Being a South Asian, people sometimes assume that I’m going to focus on South Asian issues. I’ve always wanted to change this assumption. Just because I’m South Asian doesn’t necessarily mean that every column I write is going to be geared towards my own community. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very proud of my South Asian culture and my community’s accomplishments, but it’s more than that.
By Ken Herar
I find it very interesting when people comment: “My son or daughter has a South Asian friend, actually he/she has two. They come over all the time, I don’t see any racism issues out there.”
Lets take a closer look at this way of thinking. It’s encouraging to see that parents are excited and proud that their children have friends from other races, however, just because their children have a couple of friends from different nationalities, doesn’t mean racism doesn’t exist in the community.
Without pointing fingers at anyone, parents and their kids need to have an understanding that having any friends of a different cultural background is a step in the right direction. It’s not how many you have, it’s the quality of the relationship and the trust in that friendship.
In saying all this, I’m trying to be encouraging and positive, but shed some light on the bigger picture. Whether it be in a restaurant, on a sports field or at birthday parties our diverse communities are functioning in enclaves. It’s going to take a larger group effort than a handful of people to build an inclusive community.
I recall a time before I arrived at this paper when an editor and a publisher from a different newspaper instructed me to focus only on South Asian issues. Back then, I had been writing for an extensive period of time and was quite surprised to hear these people telling me what they thought was good for the community. I expressed to them that this was the wrong direction to be taking. In our conversation, I shared that balance is the key in how we approach diversity.
Being a South Asian, people sometimes assume that I’m going to focus on South Asian issues. I’ve always wanted to change this assumption. Just because I’m South Asian doesn’t necessarily mean that every column I write is going to be geared towards my own community. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very proud of my South Asian culture and my community’s accomplishments, but it’s more than that.
As our diverse communities continue to grow locally, I’m not here to just promote one specific culture, I’m here to build bridges of dialogue throughout our communities and encourage intercultural relationships. This has been my passion and this is how I want to be remembered.
I experienced an interesting situation a while back. A group of us were all sitting together around a table and a few of our friends starting speaking in a different language and some who were present became offended. They felt left out because they couldn’t understand what was being said.
When is it appropriate or not appropriate to speak in your mother tongue?
First of all, you should always ask the people around you if they’re okay if you have to switch briefly and speak your own language. If they’re not, then you should wait until later. If English is not your first language, generally people are understanding about the situation.
Let’s all be reminded that we need to be aware of those who are among us and how we might be effecting.
Ken “Kulwinder” Herar is a Mission-based writer and a winner of the champions of diversity award for his columns in the LINK newspaper and other Fraser Valley newspapers. Herar can be reached at [email protected] or view his blog at http://www.kenherar.blogspot.com
