Paper short abstract

Canada has a history of resettling refugees.This paper examines the struggles refugees face in learning new rules of social interaction, meeting cultural expectations that could be marginalizing, and addressing conflicts in ways that build collaborations toward mutuality in very different social systems.

Paper long abstract

Canada is known as a humanitarian and compassionate country that has a successful history of resettling refugees and asylum seekers. Today, approximately 36,393 Syrian refugees have been resettled since November 2015 as part of Canada's commitment to assist in alleviating the current refugee crisis (CIC, 2016). In 1979-1980, Canada resettled a historic 60,000 Southeast Asian refugees from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Today, these groups have become strong contributors to their communities in Canada - economically,politically, and socially. However, their introductions to Canadian culture and way of life were not easy, and many struggled in adapting to their new surroundings. Peaceful relationships require the building of positive social relations amongst different groups and communities. This paper examines the struggles refugees often face in learning new rules of social interaction, meeting cultural expectations that could be marginalizing, and addressing conflicts in ways that build collaborations toward mutuality in very different social systems.