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East-West
Immigration: The Great Global Economic Engine
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
180 years ago my Great, Great, Great Grandfather James Shaw sailed from Northern Ireland looking for a better life. He died in 1884. I don’t know a lot about him. However, the man had a lot of guts. There was no Singapore or Emirates airlines in those days. He got on a leaky old boat with I’m assuming everything he had and took his chances getting to Canada.
I thought of him the other day because I hosted an annual event on my farm where my former graduate school buddies come for the day to pick, sell and market sweet corn and talk about old times. However, this is never a regular school reunion. My friends are modern day immigrants to this country.
One of my friends is an immigrant from Bangladesh, another from Antigua and Barbuda and yet another from Trinidad and Tobago. I value these people and I’m always impressed with their stories of why they came to Canada. During the day another woman buying corn who had immigrated to Canada from Switzerland joined them.
I cannot even imagine. I’ve been all over the world, seen many things, but I cannot imagine giving it all up. I cannot imagine the immigrant experience. However, in this world it happens everyday. People get up and leave all the time. There are many reasons. Who knows, maybe someday it’ll even happen to me.
Let me tell you their stories. My Bangladeshi friend hails from a village near Comilla, Bangladesh. He was from a big family, about 30 people in the extended version who eked out an existence under the Banyan trees of Eastern Bangladesh. My colleague eventually made his way to Bangladesh Agricultural University in Mymensigh Bangladesh. From there he came to Canada on a Commonwealth Scholarship. Years later he’s a respected economist with the Ontario government.
However, it’s a long way from the time he slept under the Banyan trees near Comilla. The cultural shock must have been incredible, settling into this cold, highly charged and largely Christian country.
My colleague from Antigua and Barbuda had it a bit easier. He was from Piggotts, a small village on the Island of Antigua. In the mornings he used to ride his donkey to school. His journey I think was a bit easier, as Antigua was in the western hemisphere. He’s also a respected economist working for the Ontario government. However, it is a long, long way from those white sandy beaches with the turquoise water.
So my question is why and for those who don’t immigrate, why not? Economists will argue that immigrants are no different than when James Shaw took his first step up the gangplank in Ireland. They move seeking economic opportunity. They move seeking a better life for themselves and their families. Of course many of them through the years move to get away from oppression whatever that may be.
The world is full of examples of immigration. Canada for instance has about the highest per capita immigration rate in the world. Simply put, we don’t have enough babies here and without immigration we’d disappear. Japan on the other extreme always discouraged immigration and only now is seeing the folly of its ways with a declining birthrate. The same is true for South Korea and to a lesser extent in countries like France and Germany.
The European Union has its issues with immigration, but it allows free movement between member states with the appropriate documentation. Visitors to rural areas in Ireland and England will surely notice the number of Polish farm workers. It’s all a function of how political union and immigration is changing the face of the EU.
So what about those who don’t immigrate and why not? Does that remind you of your loyal scribes, Dr. Haque and I? Uh huh, yep, both settled and rather happy about it. Needless to say at one time many years ago many of us on this side of the Atlantic were hoping Enamul would eventually end up with us here too.
Of course that was before I visited him in Bangladesh and saw what a dynamic life he leads. Of course family considerations are one thing and his wide social network is another. As he once told me the only thing he missed about Canada were McGinnis Landing (a local eatery) and my mother’s desserts.
Still, you never know. If it isn’t us, it might be our children. Immigration, especially in Western countries is an economic necessity and a fact of life. We are richer for it, just ask the now older men who as boys once slept under the Banyan tree near Comilla or ran across the white sand beach at Dickenson Bay. Their contributions as well as many others are an example of how good immigration can be.
Immigrants, immigration and society
Dr. A.K. Enamul Haque
Canada is a land of immigrants, it is multi-cultural, multi-racial and a multi-lingual country. This is the beauty of Canada. It is one of the features that I always admired about Canada. The other feature that I still talk about in many public or private parties is that it has a great sense of nationalism that does not exist anywhere in the world. Here in Canada you can run for elections on a separatist platform and still the government tolerates it. I do not know whether all the Canadians can see this beauty of their country but having traveled to so many countries and living in South Asia I still believe that this is a very important social capital of Canada. I guess that is because of this many people get attracted to Canada.
If anyone asks me today what did I like the best in Canadian society, I think I can boldly say that the degree of tolerance that Canadians show to other racial, linguistic and also nationals of the world. It’s something that you can hardly see around the world.
When I came to Canada, I learned from Phil and Lorne (my other Canadian friend) the history of Canada. I realized that while people of Kashmir are fighting for separation, the Indian government termed them as terrorist, the Palestinians fighting for homeland are also terrorists, the IRA is a terrorist, the Kosovians were also terrorists, and so on but PQ activists are not regarded as terrorists in Canada. Perhaps, it is because of this attitude, Canada is such a peaceful country.
Immigration takes place for various reasons. For an emigrant it is a strategy to search for more wealth, freedom and a new life. For the country receiving immigration, it reduces the cost of living, increases the productivity of the economy and fuels the wheels of the economy. So, in most cases it is a win-win solution. However, individually people often take immigration as a threat. Immigrants are hard working, vying for establishment in a new society, adapting into a new culture, new society. They are, therefore, naturally the most competitive groups of people in the society, who like to take challenges, show to the world that he/she is important in this new society and often establish their life without substantial support from the government. It is, of course, for these reasons locals often consider them as a threat and it is true irrespective of countries, continents and society. The other day, the way South Africa reacted to the growing immigrants from Zimbabwe is a glaring example that the kind of hostility between immigrants and the locals are not something unique in any country.
Unfortunately, it is clearly because of this, some also avoid migrating to a new country. Those who decide to migrate and those who decide not to are equally intelligent in their decision. Countries receiving immigrants often sets criterion to ensure that they choose the best – others call it brain drain. However, my question is whether these countries often get the best of the nations? My hunch is that they get people from the top cohort in their profession but not the best and this is despite the fact that countries that are looking for immigrants are searching for the best quality people.
The basic reason for a country not to get the best quality is that society often fails to appreciate the contribution of the immigrants properly. The people who deal with this group cannot properly portray the image of the country.
Let me give some examples. After my last trip to Canada (2003), I decided not to travel to any western countries. I did tell Phil about this (while I was visiting him in that trip) but I was not happy about the treatment that I received in Vancouver airport. To be frank, when I came out of the plane in Vancouver airport, plain clothed security men wanted to look at my passport while I was at the boarding bridge! I understand that I have to go through the immigration but the security man only challenged me because I was the only non-white person in that row. After showing my passport, he again started questioning me. Possibly thinking that I was coming to seek immigration! I was coming to Calgary for a meeting of the IISD and then my plan was to visit Phil. I had to explain this to him and then again to another one before reaching the immigration desk! I wondered to myself “Do I look like an illegal migrant?” To me this was the end of traveling to the West. Still today, I do not find much interest to fly to Canada. Phil has been insisting me to come to Canada with my family and I wanted to but I never felt the urge from inside me to do that because I do not want to be humiliated or harassed by the immigration police with my family! Why should I give them a chance to pick on me?
On another occasion in 1992, I was coming to attend Phil’s wedding as his best man. I still remember that event. I was working in the Chittagong University. I returned to Bangladesh after doing my PhD only four months back. I appeared in front of the Canadian High Commission with my passport and dropped my application for a visa to Canada to attend his wedding. The immigration desk was not convinced why I was going back after only four months [back in his mind he thought I was going to go back to Canada for good!]. I was denied the visa. Phil called me that night to find out what happened to my application for Visa. I said to him, I cannot come, did not get visa. He was so upset that he called his MP and wanted an explanation! Later he called me back and requested me to go back to the High Commission next morning. I got my visa. I was happy to attend his wedding but can I be happy about the treatment?
You all know that I travel around Asia quite frequently and on many occasions I avoided flying to Europe too for the same reason! There are many richer countries in Asia too. Japan is one of them. Last time I was visiting Japan, I was so surprised that I remember calling Phil and told him about this. The immigration desk did not bother to ask me a question – simply swiped the passport. Asian treat I guess! In my travel to Thailand, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, I never felt that I was singled out because of my color.
Only recently I was visiting England (reluctantly) and Sweden. However, I must say that Europe has changed their mindset to some extent. I did travel to Europe before and so I am comparing them. This time, I did not see “that” racial feeling at the immigration desk. To my surprise several of the immigration officers at Heathrow were Asian too. They did ask me questions, I do not mind it but they did not challenge me at the boarding bridge or before reaching the immigration desk.
Having said all this, I must also admit that Canada is a wonderful country. I had my best years in Canada; my best friends are also in Canada. I hope that Canadian immigration evaluates these stories and portray them as true Canadians.
[Professor of Economics, United International University, Dhaka Bangladesh]
East/West is a joint column written by A.K. Enamul Haque and Philip Shaw. Dr. A.K.Enamul Haque Ph.D, is a Professor of Economics at United International University. Philip Shaw M.Sc. is farmer, writer and broadcaster in Dresden, Ontario, Canada. Each month they will bring their uniquely East/West perspectives to specific topics of world interest.
