Hardships in a Foreign Land

For Immigrant and refugee women, the well-being of their family is an influential factor in relation to their personal health  (Meadows, Melton & Thurston, 2001 ).  In my place of work, I have many co-workers who are immigrants and refugees. From this I have heard many things about where they have come from and also how they view their new life in Canada. Although there are many good things, it seems to me that it is difficult to see them through all the hardships they encounter when adjusting  to a new country, and essentially starting a new life. Since most women  around the world in heterosexual relationships carry a lot of their families well-being on their shoulders, this could be a significant stressor for these women.

At work one day, I began to engage in conversation with one of my fellow co-workers, "Jan".  She began to talk about her life in Canada and how she is glad she came here, but basically how it doesn't hide the fact that life is more stressful here than back in India.  She came here with her husband, looking for a better life for her 3 year old daughter, one where her options would be limitless. While talking to her, it seemed as though that dream  would be difficult to achieve at times. She brought up many issues that were of concern for her, her family, and how they brought on hardships. One of which was their financial situation. It was completely  different back in India, her husband was an educated man making a living in a career that was providing for the family, which meant she didn't need to work. Now, her husband works full time at a lower paying job then he once did back home, so she now has to work full time to contribute to their financial situation. She said that when her daughter is sick, she is the one who takes time off work to care of her daughter since she has no family members here, and her husband can't afford to take any time off work.  She also has expressed issues like how she fears the loss of tradition in her daughter's life, by living in Canada where society is essentially a 360 degree turn around.  The feeling of stress from adjusting to Canada, role overload, and the upkeep of family traditional values is a detrimental part of immigrant life and results in various consequences.

In 2000-2001, after taking into account various demographic, social, and economic factors, immigrant women who had been in Canada for at least ten years, were 30% more likely to report poor health than Canadian born women (Johnson, 2005). These statistics can easily be linked to the stress that women are susceptible to when trying to provide the basic needs of their families in a new environment, while adding on a new language and a new social interaction system (Johnson, 2005). Feeling like they don't belong  and/or  having low status in the new  society is also a major stressor for immigrant women (Mackinnion, 2000). It is said that by 2017, one in five Canadians will be a member of a visible minority group (Ward and Belanger, 2006, p. 41). This shows that more immigrants and refugees will be entering Canada to try and gain a better life, and will be prominent in our society and workforce.  To solve many of these issues, the government needs to implement more services to help this class of people so they can have that better life they once dreamt of. In addition to their health, immigrants will soon make up 20% of Canada's overall workforce, and economically it would be in Canada's interest to facilitate these people further as they become more and more of a contributing factor in the country's labour force. Social programs to help newly landed immigrants and especially women, who take on a completely altered role when in Canada, would be immensely beneficial and could easily be carried out in the form of educational upgrade programs to meet Canadian standards, more emotional support groups for similar women, and more social work assistance to help families facing struggle.

Jenn S

References:

Mackinnon, M. (2000). A different reality: immigrant women on Prince Edward Island share many health needs and values with Canadian-born women, but lack of resources and cultural barriers restrict their access to care. The Canadian Nurse, 96(7), 22. Retrieved from CBCA Complete database.

Meadows, L. M., Melton, C., & Thurston, W. E. (2001).  Immigrant Women's Health. Social Science & Medicine, 52(9), 1451-1458. doi: 10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00251-3

Johnson, L.V. (2005). Transitions; Immigrant and Refugee Women in BC.  Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of B.C.; Cultures West. p.4

Ward, M., Belanger, M. (2006). The Family Dynamic: A Canadian Perspective. Toronto, Ontario: Nelson Education Ltd.