Complexities of migration, radicalism and education Ali A. Abdi University of British Columbia
Historical contexts Human migration, whether internal or global, has been a natural human activity for many millennia In many ways, it was responsive to the ideas and trends of globalization which although discussed more robustly lately (Abdi et al., 2006; Stiglitz, 2002) has characterized human life for many millennia With the first social formations of extra-individual human groups, we have always engaged in some form of globalization or another The realities of globalization and its migration trends involve the sharing of all or select aspects of our lives with others
historical into contemporary In different epochs of human history, there were always shifting qualities of migration, many times influenced by the power locations of the migrants in relation to those in the destination locations One major project of globalization that also contained massive migratory trends was colonialism European colonialism which was primarily triggered by economic exigencies in Europe, as the major colonialist Cecil Rhodes noted (Luchembe, 1995), was a complex psycho-cultural, political and economic project that involved the migration of hundreds of thousands of Europeans to new lands in Africa, Asia and Latin America Beyond the economic migrations of Europeans, there were also other important migratory trends to flee religious persecution: Dutch and French migrants to South, British subjects to America
As such, the beginnings of massive migrations to foreign lands was actually pioneered by Europeans and not the other way around Current migrations of so-called developing countries populations has certainly complex antecedents and actualities that need to be critically understood and analyzed Especially critical is the psychological impact of colonialism where cognitive imperialism implanted in the minds of people: you are backward, we came here to civilize you, you need us and we are the modern, the developed (Achebe, 1958, 200; Said, 1978, 1993) In reality though, massive European colonial migration to Africa, Asia and Latin America was destructive in both human and natural resources (Van Sertima, 1991; Crocker, 2001; Wolf, 2010)
Connecting the current to the past Current world geographies, political structures and relationships more or less, intact as colonial powers built them In many areas of the colonized world where there was some precolonial traditional select democratic systems (Achebe, 1958; Lewis, 1969), the absolutist power of the colonial governor and the prosperity accumulated thereof, influenced the subsequent rule of the local elite In almost all the countries that are producing the majority of current refugee populations (Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and others) arbitrarily created in the early to mid-1900s by Britain and France (Fromkin, 2009): A peace to end all peace.
The fermentation of extremist ideologies Extremism is not fundamental to Islamic teachings which actually emphasizes moderation and peaceful existence with other peoples and nations Extremism initially serving as a recruitment tool for anti-elite platforms in local contexts, in early to mid-20the century, and slowly spreading into other Muslim countries Into the times of Al-Qaida and ISiS, where the target of extremists was expanded into western targets and spaces: in the case of Syria, clashes in the Arab spring uprising New migrants and their into western Europe and Canada Although issues mainly connected to current civil wars and general lack of select freedom, issues of mental colonization and the superiority of European life (Bessis, 2003) still playing a role Refugees to be protected by host countries under the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refuges (in force in 1954)
New immigrants/refugees in western schools With millions of new immigrants and refugees in western countries including Canada and Switzerland, many issues arise for teachers and schools administrators Issues of new cultures and culture shock for new comers + language issues and other potentialities for alienation (possibly double alienation) to be detected and dealt with New ways of looking at multiculturalism and multicultural education in complex contexts that need complex analysis and understanding Certainly a new reading of culture as non-static, not fixed but dynamic and shifting with people from different backgrounds more connected today than ever through select platforms of communication technologies (Castells, 2010) including social media
Multiculturalism: lessons from Canada Canada was the first western country to adopt an official policy of multiculturalism in 1977, which became the Multiculturalism Act of 1988: all cultures of all Canadians to be recognized, respected and preserved One outcome: multicultural education although not directly mandated as education is a provincial jurisdiction and not a federal mandate; yet all provinces have stated their support for multicultural education Without any organized and policy-wise, accountably binding mandated multicultural education, it became a patchwork of mostly superficial rhetoricizations that were surfacely celebrated without any challenges to dominant power relations (Ghosh, 1996) Essentially celebratory multicultural days that involve traditional dresses, ethnic foods and music/dances that avoid problematizing issues that seriously concern the daily lives of especially immigrant and refugee students who, mainly due to pre-arrival schooling quality liabilities and post-arrival linguistic and other system-related difficulties, could feel detached and alienated from the mainstream (Eidoo, 2012)
socio-educational alienation into potential radicalization Radicalization is essentially about lacking viable reference connections with the main official institutions and society at large and adopting personal or group methods and actions that are against the contemporary political, economic and educational structures that are seen as anti-minorities and other marginalized groups One prominent example in Canada is the group of Toronto 18 who conspired in 2006 to commit major acts of terrorism including the bombing of major institutions and the killing of people; all 18 young men involved were from immigrant or refugee backgrounds The potentially destructive project were foiled by an informant in the group who videotaped their intentions and activities, which would have otherwise caused so much damage and destruction
Weak multiculturalism and youth radicalisation The radicalization of immigrant and refugee youth in western countries is too complex to be simplistically assumed on a religion or media influence While those are important and could have an influence, I believe weaknesses or even the critical failure of multicultural education and integration programs has some relationship with the situation The two institutions that play an important role in the socialization of young people are families and schools; if youth do not feel happiness at home and become detached from schooling, they will seek other ways to construct some fulfilment and relational satisfaction elsewhere In the Canadian context, non-critical multiculturalism and weak integration possibilities (Ghosh and Abdi, 2013) has diluted people s capacities to achieve the original promise of their migration
Multi-level marginalizations While we should be careful in assuming a direct correlation between youth educational and economic marginalizations (youth unemployment in Canada in twice that of adults and worse for those from minority communities; it is the same in most other countries) and acts of radicalization that can damage society, we should not minimize the difficult life situations many minority young people face Even those from the west who joined ISiS invariably talk about how they felt out of place in their contexts The issue is not also detached from the condition of the parents of their parents and attached general family situations; in many cases, their educated or hardworking parents do not get the jobs they are qualified for, as their outside Canada education and experience are not recognized or rewarded
It is a well-known fact, for example, that while the immigrant population that comes to Canada on a point system is on average more educated than the average Canadian-born, they consistently lag behind in employment and income situations, thus creating a problematic, even depressive family situations that add to the despair of already increasingly unconnected youth who could unfortunately give up on their new or even native countries In many instances, the parents are unemployed, or more probably underemployed: foreign trained immigrant doctors, engineers and teachers working in low wage service jobs is common in Canada
Possibilities for de-radicalization By the time we call a process de-radicalization, we may be already behind the possibilities for full redemption but it is always worth trying as the alternative is so much worse Projects of proactive inclusion should be more effective, but when it especially comes to the main domains of power (politics, economics, access to the professions), Canada and other so-called multicultural democracies in the west have not done well (Dolby et al., 2004) The Dolby et al. study actually confirmed 30 years later, what the Canadian sociologist John Porter found 30 years earlier without much change: a wide divide between those who have accumulated economic and related powers and those who didn t (English Canadians on top, Aboriginal peoples at the bottom)
New education for new times The role of especially public schools and teachers is more crucial than ever in understanding the historical and cultural backgrounds of immigrant and refugee learners and their families The first point of such understanding is an appreciation of the trauma many of these children and their families have been through in civil war contexts and in refugee camps In the way John Dewey (1963) spoke about it, the schooling context must be a space where all learners are made welcome, but beyond that, feel a sense of stakeholder status where they are not only there to absorb facts and figures, but attain a viable sense of belonging
A pragmatically possible sense of belonging can be achieved through thickly inclusive critical multiculturalism and multicultural education that goes beyond the surface Such sense of belonging can raise the self-esteem as well as the self-efficacy of learners which can serve as bulwarks against extremism In the classic sense of the pedagogy of psychology, radicalism is not a first choice for most children and young adults except when it becomes the only space where young people feel valued and enfranchised It is therefore, imperative that teachers and schools are aware of this and work with families and community groups to create better learning and future choices for students who could otherwise feel marginalized and de-valued It is about avoiding tragedy and loss, and achieving productive citizenship and basic rights contexts for all