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Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? - Travel - Nairaland

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Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by lindaayim(f): 7:18pm On Dec 30, 2016
Sometimes i struggle with the feeling that i'm an american and also a Nigerian in america. when i say struggle, i feel certain jobs i apply for despite being qualified as a citizen is not given and at the end native-born citizens are preferred despite having similar or better training. i feel the accent thing no matter how much american u claim affects u a little bit. Some people still see you as foreign. Actually some americans don't even believe you are a citizen with full rights like them. feel free to share your opinions..

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Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by claremont(m): 7:44pm On Dec 30, 2016
I'm not American, but what you speak about is also commonplace in the UK where I live. I think it also happens in most western countries. There is always an undercurrent of subjective bias even though they deny it. It's more than just the accent, it has to do with a difference in culture between natural-born and naturalized citizens. Some people choose to deny that subjective bias exists, but I think they are living in denial.

I have resolved that even though I might carry a British or American passport, but I will always be an African living in a whiteman's country. The bottomline is that you shouldn't allow it dampen your drive to be the best in your career, if anything, it should be a strong motivational factor to make you aim high and succeed against all odds. I know many naturalized citizens who faced the same challenges, but who have risen above it to achieve more than what the natural-born have achieved academic and career-wise.

However, subjective bias does exist.

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Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by lindaayim(f): 8:34pm On Dec 30, 2016
claremont:
I'm not American, but what you speak about is also commonplace in the UK where I live. I think it also happens in most western countries. There is always an undercurrent of subjective bias even though they deny it. It's more than just the accent, it has to do with a difference in culture between natural-born and naturalized citizens. Some people choose to deny that subjective bias exists, but I think they are living in denial.

I have resolved that even though I might carry a British or American passport, but I will always be an African living in a whiteman's country. The bottomline is that you shouldn't allow it dampen your drive to be the best in your career, if anything, it should be a strong motivational factor to make you aim high and succeed against all odds. I know many naturalized citizens who faced the same challenges, but who have risen above it to achieve more than what the natural-born have achieved academic and career-wise.

However, subjective bias does exist.
very great write up. Honestly, there have been instances where i questioned the privileges of my citizenship. like in certain federal jobs and managerial positions in private american firms. I'm an american (naturalized) but i see my country as a collection of different nationals-Chinese, Indians, Mexicans, Nigerians etc etc claiming the tile american in lip service but in reality are Chinese living in america, Mexicans in america. this does differ if i were to be native born. just to buffer my point and i may be wrong. i am not everywhere in the USA but i have never met a Nigerian born immigrant (immigrant in from early 20s) who is in the police force. i have been told by several naturalized Nigerians that they never got accepted into the police force no reason given.

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Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by claremont(m): 9:26pm On Dec 30, 2016
lindaayim:

very great write up. Honestly, there have been instances where i questioned the privileges of my citizenship. like in certain federal jobs and managerial positions in private american firms. I'm an american (naturalized) but i see my country as a collection of different nationals-Chinese, Indians, Mexicans, Nigerians etc etc claiming the tile american in lip service but in reality are Chinese living in america, Mexicans in america. this does differ if i were to be native born. just to buffer my point and i may be wrong. i am not everywhere in the USA but i have never met a Nigerian born immigrant (immigrant in from early 20s) who is in the police force. i have been told by several naturalized Nigerians that they never got accepted into the police force no reason given.

There are a whole lot of privileges of being a citizen, too numerous to mention e.g. subsidized education, access to public funds, some jobs are only open to application from citizens, 'free' money paid to you for doing nothing if you know where to look and what to apply for. America is in a way better than the UK immigrant-wise, because in America the only people who can claim not to be an immigrant are the American Indians. In the UK, any non-white is looked upon as an immigrant unless proven otherwise. The strata is white British first, then Black/ethnic minority British, then African British. It's something that most immigrant UK citizens experience, but choose not to talk about for various reasons.

I don't know about Nigerians in the American police, but when I spent a few weeks in North Carolina last year, I saw quite a few Nigerians/Africans in the US Army. So I guess that's a good thing because the Army is still considered a federal job like the police. In Nairaland here, there is a female Nairalander I know who is in the US Army, she is a naturalized American as well. In the UK, there is a whole borough (a very large town) in London that is headed by a very senior Nigerian-British police officer, originally from Edo state precisely.

Don't let it bother you, I know quite a few Nigerians/African-born UK/American citizens who have broken the glass ceiling and are doing well in their respective careers. However, it still doesn't take away the fact that subjective bias against immigrant-citizens does exist. Justwise should push this thread to frontpage so we can get to know the opinion of other naturalized American and British citizens, or which, I believe he is one.

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Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by maternal: 12:37am On Dec 31, 2016
I thought Obama was the president. How can that be.

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Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by gentleiphy: 1:17am On Dec 31, 2016
lindaayim:
Sometimes i struggle with the feeling that i'm an american and also a Nigerian in america. when i say struggle, i feel certain jobs i apply for despite being qualified as a citizen is not given and at the end native-born citizens are preferred despite having similar or better training. i feel the accent thing no matter how much american u claim affects u a little bit. Some people still see you as foreign. Actually some americans don't even believe you are a citizen with full rights like them. feel free to share your opinions..

In my own opinion,i think the Americans-white and to some extent the African Americans even despise immigrants from other developing nations like Nigeria.However it doesn't make sense to give someone citizenship and then turn around to deny him or her some rights and jobs...I would say Canada is better in that aspect and reason being that Canada is a country of whole loads of immigrants so the federal job denials is not evident as the immigrants out numbered even the supposedly born Canadians...a permanent resident regardless of which country he comes from who has stayed up to 3yrs even without being a citizen can apply to the police force and get the job...

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Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by lindaayim(f): 7:41am On Dec 31, 2016
maternal:
I thought Obama was the president. How can that be.
Obama was born in the us not a naturalized citizen. and just to let you know naturalized citizens are excluded from being president of the United States

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Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by lindaayim(f): 7:50am On Dec 31, 2016
gentleiphy:


In my own opinion,i think the Americans-white and to some extent the African Americans even despise immigrants from other developing nations like Nigeria.However it doesn't make sense to give someone citizenship and then turn around to deny him or her some rights and jobs...I would say Canada is better in that aspect and reason being that Canada is a country of whole loads of immigrants so the federal job denials is not evident as the immigrants out numbered even the supposedly born Canadians...a permanent resident regardless of which country he comes from who has stayed up to 3yrs even without being a citizen can apply to the police force and get the job...
Heard Canada is way better in term of privileges and opportunities. been researching moving to Canada

1 Like

Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by TheCongo2: 9:35am On Dec 31, 2016
gentleiphy:


In my own opinion,i think the Americans-white and to some extent the African Americans even despise immigrants from other developing nations like Nigeria.However it doesn't make sense to give someone citizenship and then turn around to deny him or her some rights and jobs...I would say Canada is better in that aspect and reason being that Canada is a country of whole loads of immigrants so the federal job denials is not evident as the immigrants out numbered even the supposedly born Canadians...a permanent resident regardless of which country he comes from who has stayed up to 3yrs even without being a citizen can apply to the police force and get the job...

Is Canada better than the US for real? Do you live in Canada?

You can't make a strong point without providing any data when you are comparing the two countries.
For instance, you indicate that a permanent resident in Canada can apply to join the police force and get the job.
But wait a minute, what is the immigrant or visible minority acceptance rate in the Canadian police? Is that rate better than the one across the border (United States)?

I have been living in Canada (French and English) for most of my life and I describe myself as a French-Canadian. I have got my share of experiences in regard to discrimination in Canada. Two years ago, I got a HUGE payout in a court settlement on the ground of employment discrimination. Subtle racism or discrimination is something that minority and immigrants go through EVERY SINGLE DAY in Canada. You would be living in denial if you deny this fact. I can give you some links to Canadian government agencies website dealing with this subject that would raise your awareness of the issue.

8 Likes

Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by TheCongo2: 9:41am On Dec 31, 2016
lindaayim:

very great write up. Honestly, there have been instances where i questioned the privileges of my citizenship. like in certain federal jobs and managerial positions in private american firms. I'm an american (naturalized) but i see my country as a collection of different nationals-Chinese, Indians, Mexicans, Nigerians etc etc claiming the tile american in lip service but in reality are Chinese living in america, Mexicans in america. this does differ if i were to be native born. just to buffer my point and i may be wrong. i am not everywhere in the USA but i have never met a Nigerian born immigrant (immigrant in from early 20s) who is in the police force. i have been told by several naturalized Nigerians that they never got accepted into the police force no reason given.

Not everyone who applied to join the police Force get accepted. Even the american born in the US also get rejected. I would advise you not to generalize based on the experience of few Nigerians whose applications got rejected. The reason could be that other applicants were more qualified than the Nigerians who got rejected. Once again, we need data from all department accross the country if we have to prove that discrimination against Nigerians is at play with respect to employment with the police Force. So far, there is no indication that discrimination is involved here.

On this link, you will find some police officers born in Nigeria:

http://www.africaninterest.com/for-safe-neighborhoods-moaa-and-mpd-establish-an-african-liaison-unit/

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Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by lindaayim(f): 10:21am On Dec 31, 2016
[quote author=TheCongo2 post=52414869]

Not everyone who applied to join the police Force get accepted. Even the american born in the US also get rejected. I would advise you not to generalize based on the experience of few Nigerians whose applications got rejected. The reason could be that other applicants were more qualified than the Nigerians who got rejected. Once again, we need data from all department accross the country if we have to prove that discrimination against Nigerians is at play with respect to employment with the police Force. So far, there is no indication that discrimination is involved here.

This is the link of the Police officer born in Nigeria. This officer apparently had finished his high school in Nigeria.

http://www.africaninterest.com/for-safe-neighborhoods-moaa-and-mpd-establish-an-african-liaison-unit/

the article says "Nigerian born police officer" no name was given just in case you don't know a majority of Americans thinks MOST migrants from africa are Nigerians
Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by TheCongo2: 10:32am On Dec 31, 2016
lindaayim

If you scroll down the article you will see the names and pictures of the officers.
As mentionned in my previous post, for fair justice we would need the data of all police departments accross the US if we ever want to prove that discrimination against Nigerians was at play. Just a handful of statement from few Nigerians whose application got rejected can't prove anything.

However, I agree with your original post on most of the points.
Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by maternal: 2:09pm On Dec 31, 2016
TheCongo2:


Is Canada better than the US for real? Do you live in Canada?

You can't make a strong point without providing any data when you are comparing the two countries.
For instance, you indicate that a permanent resident in Canada can apply to join the police force and get the job.
But wait a minute, what is the immigrant or visible minority acceptance rate in the Canadian police? Is that rate better than the one across the border (United States)?

I have been living in Canada (French and English) for most of my life and I describe myself as a French-Canadian. I have got my share of experiences in regard to discrimination in Canada. Two years ago, I got a HUGE payout in a court settlement on the ground of employment discrimination. Subtle racism or discrimination is something that minority and immigrants go through EVERY SINGLE DAY in Canada. You would be living in denial if you deny this fact. I can give you some links to Canadian government agencies website dealing with this subject that would raise your awareness of the issue.

If you mean in terms of race relations, Canada is statistically better.

4 Likes

Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by dasparrow: 2:06pm On Jan 01, 2017
lindaayim:
Sometimes i struggle with the feeling that i'm an american and also a Nigerian in america. when i say struggle, i feel certain jobs i apply for despite being qualified as a citizen is not given and at the end native-born citizens are preferred despite having similar or better training. i feel the accent thing no matter how much american u claim affects u a little bit. Some people still see you as foreign. Actually some americans don't even believe you are a citizen with full rights like them. feel free to share your opinions..

Linda, when I first saw the topic heading of your thread, the first thing I said to myself before even clicking on the thread to read what you wrote was, if you speak with a foreign accent, Americans will never truly see you as one of theirs. There will always be that question of "where you from?' one thing I discovered after years of residing in America is that there really isn't any true sense of belonging in America if you bear an African name and speak with a non-American accent. No matter how you try to assimilate into American society, Americans - both Black and white - always have a way of reminding an immigrant that they are not truly one of theirs. It just is what it is. I know it can be frustrating especially when you have lived in America for a considerable period of time but what can you do? That is just how many of these western countries are. Just ignore them and keep moving because Nigeria right now is not a country you would want to come back to at the moment.

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Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by dasparrow: 2:07pm On Jan 01, 2017
maternal:


If you mean in terms of race relations, Canada is statistically better.

Statistically better? I wonder what the reality on ground is.

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Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by dasparrow: 2:15pm On Jan 01, 2017
lindaayim:

very great write up. Honestly, there have been instances where i questioned the privileges of my citizenship. like in certain federal jobs and managerial positions in private american firms. I'm an american (naturalized) but i see my country as a collection of different nationals-Chinese, Indians, Mexicans, Nigerians etc etc claiming the tile american in lip service but in reality are Chinese living in america, Mexicans in america. this does differ if i were to be native born. just to buffer my point and i may be wrong. i am not everywhere in the USA but i have never met a Nigerian born immigrant (immigrant in from early 20s) who is in the police force. i have been told by several naturalized Nigerians that they never got accepted into the police force no reason given.

I know of a Nigerian lady, we met at NYSC who told me that her brother is a cop in America. I didn't bother asking her what state he was in. She too had just relocated from America and she spoke about how she got tired of Americans and their bigotry and that was one of the reasons she relocated. She was not born or raised in America. She has settled in nicely into Nigerian society and has a good job thanks to her dad's connections. So, I do believe that there are cops who are Nigerian immigrants/naturalized citizens out there. They may not be that many, but I am sure they exist.

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Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by lindaayim(f): 2:19pm On Jan 01, 2017
dasparrow:


Linda, when I first saw the topic heading of your thread, the first thing I said to myself before even clicking on the thread to read what you wrote was, if you speak with a foreign accent, Americans will never truly see you as one of theirs. There will always be that question of "where you from?' one thing I discovered after years of residing in America is that there really isn't any true sense of belonging in America if you bear an African name and speak with a non-American accent. No matter how you try to assimilate into American society, Americans - both Black and white - always have a way of reminding an immigrant that they are not truly one of theirs. It just is what it is. I know it can be frustrating especially when you have lived in America for a considerable period of time but what can you do? That is just how many of these western countries are. Just ignore them and keep moving because Nigeria right now is not a country you would want to come back to at the moment.
Rightly said, it baffles me how despite working hard and ascending the socio-economic ladder, assimilating they still remind you of your alien status... guess what? i was talking to a lady at work and she asked "where you from you got a lovely accent?" i said "from here..i mean USA" she looked at me in a bizarre way with great disbelief...my reply was so an american can't speak with a foreign accent? she said well i meant where were you born.............i said i'm an american but was born in Nigeria......she sort of ended the convo..

1 Like

Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by dasparrow: 2:28pm On Jan 01, 2017
TheCongo2:


Is Canada better than the US for real? Do you live in Canada?

You can't make a strong point without providing any data when you are comparing the two countries.
For instance, you indicate that a permanent resident in Canada can apply to join the police force and get the job.
But wait a minute, what is the immigrant or visible minority acceptance rate in the Canadian police? Is that rate better than the one across the border (United States)?

I have been living in Canada (French and English) for most of my life and I describe myself as a French-Canadian. I have got my share of experiences in regard to discrimination in Canada. Two years ago, I got a HUGE payout in a court settlement on the ground of employment discrimination. Subtle racism or discrimination is something that minority and immigrants go through EVERY SINGLE DAY in Canada. You would be living in denial if you deny this fact. I can give you some links to Canadian government agencies website dealing with this subject that would raise your awareness of the issue.

I have never for once imagined Canada to be a country where there is no racism. Anywhere the whites are, there is bound to be some racism. I once stumbled on a newspaper article online written by a white Canadian where he argued that racism maybe even worse in Canada and he cited examples of how white Canada treats her indigenous population namely the first nation Amerindians poorly. The article spoke of how first nation citizens live on reserves mapped out for them and the poverty they face. So I always knew discrimination exists in Canada's society. Would you like to share some of your experiences with us what it is like living as an immigrant or minority in Canada?

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Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by maternal: 5:40am On Jan 02, 2017
dasparrow:


I have never for once imagined Canada to be a country where there is no racism. Anywhere the whites are, there is bound to be some racism. I once stumbled on a newspaper article online written by a white Canadian where he argued that racism maybe even worse in Canada and he cited examples of how white Canada treats her indigenous population namely the first nation Amerindians poorly. The article spoke of how first nation citizens live on reserves mapped out for them and the poverty they face. So I always knew discrimination exists in Canada's society. Would you like to share some of your experiences with us what it is like living as an immigrant or minority in Canada?

This all depends on each individuals experience and perception of life. I'm a black man who lives in Canada so I can only give my experience. To begin with a lot of the native Indian reserves are autonomous. Some mismanage their own resources, though there's racism in Canada for sure, especially towards them. As a black man in Canada, there's racism, usually subtle, but if you work hard, know the right people and network; you can overcome it. But some (usually the loser unsuccessful blacks) in Canada will spend all their energy crying racism claiming that's why they haven't succeeded, making it sound like the police are killing blacks like in America and all blacks are living in the streets. Yet if you ask them to renounce their citizenship and grab a 1 way flight back home, they wouldn't. The fact is a white person here treats them better than their own fellow African back home. The fact is the government recognizes racism, and attempts to reduce it as you'll never eliminate racism. The Congo winning his court case shows recognition. When Trump called for the borders to be closed, our PM admitted a lot of Syrian refugees and was at the airport to great them personally. I personally know Nigerians who are Engineers, doctors, working in Parliament, etc, in Canada. Remember the black population in Canada is around 3 percent of the total population in the country, and we still hold very key positions in society. To me that's impressive.


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/devon-clunis-retire-donut-1.3668606

https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2015/05/20/mark-saunders-to-be-sworn-in-as-toronto-police-chief.html

https://news.ontario.ca/profiles/en/mitzie-hunter?_ga=1.257514818.815125228.1469362055

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/free-tuition-in-ontario-doesnt-mean-there-are-no-costs-wynne

You have police chief(s) and the Ontario minister of education who are black. And Ontario which has the highest amount of black residents in Canada will begin paying for students tuition who's family household income is 83k or less. What a racist country !

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Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by TheCongo2: 8:53am On Jan 02, 2017
dasparrow:


I have never for once imagined Canada to be a country where there is no racism. Anywhere the whites are, there is bound to be some racism. I once stumbled on a newspaper article online written by a white Canadian where he argued that racism maybe even worse in Canada and he cited examples of how white Canada treats her indigenous population namely the first nation Amerindians poorly. The article spoke of how first nation citizens live on reserves mapped out for them and the poverty they face. So I always knew discrimination exists in Canada's society. Would you like to share some of your experiences with us what it is like living as an immigrant or minority in Canada?

This thread opened by lindaayim is a perfect example of covert racism. In 2016, there is no much if not any form of blatant racism in North America (CANADA and the US). As a black person you can freely go from the east cost to the west coast from the South to the North without experiencing any name calling such as “nigger” or been told that “we don’t serve black here.” In fact every white person you will meet along the way will more likely be extremely nice and helpful to you. So, having experienced this, the visitor to North America would go back to his/her homeland and then open a thread on Nairaland to paint North America as a land with no more racism given that he didn’t see it on his visit.

Now, when that same visitor returns to live permanently in the US or Canada and wants to ascend the socio-economic ladder as indicated by OP, this is when he/she will discover what is called covert racism which is also known as everyday racism or subtle racism or subtle discrimination. This is a form of racial discrimination that is disguised and subtle, rather than public or obvious. You have to be living permanently in North America to feel it. You are more likely not to notice it if you are just visiting North America. This form of racism discriminates against individuals through often unnoticeable or seemingly passive or innocent methods. At the end of the day, it will make you feel alienated; it will make you feel that you don’t belong to the place in spite of all your effort to fit in.

In Canada for example, when you are hunting for job, most companies will require you to have the Canadian work experience. Given this fact, many skilled immigrants who land in Canada struggle to find jobs in their fields, despite holding proper credentials. Employers in Canada frequently devalue foreign experience. As a result of this, many medical doctors and other professionals from third world countries are driving taxi in cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver in spite of holding the proper credentials in their fields of expertise.

Furthermore, research show that employer callback rate in Canada for English sounding named applicants is higher compared to that of candidates who had Chinese, Indian or Pakistani names as well as foreign education and experience. In other words, you have higher chance of been called for job interview if the employer believe you are white.

And now, when you got the job expect to face seemingly petty experiences of disrespect, humiliations, rejections, blocked opportunities where color is a determining factor for upward mobility or for moving sideways, to the center of an organization. This is where you would start to understand the importance of affirmative action and the system of quota. I am talking from personal experience. I wish I could post my own experience at my previous employment. However, I received a huge payout from my employer as a settlement on an employment discrimination case and under the clause of the settlement I can’t talk it.

Actually the new form of racism works as the Chinese water torture. ( Chinese water torture is a process in which water is slowly dripped onto a person's forehead, allegedly driving the restrained victim insane.) In other words, the cumulative effect of small incidents will drive you crazy at the end of the day. It will make you feel alienated. Just like OP manifest her frustration when she was asked by a colleague where she was from. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with the question. Given that the OP is a US citizen who have lived in the US for many years, the question “where you from” is alienating. It implies the person who asked is telling the OP “You can’t be a US citizen”.

Some people said that Canada is better than the US in terms of race relation. This could be because there hasn’t been much higher publicized (high profile) cases of racism in Canada as there has been in the US. There never been any slavery in Canada. The slaves in US were running for freedom into Canada through the Underground Railroad.

However, when it comes to dealing with covert racism, the same crap that is going on into the US are pretty much happening in Canada. I have been living in Canada for long time and can easily relate to OP’s story in the US.

Some positive notes about Canada:
The government has very strict laws against racism. If you feel discriminated in any way by a landlord, a business or employer, a phone call to the Canadian Human Right commission or your provincial Human Right commission is all it takes for an investigation to unfold. And those commissions are very effective in what they are doing. You don’t need a lawyer given that the commission will assist you throughout the process.

Also, if you have the opportunity to work for you own in Canada, you won’t face a lot of BS as you would face by been employed

19 Likes

Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by TheCongo2: 8:56am On Jan 02, 2017
maternal:


This all depends on each individuals experience and perception of life. I'm a black man who lives in Canada so I can only give my experience. To begin with a lot of the native Indian reserves are autonomous. Some mismanage their own resources, though there's racism in Canada for sure, especially towards them. As a black man in Canada, there's racism, usually subtle, but if you work hard, know the right people and network; you can overcome it. But some (usually the loser unsuccessful blacks) in Canada will spend all their energy crying racism claiming that's why they haven't succeeded, making it sound like the police are killing blacks like in America and all blacks are living in the streets. Yet if you ask them to renounce their citizenship and grab a 1 way flight back home, they wouldn't. The fact is a white person here treats them better than their own fellow African back home. The fact is the government recognizes racism, and attempts to reduce it as you'll never eliminate racism. The Congo winning his court case shows recognition. When Trump called for the borders to be closed, our PM admitted a lot of Syrian refugees and was at the airport to great them personally. I personally know Nigerians who are Engineers, doctors, working in Parliament, etc, in Canada. Remember the black population in Canada is around 3 percent of the total population in the country, and we still hold very key positions in society. To me that's impressive.


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/devon-clunis-retire-donut-1.3668606

https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2015/05/20/mark-saunders-to-be-sworn-in-as-toronto-police-chief.html

https://news.ontario.ca/profiles/en/mitzie-hunter?_ga=1.257514818.815125228.1469362055

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/free-tuition-in-ontario-doesnt-mean-there-are-no-costs-wynne

You have police chief(s) and the Ontario minister of education who are black. And Ontario which has the highest amount of black residents in Canada will begin paying for students tuition who's family household income is 83k or less. What a racist country !

I am shivering after reading your post.

My brother, I have learned it the hard way. It is not because someone has the title of engineer or doctor that you will assume he is been treated accordingly at his place of work. You have no idea what some people may be going through daily at work. Sometime people are assigned tasks at work that are below their skills (a far cry from their skills or from their titles). I have seen it happened. Some people are being assigned to less desirable jobs, or being denied mentoring and training. You would never be able to confirm if some of those Nigerians doctors and engineers are NOT going through this type of humiliation at work.

Adding to that, there is also a notion of token inclusion which is just a symbolic effort to be inclusive to members of minority groups, especially by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of racial equality within a workforce. And sometimes those people are being treated just as a token inclusion at work and they can't move forward. They are hired just to embellish the company image with respect to integration.

You seem to undermine the notion of racism in Canada on the basis that you have seen Nigerians doctors, engineers in Canada. However, we don’t know what those engineers and doctors think about discrimination in Canada. Maybe some of them are at the end of the rope and can’t take it anymore.

I am Canadian Citizen and I love Canada. I would never choose to live anywhere other than in Canada. This doesn’t mean I have to agree with anything that going on in Canada. I have to speak out against injustice. On a side note, I work in IT and make close to 100K a year. I don’t consider myself to be an unsuccessful or underachieved black male. As a matter of fact, I have accomplished more than the average person in my community which is mostly white.

As for your notion of asking an immigrant to renounce his citizenship and grab a 1 way flight back home because he is expressing his frustration with the system, this is just another example of subtle racism given that a white person can freely express his frustration without been asked to leave. In this case you are becoming part of the problem instead of providing a solution.

My opinion is that if you are minority in Canada, go for your own business to avoid a lot of BS that minority employees face daily.

As a black brother I would ask you that we have to agree to disagree without taking things personally.

With plenty of love

21 Likes

Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by lindaayim(f): 12:20pm On Jan 02, 2017
TheCongo2:


This thread opened by lindaayim is a perfect example of covert racism. In 2016, there is no much if not any form of blatant racism in North America (CANADA and the US). As a black person you can freely go from the east cost to the west coast from the South to the North without experiencing any name calling such as “nigger” or been told that “we don’t serve black here.” In fact every white person you will meet along the way will more likely be extremely nice and helpful to you. So, having experienced this, the visitor to North America would go back to his/her homeland and then open a thread on Nairaland to paint North America as a land with no more racism given that he didn’t see it on his visit.

Now, when that same visitor returns to live permanently in the US or Canada and wants to ascend the socio-economic ladder as indicated by OP, this is when he/she will discover what is called covert racism which is also known as everyday racism or subtle racism or subtle discrimination. This is a form of racial discrimination that is disguised and subtle, rather than public or obvious. You have to be living permanently in North America to feel it. You are more likely not to notice it if you are just visiting North America. This form of racism discriminates against individuals through often unnoticeable or seemingly passive or innocent methods. At the end of the day, it will make you feel alienated; it will make you feel that you don’t belong to the place in spite of all your effort to fit in.

In Canada for example, when you are hunting for job, most companies will require you to have the Canadian work experience. Given this fact, many skilled immigrants who land in Canada struggle to find jobs in their fields, despite holding proper credentials. Employers in Canada frequently devalue foreign experience. As a result of this, many medical doctors and other professionals from third world countries are driving taxi in cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver in spite of holding the proper credentials in their fields of expertise.

Furthermore, research show that employer callback rate in Canada for English sounding named applicants is higher compared to that of candidates who had Chinese, Indian or Pakistani names as well as foreign education and experience. In other words, you have higher chance of been called for job interview if the employer believe you are white.

And now, when you got the job expect to face seemingly petty experiences of disrespect, humiliations, rejections, blocked opportunities where color is a determining factor for upward mobility or for moving sideways, to the center of an organization. This is where you would start to understand the importance of affirmative action and the system of quota. I am talking from personal experience. I wish I could post my own experience at my previous employment. However, I received a huge payout from my employer as a settlement on an employment discrimination case and under the clause of the settlement I can’t talk it.

Actually the new form of racism works as the Chinese water torture. ( Chinese water torture is a process in which water is slowly dripped onto a person's forehead, allegedly driving the restrained victim insane.) In other words, the cumulative effect of small incidents will drive you crazy at the end of the day. It will make you feel alienated. Just like OP manifest her frustration when she was asked by a colleague where she was from. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with the question. Given that the OP is a US citizen who have lived in the US for many years, the question “where you from” is alienating. It implies the person who asked is telling the OP “You can’t be a US citizen”.

Some people said that Canada is better than the US in terms of race relation. This could be because there hasn’t been much higher publicized (high profile) cases of racism in Canada as there has been in the US. There never been any slavery in Canada. The slaves in US were running for freedom into Canada through the Underground Railroad.

However, when it comes to dealing with covert racism, the same crap that is going on into the US are pretty much happening in Canada. I have been living in Canada for long time and can easily relate to OP’s story in the US.

Some positive notes about Canada:
The government has very strict laws against racism. If you feel discriminated in any way by a landlord, a business or employer, a phone call to the Canadian Human Right commission or your provincial Human Right commission is all it takes for an investigation to unfold. And those commissions are very effective in what they are doing. You don’t need a lawyer given that the commission will assist you throughout the process.

Also, if you have the opportunity to work for you own in Canada, you won’t face a lot of BS as you would face by been employed
You do understand my point....really impressed

7 Likes

Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by dasparrow: 2:41pm On Jan 02, 2017
lindaayim:
Rightly said, it baffles me how despite working hard and ascending the socio-economic ladder, assimilating they still remind you of your alien status... guess what? i was talking to a lady at work and she asked "where you from you got a lovely accent?" i said "from here..i mean USA" she looked at me in a bizarre way with great disbelief...my reply was so an american can't speak with a foreign accent? she said well i meant where were you born.............i said i'm an american but was born in Nigeria......she sort of ended the convo..

That is just how many of them are. They only consider one an American when you speak with an American accent. You should have asked the lady at your job, what does one's place of birth got to do with anything? If I was born in America and five years later moved to Trinidad and come back to the USA at 21 years old with a Trinidadian accent, does that make me any less of an American than you? Then listen to what her response would have been. Americans generally speaking are not really that open minded towards people they perceive to be different never mind all their pretense and fake smiles. Thread with caution when dealing with them least they string you along with their fake niceness when in actuality, they ain't got your back and dem no send you message.

4 Likes 1 Share

Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by dasparrow: 3:05pm On Jan 02, 2017
TheCongo2:


This thread opened by lindaayim is a perfect example of covert racism. In 2016, there is no much if not any form of blatant racism in North America (CANADA and the US). As a black person you can freely go from the east cost to the west coast from the South to the North without experiencing any name calling such as “nigger” or been told that “we don’t serve black here.” In fact every white person you will meet along the way will more likely be extremely nice and helpful to you. So, having experienced this, the visitor to North America would go back to his/her homeland and then open a thread on Nairaland to paint North America as a land with no more racism given that he didn’t see it on his visit.

Now, when that same visitor returns to live permanently in the US or Canada and wants to ascend the socio-economic ladder as indicated by OP, this is when he/she will discover what is called covert racism which is also known as everyday racism or subtle racism or subtle discrimination. This is a form of racial discrimination that is disguised and subtle, rather than public or obvious. You have to be living permanently in North America to feel it. You are more likely not to notice it if you are just visiting North America. This form of racism discriminates against individuals through often unnoticeable or seemingly passive or innocent methods. At the end of the day, it will make you feel alienated; it will make you feel that you don’t belong to the place in spite of all your effort to fit in.

In Canada for example, when you are hunting for job, most companies will require you to have the Canadian work experience. Given this fact, many skilled immigrants who land in Canada struggle to find jobs in their fields, despite holding proper credentials. Employers in Canada frequently devalue foreign experience. As a result of this, many medical doctors and other professionals from third world countries are driving taxi in cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver in spite of holding the proper credentials in their fields of expertise.

Furthermore, research show that employer callback rate in Canada for English sounding named applicants is higher compared to that of candidates who had Chinese, Indian or Pakistani names as well as foreign education and experience. In other words, you have higher chance of been called for job interview if the employer believe you are white.

And now, when you got the job expect to face seemingly petty experiences of disrespect, humiliations, rejections, blocked opportunities where color is a determining factor for upward mobility or for moving sideways, to the center of an organization. This is where you would start to understand the importance of affirmative action and the system of quota. I am talking from personal experience. I wish I could post my own experience at my previous employment. However, I received a huge payout from my employer as a settlement on an employment discrimination case and under the clause of the settlement I can’t talk it.

Actually the new form of racism works as the Chinese water torture. ( Chinese water torture is a process in which water is slowly dripped onto a person's forehead, allegedly driving the restrained victim insane.) In other words, the cumulative effect of small incidents will drive you crazy at the end of the day. It will make you feel alienated. Just like OP manifest her frustration when she was asked by a colleague where she was from. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with the question. Given that the OP is a US citizen who have lived in the US for many years, the question “where you from” is alienating. It implies the person who asked is telling the OP “You can’t be a US citizen”.

Some people said that Canada is better than the US in terms of race relation. This could be because there hasn’t been much higher publicized (high profile) cases of racism in Canada as there has been in the US. There never been any slavery in Canada. The slaves in US were running for freedom into Canada through the Underground Railroad.

However, when it comes to dealing with covert racism, the same crap that is going on into the US are pretty much happening in Canada. I have been living in Canada for long time and can easily relate to OP’s story in the US.

Some positive notes about Canada:
The government has very strict laws against racism. If you feel discriminated in any way by a landlord, a business or employer, a phone call to the Canadian Human Right commission or your provincial Human Right commission is all it takes for an investigation to unfold. And those commissions are very effective in what they are doing. You don’t need a lawyer given that the commission will assist you throughout the process.

Also, if you have the opportunity to work for you own in Canada, you won’t face a lot of BS as you would face by been employed

Thanks for sharing your experience. I can relate to everything you said because it is the same way in America. I have a relatively long Nigerian first name. Americans won't even make an effort to pronounce the name. They go asking me if I have a nick name. Funnily enough, I have an English name - middle name - as well but since America seems to prefer that people answer their first name what I can do? I personally think Canada is still better than America when it comes to how they handle and try to curb racism. In America, lots of racist whites get away with their actions because the system itself is plagued by institutionalized racism. And you're right, if you're self employed, you won't face alot of crap that you would have otherwise faced if you were working for an employer.

Keep moving on and may God continue to bless your progress.

1 Like

Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by dasparrow: 3:14pm On Jan 02, 2017
maternal:


This all depends on each individuals experience and perception of life. I'm a black man who lives in Canada so I can only give my experience. To begin with a lot of the native Indian reserves are autonomous. Some mismanage their own resources, though there's racism in Canada for sure, especially towards them. As a black man in Canada, there's racism, usually subtle, but if you work hard, know the right people and network; you can overcome it. But some (usually the loser unsuccessful blacks) in Canada will spend all their energy crying racism claiming that's why they haven't succeeded, making it sound like the police are killing blacks like in America and all blacks are living in the streets. Yet if you ask them to renounce their citizenship and grab a 1 way flight back home, they wouldn't. The fact is a white person here treats them better than their own fellow African back home. The fact is the government recognizes racism, and attempts to reduce it as you'll never eliminate racism. The Congo winning his court case shows recognition. When Trump called for the borders to be closed, our PM admitted a lot of Syrian refugees and was at the airport to great them personally. I personally know Nigerians who are Engineers, doctors, working in Parliament, etc, in Canada. Remember the black population in Canada is around 3 percent of the total population in the country, and we still hold very key positions in society. To me that's impressive.


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/devon-clunis-retire-donut-1.3668606

https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2015/05/20/mark-saunders-to-be-sworn-in-as-toronto-police-chief.html

https://news.ontario.ca/profiles/en/mitzie-hunter?_ga=1.257514818.815125228.1469362055

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/free-tuition-in-ontario-doesnt-mean-there-are-no-costs-wynne

You have police chief(s) and the Ontario minister of education who are black. And Ontario which has the highest amount of black residents in Canada will begin paying for students tuition who's family household income is 83k or less. What a racist country !

Thanks for sharing your experience with us. What I have realized is that everyone's experience is different. I personally experienced alot of racism both subtle and not-so-subtle in America. We all react differently to racism but we know its there. We just have to figure out ways to work around it because it is not going anywhere. Black people are still excelling despite the fact that racism exists in the West but we must acknowledge that it is there and when people complain about it, they have the right to do so because no one likes to be discriminated against. Look at how much we complain about tribalism in Nigeria despite the fact that we are Nigerians. If we look away and don't speak out against social injustice, it will continue to thrive. Remember the saying "Evil thrives when good people do nothing."

4 Likes

Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by dasparrow: 3:15pm On Jan 02, 2017
TheCongo2:


I am shivering after reading your post.

My brother, I have learned it the hard way. It is not because someone has the title of engineer or doctor that you will assume he is been treated accordingly at his place of work. You have no idea what some people may be going through daily at work. Sometime people are assigned tasks at work that are below their skills (a far cry from their skills or from their titles). I have seen it happened. Some people are being assigned to less desirable jobs, or being denied mentoring and training. You would never be able to confirm if some of those Nigerians doctors and engineers are NOT going through this type of humiliation at work.

Adding to that, there is also a notion of token inclusion which is just a symbolic effort to be inclusive to members of minority groups, especially by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of racial equality within a workforce. And sometimes those people are being treated just as a token inclusion at work and they can't move forward. They are hired just to embellish the company image with respect to integration.

You seem to undermine the notion of racism in Canada on the basis that you have seen Nigerians doctors, engineers in Canada. However, we don’t know what those engineers and doctors think about discrimination in Canada. Maybe some of them are at the end of the rope and can’t take it anymore.

I am Canadian Citizen and I love Canada. I would never choose to live anywhere other than in Canada. This doesn’t mean I have to agree with anything that going on in Canada. I have to speak out against injustice. On a side note, I work in IT and make close to 100K a year. I don’t consider myself to be an unsuccessful or underachieved black male. As a matter of fact, I have accomplished more than the average person in my community which is mostly white.

As for your notion of asking an immigrant to renounce his citizenship and grab a 1 way flight back home because he is expressing his frustration with the system, this is just another example of subtle racism given that a white person can freely express his frustration without been asked to leave. In this case you are becoming part of the problem instead of providing a solution.

My opinion is that if you are minority in Canada, go for your own business to avoid a lot of BS that minority employees face daily.

As a black brother I would ask you that we have to agree to disagree without taking things personally.

With plenty of love

Nicely said.

1 Like

Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by TWoods(m): 4:26pm On Jan 02, 2017
lindaayim:
Rightly said, it baffles me how despite working hard and ascending the socio-economic ladder, assimilating they still remind you of your alien status... guess what? i was talking to a lady at work and she asked "where you from you got a lovely accent?" i said "from here..i mean USA" she looked at me in a bizarre way with great disbelief...my reply was so an american can't speak with a foreign accent? she said well i meant where were you born.............i said i'm an american but was born in Nigeria......she sort of ended the convo..

To be honest, I think this was a passive aggressive and totally unnecessary confrontation with someone who was probably just trying to start a friendly conversation. I'm also fairly up the income/social ladder here myself and i often get the "where are you from" question from most people. The lady was correct, it's impossible for anyone born and raised in the US to have the sort of accent like yours so it was a fair question. There was no need for your response. It's ok to simply state that you were born African but a naturalized US citizen. We joke about it in my office here, people try really hard to say my name and i tease them by scoring them on points based on who can say the name the best. We all have a good laugh and that's it. I work with 99.9% whites and have never felt any disrespect on account of my name or accent (which people think ranges from English to Jamaican).

If you search desperately for bias or bigotry, you will find it.

28 Likes 1 Share

Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by TWoods(m): 4:46pm On Jan 02, 2017
TheCongo2:




In Canada for example, when you are hunting for job, most companies will require you to have the Canadian work experience. Given this fact, many skilled immigrants who land in Canada struggle to find jobs in their fields, despite holding proper credentials. Employers in Canada frequently devalue foreign experience. As a result of this, many medical doctors and other professionals from third world countries are driving taxi in cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver in spite of holding the proper credentials in their fields of expertise.


Not dismissing your experience by any means but can we really compare the quality of medical education in Nigeria and Canada? Is a Nigerian medical license equivalent expertise to a Canadian? Of course if I ran a hospital here, I'd expect a Nigerian doctor to have obtained some additional education and experience here before I can employ him.

9 Likes

Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by TheCongo2: 4:49pm On Jan 02, 2017
TWoods:


Not dismissing your experience by any means but can we really compare the quality of medical education in Nigeria and Canada? Is a Nigerian medical license equivalent expertise to a Canadian? Of course if I ran a hospital here, I'd expect a Nigerian doctor to have obtained some additional education and experience here before I can employ him.

I am not Nigerian and have no idea of what the quality of medical education in Nigeria could be.
Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by TheCongo2: 4:56pm On Jan 02, 2017
TWoods:


To be honest, I think this was a passive aggressive and totally unnecessary confrontation with someone who was probably just trying to start a friendly conversation. I'm also fairly up the income/social ladder here myself and i often get the "where are you from" question from most people. The lady was correct, it's impossible for anyone born and raised in the US to have the sort of accent like yours so it was a fair question. There was no need for your response. It's ok to simply state that you were born African but a naturalized US citizen. We joke about it in my office here, people try really hard to say my name and i tease them by scoring them on points based on who can say the name the best. We all have a good laugh and that's it. I work with 99.9% whites and have never felt any disrespect on account of my name or accent (which people think ranges from English to Jamaican).

If you search desperately for bias or bigotry, you will find it.

The challenge with covert racism is that is it very hard if not impossible to prove given that it involved seemingly innoncent incidents like the question "where you from".

It would be worth mentioning that abuse work in cumulative way. Incidents build on previous incidents and whilst each and every incident when taken alone may not look overly serious to the objective observer, when taken collectively, those incidents can create psychological harm on the victim. Thus, the notion of the Chinese water torture. In the present case, even a simingly innocent question like "where you from" may drive you insane. To understand this, the full picture has to be taken into consideration and not just the incident or question "where you from" itself. While you may laugh about this with your colleagues but the true is that you are not in OP's shoes to understand why she is offended.

1 Like

Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by maternal: 5:23pm On Jan 02, 2017
TheCongo2:


I am shivering after reading your post.

My brother, I have learned it the hard way. It is not because someone has the title of engineer or doctor that you will assume he is been treated accordingly at his place of work. You have no idea what some people may be going through daily at work. Sometime people are assigned tasks at work that are below their skills (a far cry from their skills or from their titles). I have seen it happened. Some people are being assigned to less desirable jobs, or being denied mentoring and training. You would never be able to confirm if some of those Nigerians doctors and engineers are NOT going through this type of humiliation at work.

Adding to that, there is also a notion of token inclusion which is just a symbolic effort to be inclusive to members of minority groups, especially by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of racial equality within a workforce. And sometimes those people are being treated just as a token inclusion at work and they can't move forward. They are hired just to embellish the company image with respect to integration.

You seem to undermine the notion of racism in Canada on the basis that you have seen Nigerians doctors, engineers in Canada. However, we don’t know what those engineers and doctors think about discrimination in Canada. Maybe some of them are at the end of the rope and can’t take it anymore.

I am Canadian Citizen and I love Canada. I would never choose to live anywhere other than in Canada. This doesn’t mean I have to agree with anything that going on in Canada. I have to speak out against injustice. On a side note, I work in IT and make close to 100K a year. I don’t consider myself to be an unsuccessful or underachieved black male. As a matter of fact, I have accomplished more than the average person in my community which is mostly white.

As for your notion of asking an immigrant to renounce his citizenship and grab a 1 way flight back home because he is expressing his frustration with the system, this is just another example of subtle racism given that a white person can freely express his frustration without been asked to leave. In this case you are becoming part of the problem instead of providing a solution.

My opinion is that if you are minority in Canada, go for your own business to avoid a lot of BS that minority employees face daily.

As a black brother I would ask you that we have to agree to disagree without taking things personally.

With plenty of love

Congo, nothing is taken personally. We're all here to discuss our opinions and experiences, and most importantly learn from each other. I'm equally shivering as well. I'll be addressing both your posts by numbers, so this post may be long. To begin with I've been called a nigger to my face and I have an African name, no English name whatsoever. When I submit my resume, not only do they know I'm African, but my tribe. Furthermore, I was here before the wave of Nigerians who are now just coming in, and before naija culture was recognized or "poppin". Believe me when I say I know and have experienced racism in this country. Before I start let me tell you a story. I have an ex friend from Cameroon. When he came here he got PR. He immediately enrolled into University (that's where we met)and took out 15k worth of student loans. He dropped out of school because he claimed it was too hard and the profs didn't want to see a black man pass. On top of the 15k loan which he chopped and never paid back, he maxed out his 8k credit card. Now he's unable to get certain jobs which require the candidate to have a decent credit score, or jobs which require at least a degree. And yes you guessed it, it's the white man's fault for all this. He said he'll be moving back to the states where it's less racists, and "where black people eat". Keep in mind he lived in the states for 12 years and accomplished nothing there as well. All his downfall in life is blamed on the white man. I got him a 6 figure job in the oilfield. After not being productive and showing up late, he got fired. And yes you guessed it again, they fired him because they were racists. Keep in mind the manager was a black south African and 80 percent of the employees were black. You see in life sometimes you have to look in the mirror and fix yourself and stop playing the victim role. Not every white person is out to keep the black man down. Now back to the matter.


1. Many employers devalue foreign credentials because they may not meet Canadian standards and its hard to validate some of their credentials from their home country. A doctor trained in Canada/US with the latest technology is definitely more suitable to being a doctor here. My friends ex husbands sister does background checks/verification for new immigrants with a medical degree from a foreign country. She said it's hard to verify their credentials, and even if she does, some of these countries are so corrupted that you can't trust their degrees. So for public safety a lot of times they can't recognize them. But yes in other fields Canada should recognize foreign credentials. But I've seen white Americans and Europeans who's degrees were not recognized as well. It doesn't only happen to minorities.

2. While it's bad since we're minorities, but people tend to gravitate towards people who are similar to them. A white man will most likely call another white man for a job, just like a man from x tribe would most likely call someone from his tribe for a job interview. But this is where A-action is imperative.

3. Canada had slavery, even before the US. Though it ended much earlier and wasn't as brutal. I meant Canada was better in terms of killings. Blacks aren't killed by the police like that. But systematic racism is still the same in both countries. Remember these countries were not built for blacks/minorities to prosper.

4. Everyone strives to be self employed to avoid BS. Blacks aren't the only race which deals with BS in the workplace.

5.My friend the engineer FEMI is a director, he assigns the work. And Yinka the doctor owns his practice. Nobody assigns him work either. But I understand your point, some may be subjected to humiliating jobs despite their title. But some may not be.

6. I assume the "token inclusion" is reference to the few links I posted of the few success blacks. Drop your victim mentality for 1 second and think about what you're saying. Chief Clunis was one of the first black police officers in Winnipeg, a very white and racist city. He worked his way up in the ranks before becoming chief of police and getting the approval from city council an the mayor. He was an immigrant from Jamaica. Chief Saunders another immigrant has served over 30 years with the Toronto Police. He as well worked his way up the rank before becoming chief. His deputy chief is also black, meaning when he moves on, another black man will most likely take over as chief. He has dedicated over 30 years of his life to the city and police force. Ms Hunter, another immigrant from Jamaica came into the country and got her BA degree and eventually masters. She was associate minister of finance and parliamentary assistant to the minister of community and social services, before becoming the minister of education. To suggest these people (I'm assuming that's what you meant by token) or any black person who's in a significant position in this country is just a token puppet is insulting and regressive to the movement. I'm sure if you asked these people if they faced racism throughout their careers they'll tell you yes. But they didn't just stay there and complain about how they're being victimize.


7. The grab a 1 way ticket and go back home is to remind Africans who constantly complain about abroad, and who are NOT proactive is to remind them our countries are not some perfect wonderland either. We don't even respect each other and we're the same skin colour. Of course if you're a citizen of a country you should partake in it's make up, while doing your part as well. And no just complaining is not doing your part.


Sorry for the long post.

20 Likes

Re: Naturalized US Citizens: Do You Get Treated/respected As A Native Born Citizen? by maternal: 5:27pm On Jan 02, 2017
TWoods:


Not dismissing your experience by any means but can we really compare the quality of medical education in Nigeria and Canada? Is a Nigerian medical license equivalent expertise to a Canadian? Of course if I ran a hospital here, I'd expect a Nigerian doctor to have obtained some additional education and experience here before I can employ him.

That's what I'm saying. Everything isn't always about racism. What next we'll let a juju doctor practice here. But before any doctor touches me or my child here, I want the government to make sure their qualification meets Canadian standards. How is that racist ?

2 Likes

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