Integration
of Minorities in Western Societies
By Nasim Hassan
Delaware, USA
Human migration began in Africa
thousands of years ago and continues unabated
to this day. Homo sapiens began this journey at
the dawn of history. Initially the pace of migration
was slow due to available means of transportation.
At the advent of the 20th century, the pace of
migration markedly accelerated. Major wars and
certain local conflicts added to migration from
one continent to another.
The main cause of migration has always been the
search for better living conditions or greener
pastures. Although millions of people have left
their homeland due to wars, the recent migration
from Asia, Africa and South America to Europe
and North America is primarily motivated by economic
reasons. After gaining independence, the people
from former colonies migrated to run factories
in Western Europe.
The problem of assimilation during earlier migrations
was non-existent. People settled at a place and
mixed with the local population without any problems
or srife. They stayed around for centuries and
only small groups ventured out to other parts
of the world. Religious, ethnic and racial tensions
are relatively a recent phenomenon.
The humanity has come a long way and I believe
the latest immigrants to Europe and North America
can easily assimilate in their host countries.
People of all religions or ethnic backgrounds
have a lot in common and very few differences.
If these minor differences are kept in proper
perspective, mutual understanding can easily overcome
these conflicts.
Even though all people are themselves responsible
for their life and progress, I believe the administrations
of host countries in Europe and North America
can impact the transition in a positive way. The
policies must be made for a gradual assimilation
of the new immigrants. There are certain basic
steps that must be taken by the immigrants as
well as the host countries to affect peaceful
and harmonious integration. In this write up,
I have tried to communicate my ideas on overcoming
challenges of integration of minorities in Europe
and North America.
Language
Language is the gateway to human understanding
and culture. The immigrants must acquire verbal
and reading language skills if they want to make
progress in the adopted country.
There is no harm in teaching the mother tongue
to young kids but parents must ensure the learning
of the national language of the host country.
For example, in Germany, France, Spain or Italy
long-term residents must learn the native language.
The people who do not understand local language
tend to stick together and form separate ethnic
enclaves. They are afraid of living away from
people who understand their language. This may
have certain advantages in the beginning but in
the long run, these people cannot compete with
the majority and lag behind the mainstream.
The state governments can help in teaching language
skills to new immigrants. In North America, immigrants
can easily stay within their own communities without
learning English. In some instances, local schools
also provide bilingual teachers. This is simply
a wrong policy. In my opinion, the children must
be kept together and taught English from early
childhood. The language skills should be one of
the criteria for granting of citizenship to Language
goes a long way in integration. In South Asia,
major divisions have emanated from language differences.
The provinces in South Asia are based on common
language as well as geographical regions.
Creating an image
The minorities have to create and sustain a positive
image within the majority community. In India,
the Parsi community has developed the image of
a benevolent and philanthropic group. Persian
people migrated from Iran during the early advent
of Islam and crossed over into India where they
engaged in business and became a model peace-loving
community. They also established a large number
of schools, colleges, hospitals in South Asia.
Likewise, the Jewish immigrants have created an
impressive image in North America. The image of
Indians, Arabs and other Asian communities is
still in the making in the USA.
An image cannot be created by simple talk. It
requires sustained efforts and focused thinking.
The minorities have to decide on their own about
the image they would like to create and project.
Muslims living in the West - North America and
Europe - will have to come out of the mental frame
they developed in Africa, South Asia and Middle
East. Here are some of the activities that any
minority can adopt to create a positive image.
• Join the school education board
• Volunteer for the fire department, ambulance,
and para-medical vans and services, including
CPR.
• Attend various disease-related clubs,
and blogs as contributors, free of charge
• Seek election for towns, counties, and
other local political organizations as Democrats,
Republicans and independent
• Donate generously to the various tax-exempt
charitable organizations in their local community
• Volunteer time for hospitals, hospices,
senior centers, and assisted living facilities
The first generation of immigrants has divided
loyalties. Most of their charitable contributions
go to their country of origin. This is simply
human nature as a large number of relatives and
friends still live back home. The second generation
is getting away from this attitude. The minorities
have to start supporting local charities and contribute
towards the well being of the local people.
Education
If minorities want to progress and still maintain
a level of identity then they must motivate their
next generation to get the highest education.
Any community or individual that ignores knowledge
and education sinks to the bottom level of society.
Regardless of religion the minorities will face
the same hardships, challenges and disadvantages
of poverty without education. There is no safety
net at the bottom of the society. Europeans may
provide good healthcare and welfare but the receivers
lose human dignity.
Although the USA provides minimum welfare benefits
it still provides the best opportunity for anyone
willing to work hard to achieve better economic
conditions. My observation shows that better education
accelerates the integration.
Education is a key to earn a respectable living.
Minorities should enter and excel in all disciplines
in addition to medicine, law, and engineering.
There is a wide world beyond these chosen professions
dominated by certain minorities.
Recent demonstrations by minorities in France
have highlighted the problem. In Western Europe
jobs must be provided to educated people from
various minorities. They should also encourage
these people to move away from ethnic minority
enclaves. Gradually, a middle class within minorities
will emerge and act as a bridge between the mainstream
and minorities. This will generate hope among
the new generation of immigrants and pave the
way for the process of assimilation.
Social coherence
Minorities cannot progress without social coherence.
By social coherence, I mean a level of trust and
empathy for other members of the community. In
a vast ocean of humanity the individuals get lost.
A group that sticks together with strong social
and cultural ties can weather any storm.
Social coherence develops with shared values,
beliefs and empathy for other people in the group
and conscious efforts to uplift other members
of the community. There are a number of examples
all around the world show the minorities thriving
by developing a social coherence.
The Parsi community in India, Patels or Gujrati
in the USA, Agha Khani community and Jews all
around the world are few examples. People can
look around and they will find that Jews are seldom
on welfare or public assistance. Similarly, you
will not find a Sikh beggar anywhere in India
or abroad.
Building of institutions
It is easy to talk about unity, social coherence
and human progress. In my opinion nothing can
be achieved without institutions. The institutions
translate the aspirations, hopes and dreams into
realty.
The institutions bring the people and resources
together for the benefit of all members. The institutions
can be social, cultural, educational, religious
or philanthropic in their objective. I consider
institutions as a life support system for the
human beings. They are even more important for
minorities. The institutions should welcome all
people, including the majority. This will promote
understanding among all people and reduce ethnic,
racial and religious tensions.
Conclusion
All of us belong to a common human race. Starting
from a small group, the humanity evolved into
nations and countries. In the 21st century and
beyond we have to ensure peace and harmony between
people of all races. The pace of migration will
certainly accelerate. The minorities will be able
to maintain their ethnic and cultural identities
due to revolution in the communication technology.
It is now possible to stay in any country and
still maintain a cultural link with the country
of origin. However, it should be a tool to unite
the people instead of dividing them. It is better
to accept the differences and respect diversity.
This will make this small world a pleasant place
to live.
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