Abstract
African youth are equally influenced by their micro-histories in-so- much as they are influenced by the Canadian social/geographical milieu in which they are raised. Twentieth century developments in the Horn of Africa region have had profound explicit and implicit effects on the lives of youth of the Horn-of-Africa Diaspora born and raised within Canada. On the one hand, children of this particular Diaspora embody the cultural influences of their ancestral heritage and are profoundly affected by historical influences which have often been transcribed unto them by their families. However, born and raised within Canada, their narratives are equally reflective of the socio-historical climate of their birthplace. The micro histories of the families of the youth featured in this study mirror the trajectory of East-African migration to, and settlement in Canada; inextricably infusing the individual stories and experiences of the youth into the historical framework of both their country of citizenship and the region of origin of their ancestry. For the purposes of this research, discovery focused interviews were conducted with second-generation youth from the cities of Toronto, Ottawa and London, Ontario. Reinforced by findings from other available scholarship on Habesha, the voices and life experiences of six Habeshas aged between 20- 32, are reflective of the continued influences of the roots of the Horn- of-Africa Diaspora. Their narratives are prisms through which representations of historically rooted Horn-of-Africa identities can be located and contextualized within contemporary Canadian societies.
Presenters
Nassisse SolomonProgram Coordinator, Global Health Studies, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, Ontario, Canada Mary Goitom
Associate Professor, Social Work, York University, Canada Selam Abebe
Student, Masters of Public Affairs, Carleton University, Ontario, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Migration, Settlement, Second-Generation, Canada, Globalization, Representation, Citizenship, Participation, History, Identity
