Learning to Live Together..

Learning to speak each other's language
By KEN HERAR
A woman I know left the culturally-diverse Fraser Valley for several months, and upon her return said to me: "Ken, I missed you people" and hugged me.She realized how much she enjoyed the diversity of the people living in the Valley.I was taken aback by her generous, but rare comments.A couple of days later, while talking to some friends, the topic of diversity came up and the comment was: "Different cultures don't mix." Unfortunately, these kinds of comments in my experience are becoming more frequent.Different people see things in different ways. We live in the larger Canadian family and there is no right answer is our search for a more compassionate society that treats people equally and free of discrimination.I believe Canadians are compassionate when it comes to diversity and embracing new people from around the globe.But Canadians have to take more responsibility in making the most of the mosaic of Canadian culture to work instead of pointing fingers and calling others names.People who just recently arrived in Canada to live should take the time to learn the language, make new friends and discover the beautiful opportunity they have been given through the freedom to learn and explore.In the past decade or so we have seen boundaries within our communities created by language and culture that need to be dissolved through proper assimilation.When I stopped at a gas bar in North Vancouver recently, an attendant told me he was originally from Abbotsford. He said he moved because people didn't want to mix with him or his kids due to cultural differences.At another time, a Sikh man came up to me and spoke Punjabi. I had some difficulty understanding him. He couldn't speak English so we had a communication barrier.I suspect this type of situation happens a lot around town. I am not fluent in Punjabi ,but I am in the process of learning.I thought that in this instance there is an opportunity where two negatives can make a positive. The Sikh man could learn English and I should learn Punjabi to bring a common understanding between us. This is the attitude we need in our communities - a reaching-out effect. Many of my Caucasian friends are making the effort and learning Punjabi - and I think that is great. However, a greater effort is also needed within the Punjabi community for those who can't speak English to learn and make an effort. It's a long and slow process, but something that is important. If we all work together on our cultural differences will be build bridges to a brighter future.
KenHerar@gmail.com