I sometimes feel like a sockeye salmon swimming against
the current, except that I am no fish and I am not even Canadian. But a united
Canada is very close to my heart. Which is why a few months ago I swam against
the current and applied for landed immigrant status in Quebec, so I can continue
to live in Montreal, one of my favorite cities, without leaving Canada, one
of my favorite countries.
My friends don't quite understand why I would be willing to lose the privileges
of a UN employee in Montreal in exchange for the responsibilities of Canadian
citizenship. But my parents would have understood, were they alive today.
My Indian father fought for his country's independence not out of dislike
for the English or their language, but because he loved freedom and abhorred
injustice. This year India celebrates its 50th anniversary of independence,
and has remained united despite the multitude of languages spoken there. My
Belgian mother -- half Walloon and half Flemish -- was happy to see that her
bilingual country decided not to split along the language divide and opted
instead for hosting a polyglot community of nations that understands that
unity is synonymous with strength. My children understand, because they live
in Chicago -- which has many Hispanics -- and are doing very well thanks to
the Spanish they learned in their native Mexico, the English they acquired
from their American father and the French that was Quebec's gift to them.
Of course, a country is kept together, or torn apart, by more than language.
A country is kept together by geography, history, climate, a shared past,
a common vision of the future and a sense of space. Canadian space means the
second largest territorial extension in the world under a common flag. It
means access to the Pacific Rim, a rich and bubbling cauldron of economic
progress. It means access to the Atlantic, where simple fishermen make gallant
efforts to stop predators from violating international fishery agreements.
It means majestic mountain ranges to the West, impressive gorges to the East
and rich agricultural land to the South. And of course, it also means the
North -- from where the earth gets its bearings -- the Mecca of intrepid explorers
and the home of a gentle and hardy people. Canada is also a land with many
water holes. In fact, it is blessed with the largest volume of fresh water
in the world, the most precious resource in our polluted planet.
A country is also kept together by its people. Without people, there can be
no sense of nation. Canada learned how to care for its wilderness from its
first nations and how to become a modern economy from its second and third
nations, from whom it also learned to speak French and English, two of the
most important languages in the global economy.
Canada has provided a home for the homeless, the dispossessed, people weary
of civil strife and religious intolerance. It has done so, not merely out
of a sense of altruism, but also because it needs the human resources and
skills required in modern nation building. And in doing so, it has gained
new experiences and an understanding of different cultures -- and languages
as well.
For me, a united Canada is a strong guarantee of the civil rights and liberties
that are not only a moral imperative for humanity but also a necessity for
its survival. I want Canada to stay united so that I can continue to swim
against the current in the river of my choice.
THE END