who immigrated to Canada. Like many in this growing segment of the population, she’s struggling to reconcile her family’s culture with life in Canada.
"In their eyes I’m really bad just because I don’t follow the [Iraqi] tradition and lifestyle, but to Canadians I’m just a really nice girl," said Arab.
By 2016, foreign-born youth and Canadian-born youth from immigrant families will make up a quarter of the country’s population, according to predictions by the Canadian Council on Social Development. As their numbers grow, more attention is being paid to their successes and failures.
A 'war zone, 24/7'
Research suggests that some, like Arab, face parental criticism at home, while others cope with bullying at school. Several academic papers have also sounded the alarm that many