CANADIAN SOCIETY: a Case Study of Bangladeshi Families

THE EXPERIENCE OF ADAPTATION IN CANADIAN SOCIETY: A Case Study of Bangladeshi Families A thesis in The Department of Ph-DIHumanities Presented in Partial Fulfihent of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philoso~hyat Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada O Roksana Nazneen, 2000 National Library Bibliothèque nationale of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibfiographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaON K1AON4 Ottawa ON KIA ON4 Canada Canada Your (ile Votre refértmcs Our fi& Notre rdUrence The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, disîribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/filmyde reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. ABSTRXT Experience of Adaptation: A Case Study of Bangladeshi Families Roksana Nazneen Ph, D Concordia University, 2000 This study examines the influence of cultural values on the process of adaptation of Bangladeshi community in Nontreal, The fo-rms of adaptation as a communiiry range from institutions rooted in an enclave economy on one hand to more complete assimilation on the other. Bu.t cultural differences are experienced very acutely at the interpersmal level. It is at this level that this study seeks to discover which values are most likely to be a)zbandoned, b) undergo adzptation, or c)remain constûnt . My findings indicate that those families and individuals most deeply involved in an enclave community - the ~ylhettis- and, at the other extreme, those who have secure jobs that are commensurate with tkeir siarus expectations, experience the least amount of stress in making adjustments to i-heir cultural values. Those families and individuals, xhose previous occupational training and previous social status are not sufficiently valued by mernbers of the host society in Montreal find it much more difficult to accommodate their cultural values with those of the host society and subsequently experience much more persona1 stress and anxiety. iii 1 would Iike to take the opportunity to thank Sherry Simon, Ph.D, for her assistance in every stage of this dissertation. 1 also wish to record my gratitude to Numl Islam, Ph.D. and Greame Decarie, Ph-D. for their precious help in organizing the dissertation and their continuous encouragement and support. My very special thanks go to my fellow Bangladeshis in the Montreal area who welcomed me in their homes and with big hearts . My intellectual debts go to my thesis supervisor ad mentor, Joe Srnucker, Ph.D., whose innovative insignt helped to shape the form and content of the work. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER THREE SAMPLE DESCRIPTION AND ME THODOLûGY-.,,,. ,..,.,, .,, ., - .,., ... ,. ,-. 4 8 APPENDUC ,.,,.,.,,..,,...,~,,,,....,,.,.,,,,.,.,...--.,,.,...-,.,,,-.,,........-,,....-..- L80 B IBLIOGRAPHY, ,-., ,, , ,, , , ., ., ,. ,., , ,. , ,. ,. -.,. ., ,., , ,... ., ,,,. , ,. , ,. ,, ,. ,,- - 188- v INTRODUCTION TO THE RESE3StCH PROBLED4 In North America, ethnic minority workers have become an integral part of the production system; their concentration in certain industries and occupations makes their presence an importznt factor in shaping the econorny. In this study, I shall address, first, the processes promoting or hindering the adaptation of immigrants to Canadian society. Second, 1 shall attend to tne process of adaptation itself, with special focus on the socio-economic experiences of Bangladeshi fornilies in Montreal area. 1 also wish to redirect the attention from dealing with the problems of new immigrants in the cornmunity (such as discrimination at workplace or in social settings and the clash of cultural values), as they occurred in the past and as we anticipate them in the future, to a possible prevention of at least some of the difficulties in adapting to life in Canada. The focus of the study will be on current 1evels of income, education and occupation of Bangladeshi families in Montreal area and the degree to which they influence processes of adaptation to the Canadian society. Included in this, of course, are issues related to patterns of discrimination and changing patterns of cultural values. In dealing with issues of immigrant, we may move to a broader understanding of people's needs as they experience processes of culture change, even if those needs do not always manifest themselves as public issues. This also re-focuses the emphasis from viewing the immigrant as "having problems" to seeing the environment as presenting a host of problems to the adapting immigrant. Although Indo-Pakistanis have been in Canada for about 80 years, we can trace back the arrivals of Bangladeshis only to the late 50s. Bangladeshis do not share the same history in Canada with Indo-Pakistanis, though their experiences may have been similar. Most local Canadians do not differentiate between Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. There are two basic historical differences between Tndo- Pakistanis and BangLadeshis . First, unlike Indo-Pakistuiis, Bangladeshis are recent immigrants. Second, traditional Indo- Pakistani immigrants carne from rural settings with a low level of education (Johnston:1984, p. 6) . But most Bangladeshi immigrants are from urban middle-class families with some education. Though the motive was money in both cases, early Indo-Pakistani immigrants left their families behind md then returned from Canada with their savings . Bangladeshi immigrants, on the other hand, Fntend to stay in Canada permanently. However, this is increasingly the case for many Indo-Pakistanis who are recent immigrants. Bangladeshi comrnunities in Canada include â lzrge population of university educated people as opposed to most of the early Indo-Pakistani immigrants. While many accepted jobs below their qualifications, as a group they are well distributed through 'the Canadian occupational, structure and have been thoroughly assimilated economically, although they remain socially cohesive. But there is also a sizeable population who corne frorn a distinct region of Bangladesh who are different from other Bangladeshis in many respects. They corne £rom the Sylhet district, and they cal1 themselves "SylhettisT1 (not Bangladeshis) . They speak a very distinct dialect which separates them from other Bangladeshis. llSylhettis"are basically businesspeople with low levels of education, but with greater financial success. They contribute to the development of the Bangladeshi enclave economy in Montreal. Education, command of English and French, and economic integration have not necessarily been translated into complete assimilation. Just like Indo-Pakistanis, Bangladeshis in Cmada, whatever their occupation, have tended to find their friends in their own commwiity and to view critically North American family values (or the lack of them) . But, while these things are shared, there are great differences - organizational, historical, religious and linguistic - between Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, and these diff erences will have a bearing on their future adjustment in Canada. Ethnic nninority employees constitute a large portion of Canadian labour force, Some status attainment researchers and the human capital theorists imply that the workworld is an open market in which individuals freely compete. The status attainment mode1 visualises eventual job placement as the outcorne of a series of choices the person makes. The choices are influenced by the socioeconomic status of the parents, the aspirations they instil in the children. and the educatian they are able to provi.de, These factors work in different ways in cases of local Canadians and ethnic minorities due io the cultural differences. The focus of the study will include not only the work experience of Bangladeshi working rnen/women, but also the entire farnily setting, By sharing an intimate daily existence, immigrant family rnernbers become engaged in an ongoing process of negotiating assimilation, or at least adaptation, in a new society, dealing with discrimination and cultural conflict, and attempting to establish consensus, which may be more or less successful. This study is interdisciplinary in its conceptualizatiori,, and unorthodox in its methods. The research problem rests its analysis on three interrelated disciplines - sociology, economics and history. Key concepts like 'adaptation', 'language skill', 'ethnicityl, 'genderT create a sociological perspective of the research problern, but there is a need to include an economic analysis of the Canadian labour force. To have a better understanding of the topic we must also study the history of immigrant Bangladeshis and their place in present Canadian labour force* I came to Montreal in 1988 and, as a commwrity member myself, have been observing the Bangladeshi community, expanding =d growing since, Demographically, the community is quite çignificant and visible with its sizable population of around 8000

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