Clash of Cultures

In less extreme forms, such clashes can be seen in immigrant parents enforcing their codes of behaviour – in such things as arranged marriages - on children who have grown up in Canada, and thus are been far more exposed to Canada’s core beliefs. As I have suggested in class, with a very large immigrant population in Edmonton, from a wide variety of cultures, such clashes are perhaps far more common here than most Albertans realize.

Any person who comes to Canada from another country will always face different cultures and religions. Canada is constantly growing in population with different cultures too. Because of this children will change how they act to fit in or because of what they are surrounded by.

It definitely is a huge change for the 3 girl’s parents to come to a new place but they cannot expect their children to live exactly the way they want when they are surrounded by so many different cultures.

These days in society, schools are mixed with all colours and that is normal for Canadians. People have grown to learn about other religions and other lifestyles. This makes it hard for parents to try and make their own children understand that this is supposed to be what’s best.

Although Mohammed Shafia was strong about what he believed for his culture he forgot about his family and what they meant to him. In every family there are problems and some children will not follow what their parents want. This is common for family households and Shafia should not have taken it this far. Nobody knows what comes after this life and he was wrong to take the lives of his 3 children as well as his wife. Culture is one thing but family is another and at the end of the day the people one should trust the most is their family.

What do you think? Obviously any kind of murder or killing is wrong, but what about lesser cultural clashes (such as only allowing daughters to marry men from the same ethnic group). Should sub-cultures in our society be encouraged to fit more into the main core of Canadian social values and behaviours (if so, how?). Or should minority cultures be allowed to continue practices most Canadians find contrary to those core values and beliefs. If so, where does one draw the line?