Karina, Lauren, Alyssa and Emma
Cherry trees are an interesting species. With only one, they are unable to bear fruit of any kind. However, once you add more trees to your garden, they are able to produce healthy and abundant cherries. Throughout this course, we’ve come to realize that multiculturalism is akin to a cherry tree. The more cultures and viewpoints you have, the more prosperous our society may be. However, despite living in such a diverse society, it can still be hard to express one's feelings and concerns without the fear of rejection looming over one’s shoulders.
Coming into these conversations, our group members individually shared concerns in regard to a lack of respect and education others may have towards their culture or that they may have towards someone else’s. We were all fairly concerned that we may not be able to be completely open up and honest within these conversations due to this. Furthermore, there was a wonder in the back of our minds if we’d be able to positively contribute to these conversations at all.
There was another concern on top of these in the fact that we not only had to get to know our group members, but also a person from another country entirely through the international student volunteer. There was the fear that we may offend her or not be able to understand her life experiences. Our group needed to be culturally sensitive and welcoming to be able to fully include this person within our conversations.
We learned very quickly that these concerns were nothing to worry about. As a group of kind, empathic, and supportive individuals, we were able to create a safe space. This provided us an environment where we could gain knowledge and insight into other people’s cultures without the fear of insulting others or being judged ourselves. Our biggest strength as a group seemed to be our willingness to allow one another to express ourselves and be able to sympathize with struggles we have each faced. We feel that it was easier to open up and be honest with one another because of this positive group dynamic.
The ability to open up with one another also provided another positive side effect. By being honest about our experiences we were able to compare and contrast our different world views with one another and gain deeper insight into the diversity and opportunities - or lack thereof - our world may provide to people - whether that be equally or not. This specifically came up in the discussion about Canada itself and how locals versus people who moved here view this society. We realized how privileged we are to have access to such a wide array of people within our country and acknowledge that our group exemplifies this beautiful diversity. Our discussion with the international student volunteer opened us up to a new perspective on Canada. We had the opportunity to reflect on the underprivileged parts of our society and receive a new viewpoint on how much worse it can get. The international student volunteer detailed the extreme poverty she witnessed in her home country, and how she views the opportunity to live and study in Canada as a great accomplishment. Having grown up in Canada our whole lives, this allowed us to view Canada through a different lens - a land that others see as full of change, innovation, and promise, instead of what others may receive back home. As a group, we feel that this is a revelation which may permanently open our eyes to the privilege we hold as diverse citizens of Canada.
Ultimately, there was much to grow from and learn within these cultural conversations. We may take this knowledge into the future to make our lives and the lives of the people around us more healthy and prosperous - like a cherry tree. We thank the LICC conversations for this amazing opportunity to get to know other people within our school we may not have spoken to before - their lives, their feelings, and their experiences. As a group, we developed an environment for people to openly share their views on multiculturalism and the topics associated with it. In the future, we wish to evolve our communities into the diverse safe space we created during these conversations.
Karina Dorego, HR261, Social Work, Brantford
Lauren Musselman, HR261, Human Rights and Human Diversity, Brantford
Alyssa Roye, HR261, Human Rights and Human Diversity (Sussex), Brantford
Emma Somerville, HR261, Human Rights and Human Diversity (Sussex), Brantford