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ESSAY THEME: MULTICULTURALISM
Sanja Jovanova
TO BEGIN WITH, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT MULTICULTURALISM IS. MULTICULTURALISM NEEDS TO BE VIEWED AS THE ACCEPTANCE OF MULTIPLE IDENTITIES, WITH EACH IDENTITY HOLDING EQUAL IMPORTANCE.
IDENTITY IS FLUID AFFECTED BY A ETHNICITY, GEOGRAPHY, POLITICS, RELIGION, LANGUAGE, AGE, SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND OTHER FACTORS INCLUDING
MULTICULTURALISM SHOULD REFLECT THE IDEA THAT ALL THESE IDENTITIES CAN CO-EXIST NOT THROUGH SEGREGATION BUT RATHER INTERACTION. INCLUDED IN THIS IDEA OF MULTICULTURALISM IS ACCEPTING NATIONAL IDENTITY.
National identity would one of the strings that holds the web of identities together. Although many have argued that multiculturalism is on the decline and has “failed” as an integration policy, multiculturalism still has a role in integration discourse as part of a social process in the path of integration
SO, MULTICULTURALISM AS A SOCIAL PROCESS TOWARDS INTEGRATION, DOES NOT NECESSARILY LEAD TO SEGREGATION BUT INSTEAD SOCIAL COHESION.
SIMILARLY, ASSIMILATION SHOULD BE VIEWED NOT AS A POLICY FOR INTEGRATION BUT AGAIN AS AN ORGANIC SOCIAL PROCESS THAT OCCURS DURING THE PATH TO INTEGRATION.
HOWEVER, POLICY THAT IS DESIGNED FOR THE PURPOSE OF ASSIMILATION IS ESSENTIALLY COERCING IMMIGRANTS TO SHED THEIR CULTURAL HERITAGE.
ASSIMILATION SHOULD OCCUR ORGANICALLY AND WILL OCCUR OVER TIME AND THROUGH INTERACTION WITH THE HOST SOCIETY.
