December 2007 • Volume 1 • I ssue 2 • w w w.thevoiceindiaspora .com • 905.920.1752

“Using the power of the pen to facilitate smooth integration and assimilation for immigrants into the Canadian society.”

U N I T Y I N D I V E R S I T Y

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!

Christmas 2007 is fast approach-

ing, and the bustling of it all is evident in the decorations inside shopping malls, people’s houses, businesses, street lights, name it all. Many people are once more caught up in the frenzy shopping habits that are characteristic of Christmas and end of the year celebration.

Though Canada has an interesting mix-ture of ethnic/cultural and reli-

gious population, celebration of Christmas and New Year cut across every cultural and religious affiliation, and this makes living in this country interesting.

Below is how Christmas is cel-ebrated in some parts of the world

where most immigrants come from.

Christmas worldwide

The Christmas season is celebrated in dif-ferent ways around the world.

India

Christmas is a state holiday in India, though only 3% of the population is actu-ally Christian. The celebration by Christians is largely based on the American media depiction. Sincere devotees attend the church services.

Lebanon

Christmas is a state holiday in Lebanon,

though 40% of the population is Christian. Even some Lebanese Muslims celebrate Christmas with Christian friends.

Korea

South Korea recognizes Christmas as a public holiday. Non-Christian Koreans oth-erwise go about their daily routine on De-cember 25 but may engage in some holi-day customs such as gift-giving, sending Christmas cards, and setting up decorated trees in their homes.

Japan

Christmas in Japan is not as important as New Year’s Day, which is the most sacred holiday in Japan, whereas Christmas is not a holiday at all. The first recorded Christ-mas in Japan was celebrated with a mass held by Jesuit missionaries in 1552,

China, Hong Kong and Macao

In China, December 25, is not a legal holi-day. The one percent of Chinese citizens who consider themselves Christians unoffi-cially, and usually privately, observe Christ-mas. Many other individuals celebrate Christmas-like festivities even though they do not consider themselves Christians.

Malaysia

Christmas is a public holiday in Malaysia; however, much of the public celebration is commercial in nature and has no overt religious overtones.

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Hamilton Mayor Eisen-berger’s One Year in Office Interview

The month of December is Mayor Eisenberger’s one year in of-

fice as Hamilton’s mayor, and the Voice in Diaspora Newspaper paid him a courtesy call in his office to learn about his achieve-ments in office, and his plans for the city especially as it affects the welfare of ethnic/cultural communities in Hamilton. Many questions were posed to him regarding the immigrant strategy for Hamilton; loss of immigrants to other provinces due to la-bour shortages; his one year achievement in office and his predication about the fu-ture of Hamilton. Read on.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger told the Voice in

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New Category of Canada Immigration - Canadian Experience Class

In 2008, a new stream of Canadian immi-

gration will be available to certain tem-porary foreign workers and international students with Canadian degrees and Ca-nadian work experience. First announced in the 2007 budget, the Canadian Experi-ence Class will help address the country’s labour force needs by better focusing on these candidates for Canadian Permanent Residency. Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s goal for 2008 is to admit between 10,000 and 12,000 under the new Canadi-an Experience category of immigration.

Canada’s current international student

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Pakistan

In Pakistan, December 25th is a public holiday that coincides with the birth an-niversary of Jinnah- the founder of the na-tion. Christians constitute approximately 1 percent of the population, mostly from Punjab. Christian households, cards and presents are exchanged. People wear their best new clothes and visit friends’ houses.

Philippines

Philippines have earned the distinction of celebrating the world’s longest Christmas season. Although it presently starts from early September it is traditionally ushered in by the nine-day dawn Masses that start on Dec. 16. In the capital Manila, Christmas Day is the start of the annual Metro Manila Film Festival where most film outfits pro-duce fantasy movies.

Caribbean

Jamaican Christmas is closely in line with its British heritage but with its own flavour. The traditional dances, the parties and fes-tivities, the spirit of charity, and the food define it.

Mexico

Mexico’s Christmas traditions are cen-tered on Mexican Catholicism and popular culture traditions also known as posadas. Over a nine day period, groups of towns-people go from door to door, in a fashion reminiscent of when the soon to be par-ents of baby Jesus looked for shelter to pass the night when they arrived at Beth-lehem, and are periodically called inside homes to participate in the breaking of a gift-filled piñata. Mexican Christmas is not influenced by American Christmas since it is filled with over 30 traditions only found within Mexican Christmas.

United States and Canada

In the United States and Canada, the Santa Claus traditions are essentially the same, except in Quebec and other French speaking areas, with its reveillon and the Père Noël (“Father Christmas” in French). The Celebration of Boxing Day on the day after Christmas Day is a tradition practiced in Canada, as it is in the UK.

Brazil

In most of Brazil, the Christmas is particu-larly a family celebration and it carries the European traditions, particularly from Por-tugal, brought by the Jesuits. Between De-cember 24th and January 6th, there is an event in the most traditional regions called Folia de Reis, which consist in processions through the city singing Christmas carols for the “Menino-Deus” (The “Baby Jesus”) and the Three Kings.

Australia

In Commonwealth countries in the south-ern hemisphere, Christmas is celebrated on 25 December which falls during the height of the summer season. The Australian tra-ditions are quite similar to those of North America and similar wintry iconography is commonplace.

Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic, Christmas is cel-ebrated mainly on December 24, or Christ-mas Eve, when the gifts are given in the evening. However, the December 25 and 26 are also free days. According to tradi-tion, gifts are brought by Ježíšek (pron. “Yezheeshek”), or “little Jesus”. People are taught not to eat anything on Christmas Eve until a ceremonial dinner is served, in order to be able to see a “golden pig”.

Poland

In Poland, Christmas Eve is a day first of fasting, then of feasting. The feast begins with the appearance of the first star, and is followed by the exchange of gifts. The fol-lowing day is often spent visiting friends. Poland is a land of intriguing traditions, superstitions, and legends. Its people have always combined religion and family close-ness at Christmas time. Gift giving plays only a minor role in the rituals, emphasis being placed instead on making special foods and decorations.

Romania

Christmas in Romania falls on December 25 and is generally considered one of the most important religious holidays. First comes Easter. The singing of carols is a very important part of Romanian Christmas fes-tivities. On the first day of Christmas, many carolers walk through the streets of the towns and villages, holding a star made of cardboard and paper on which are depict-ed various scenes from the Bible.

Russia

Christmas celebration in Russia is on the 7th of January (which corresponds to De-cember 25 in the Julian Calendar). The tra-dition of celebrating Christmas has been revived since 1992, after decades of sup-pression by the communist government. It is centered on the Christmas Eve “Holy Supper”, which consists of twelve servings, one to honor each of Jesus’ apostles.

Germany

In Germany, Christmas traditions vary by region. Following Saint Nicholas Day, (De-cember 6) which is mostly for children, the actual Christmas gift-giving usually takes place on the night of Christmas Eve, with gifts put under the Christmas tree after a meal. The culinary feast typically takes place at lunch on Dec. 24 (evening) or Dec. 25, and usually involves poultry (typically roast goose).

The Netherlands and Belgium

Sinterklaasavond (St. Nicholas evening) remains more important in the Nether-lands than Christmas, although in recent

years, the Dutch have started to celebrate Christmas Eve with Santa as well.

Spain

In Spain, people sing and dance in the streets after midnight mass. Most homes and churches display a Nativity scene. Children put their shoes in the window on January 5 in hopes that the three wise men deliver them presents.

Ireland

Christmas in Ireland is the largest celebra-tion of the year and lasts from 24 Decem-ber to 6 January, although many may view 8 December as being the start of the sea-son as it is the traditional Christmas shop-ping day in Ireland due to all schools be-ing closed. It plays an extremely important role in both religious and secular aspects of Irish life.

United Kingdom

Christmas is very special to many Britons, as it is a mainly religious festival that every-one can enjoy. The Christmas season starts at Advent, where holly wreaths are made with three pink, one pink and one purple candle, however many shops sell Christ-mas decorations beforehand, and lasts until 6 January, as it is considered bad luck to have Christmas decorations up after this date. On Christmas Eve, presents are deliv-ered in stockings and under the Christmas tree by Father Christmas.

In Scotland Christmas was traditionally observed very quietly, because the Church of Scotland – a Presbyterian Church - never placed any great emphasis on the Christmas festival, for various reasons. Hogmanay is traditionally the largest cel-ebration in Scotland; as a result Christmas Day was a normal working day in Scotland until the 1960s and even into the 1970s in some areas.

Nigeria

Christmas Day, not a public holiday, is cel-ebrated mainly in the southern and east-ern parts of Ni-geria. Nigerians have special traditions they

employ to celebrate Christmas. Almost ev-eryone goes to church on Christmas Day. Weeks before the day, people buy lots of hens, turkeys, goats, and cows. Children hover around the beasts, taunting, and mostly gawking at them. There are fever-ish preparations for travel, holiday, and ex-change of gifts, caroling and all manner of celebration.

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Hamilton’s Centre for Civic Inclusion – (HCCI)Strengthening Our Community

Hamilton’s Centre for Civic Inclusion (HCCI) is a community-based network, mobilizing all Hamiltonians to create an inclusive city, free of racism and hate.HCCI will assist the City, major institutions, business, service providers, and

others to initiate and sustain transformative processes to create racism-free and inclusive environments. It will develop and share training and education resources, and enable easier access to relevant research and information. HCCI will also be a source of support and information to newcomer immigrant and refugee communities, di-verse ethno-racial and ethno-cultural groups and Aboriginal communities. It will help build commu-nity leadership and enable productive dialogues and partnerships between marginalized and ‘centralized’ communities, organizations and institutions. Our Vision: A united community that respects diversity, practices equity,

and speaks out against discrimination. Our Goal: To create in every sector, and among youth, effective and sustain-

able ways of integrating all Hamiltonians into the civic life of the community, using their contributions to create a strong and vibrant city

Strategic Directions:• Promote the safety and security of all Hamiltonians.• Develop broad-based strategies to eliminate racism and hate.• Foster inter-faith and inter-cultural understanding and respect.• Foster civic leadership across the diverse communities, particularly

youth.• Facilitate youth leadership and engagement.

Approaches:• Build relationships across the community• Challenge and respond to incidents of discrimination• Foster inclusive, equitable and enduring civic participation.• Facilitate opportunities for on-going public education and aware

ness.• Set strategic priorities using community input and sound research.

Madina WasugeExecutive Director

Ken Ruffell , Regional Vice President

800 Queenston Rd. Suite # 306 Stoney Creek , ON L8N 1K4 Phone : 905-594-9828 ext 222 Fax : 1-877-653-5421

A new trend is in place amongst banking industry in Canada. Canada’s Banks are realizing that

they need to “attract a diverse client and employee base to be successful in tomor-

row’s economy.” Given that by 2030, sta-tistics show that immigration will be the only source of population growth, leading banks are implementing initiatives tailored to this market in their efforts to grow mar-ket share. Most banks are adding to their language capabilities, offering several lan-guages at automated banking machines, and staffing banks with multi-lingual tell-ers. Many have also been changing their loan approval standards for newcomers, given that they do not have credit history in Canada. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) for example, consid-

ers factors such as a person’s employment plans in Canada and their amount of in-vestable assets.

HSBC Bank Canada has been setting up accounts and credit facilities for custom-ers before they land in Canada. “As long as they have the appropriate paperwork and immigrant status, then we can open the account and they can just show up at the branch and finalize everything,” explains Tracy Redies, executive vice-president of personal banking services.

The Royal Bank of Canada’s director of cultural markets stated that reaching out

to the immigrant market is one of the bank’s key priorities. It has already begun advertising its Canadian services in China, aimed at people who may be considering emigration. Most banks are boosting their advertising budgets to tailor their adver-tising messages to newcomers.

Canadian banks are also creating posi-tions to focus on newcomers such as the Vice-President of Multicultural Banking at the Bank of Nova Scotia and the Managing Director of Specialty Markets at the Bank of Montreal.

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Cultural Banking Initiatives – A new per-spective for Canadian Banksmoney

A nalysis Shows More Women Relying on Debit Cards to Man-age personal finances; but Less

Women Are “Treating” Themselves

A growing number of women use debit cards to manage personal and family fi-nances, according to the results of the “Women in the Financial Marketplace”

analysis, part of the Yankelovich MONITOR 2006/07 study. The study, commissioned by MasterCard Worldwide, found that debit card usage by women has more than doubled since 2003, growing from 20 per-cent to 43 percent.

Managing Personal Finances

The research revealed that 77 percent of

women surveyed under 55-years old have primary or shared fiscal decision-making responsibilities with 85 percent indicating that they are increasingly using their debit card to help manage personal finances. The results also show that women are more likely than men to feel the pressures of home, family and finances.

“We found that with their added respon-sibilities, women today are time starved and looking for financial management so-lutions that can simplify their lives and free up more time. In fact, the average woman is cramming 38 hours into a 24-hour day,”

said Patricia Preston, Group Head, Debit Product Management - Americas, Master-Card Worldwide. “And, women now repre-sent 61 percent of the most frequent debit card users, relying on debit for the purchas-ing flexibility and management it affords. Debit MasterCard cards offer women a quick, easy payment solution that helps make a woman’s day a bit easier.

Furthermore, a recent MasterCard life-style survey found that fewer women find time to treat themselves. A study of 1,000 women 24- to 45-years old found that 60

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✎

It is that time of the year again to celebrate Christmas and New Year. Oh! finally, 2007 is coming to an end, and 200� will soon be ush-

ered in. What a blessing to be part of God’s beautiful creation.

Christmas is not about looking for that ‘best’ gift for our loved ones, or buying and decorating our houses with the most expensive and colorful Christmas dec-orations. There is more to it than the celebrations, and the gifts. Christmas calls for deep reflections into our lives. We ought to reflect on our contributions to mankind, and see if it is in tune with what this season is actually telling us – the birth of Christ. We must sit back, close our eyes and reflect on what the year has meant to us. What good have we done for families, friends, neighbors, colleagues, acquaintances and even strangers?

Christmas brings out cherished and nostalgic feelings from within my soul. I know it does the same for you. For some people, it might be positive, and for others negative feelings. Whatever your long forgone experi-ences were for Christmas, let us remind ourselves that yesterday is gone, tomorrow is a mystery, but we have this moment and must respect and cherish it as a gift.

Let us in our celebrations remember the less privilege in the society. The food banks need our donations to feed the less privilege. Remember they were there for you when you needed them. Look around your neigh-borhood and see that family whom your kind and thoughtful gesture would enrich their lives this festive season. As people with ethnic/cultural backgrounds, we have to lean back into our cultures and take care of people who depend on our remittances back home to make ends meet. We should not ignore and neglect them, even as we spend our hard earned dollars to cel-ebrate Christmas in Canada.

We the editorial board of ‘The Voice in Diaspora Newspaper’ wishes you all a merry Christmas and a joyous 200�.

Thanks

Veronika Chris-Ike

(Editor/Publisher)

talent pool has the potential to add up to 30,000 skilled immigrants every year. The thousands of Temporary Foreign Workers currently in Canada are also first-rate immi-gration candidates, having already settled into Canadian society and the Canadian la-bour force. Under this new category of im-migration, individuals in these two groups

can apply for Permanent Residency from within Canada. Details are expected early in the New Year.

In 2008, the Canadian Experience Class will add to other initiatives aimed at eas-ing Canada’s labour force shortages. The Provincial Nominee Programs, in which Canadian immigration applicants are nominated for priority processing by the

province in which they plan to live, have been expanded for next year. Additionally, Foreign Credential Referral Office (FCRO) services have been increased and the Tem-porary Foreign Worker Program has been enhanced.

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A LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Towards An Archive of Immigrant Folk-Life, Hamilton.

Oh what a great pleasure it was to see and read the first issue of THE VOICE IN DIASPO-RA, whose editorial hails it as “a newspaper established to fulfill a void for equitable rep-resentation amongst immigrant ethnic pop-ulation in the great city of Hamilton” Great things begin to happen in any community where voices long hidden find utterance.

As a culture and media worker I can testify to the real feelings of security thereby cre-ated when the concerns, stories and major activities of the daily lives of hidden peoples are highlighted and recorded. And much more people begin to feel that they have a stake in communal development and they know that their endeavours will be on record for future generations.

I sometimes pass through shopping malls in Hamilton and observe elderly immigrant women especially,loking as if they are great-ly bored or out of our city, if I may say that. Many of these immigrants were forced out of their communities into our big city. That is a new problem by itself. And we know that our women folk are not easily bored; for they know all the techniques of utilizing their hands, mouth, brains, feet, waist and shoulders, even sometimes with commercial intent.

Further, these elderly immigrants are the custodians and bearers of their community traditions and histories. Along with a effec-tive media outlet as The Voice in Diaspora, these folks can be usefully and happily en-gaged, using these same stored and accu-mulated communal cultural traditions. By activating these traditions we may note an-other integative strategy.

In other words, if in our city of Hamilton we launch something like a Folklore/Oral His-tory program that can publicly document, preserve and celebrate the tales, songs, proverbs, jokes, art, food-ways, popular / religious beliefs, crafts, festivals, etc. of these immigrants we may be surprised to see how we can rid our city of unnecessary boredom. I know office-bound city planners might hold me to ridicule for merely suggesting this idea of boredom in our big and interesting city.

But!

by Wayne Jones

The Ontario Pilot Provincial Nominee Program: An Overview Part �

THE VOICE EDITORIAL

In this concluding part of the ar-ticle on the provincial Nomi-nee program which I began

in the maiden edition of this newspaper I will explain the steps required by the pro-spective nominee to file the application for nomination

The Pilot PNP as I mentioned in the earlier edition is employer driven. This means that if you are seeking nomination, you can ap-ply only if:

Your prospective employer has first ap-plied for pre-screening of a position and the position has been approved.

Your prospective employer has provided you with a copy of the Nominee Applica-tion package from the Pilot PNP.

When your prospective employer pro-vides you with a Nominee Application package, it will include a Nominee Ap-plication Guide, which will provide de-tailed instructions on how to complete the required forms and documents, and how to apply to the Pilot PNP. Prospective nominees submit the completed applica-tion package to the Pilot PNP. Prospective nominees in the Employer category must

demonstrate that they qualify for the ap-proved position by providing evidence that they can meet the occupation criteria for eligible occupations.

The Pilot PNP will charge a non-refund-able processing fee, payable with each nominee application. The fee is $2,000 for all applicants, except for the International Student stream where the fee is $200. A Provincial Nomination Certificate will be is-sued for all successful nominees who must then apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for permanent residence. A successful provincial nomination replaces selection under other immigration classes (such as the federal Skilled Worker Class,

and the Family Class). Provincial nominees receive priority processing from CIC.

The Pilot PNP will support work permit ap-plications for nominees where requested. CIC is responsible for the issuance of work permits. If granted, the work permit will allow the nominee to travel to Ontario to begin working for his/her employer, while CIC continues permanent residence pro-cessing. CIC conducts medical and back-ground checks on principal applicants and all accompanying family members.

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Phone: (905) 524-1999

Email: philip@okpalalaw.com

The Voice in DiasporaP.O. Box 417 Hamilton, Ontario

Tel: �0�.20.17�2 - Fax: �0�.76�.�4��www.thevoiceindiaspora.com

Our MissionUsing the power of the pen to facilitate smooth integration and assimilation for immigrants into the Canadian society.

Publisher/EditorVeronica Chris-Ike

venike@thevoiceindiaspora.com

Art & Creative DesignJihan Aydin

www . A4AMEDIA . com

Advertising & MarketingStella Chris-Ike, Avesta Tokhai,

Terry-Ann Hasting

ContributorsPhilip U. Okpala, Fevel Toledo,

Pastor Veronica Adu-Bobie, Veronica Chris-Ike

Publication will be done Monthly. Free copies will be distrib-uted to businesses, shopping malls, churches, Non-profit

organizations, adult learning centers, etc, in Hamilton and environs.

The Voice in Diaspora Newspaper is published and distributed monthly free of charge. The views expressed by

writers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Voice in Diaspora Newspaper. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without prior permission is prohibited. The Voice in Diaspora Newspaper is not

responsible for the accuracy of information provided by the advertisers & contributors.

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“ Rise to the Top Talent Showcase” by Vision NVibe, held Nov. 10/�007

Mcmaster University CIBC Hall

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“SISO Employer Recognition Luncheon & Launch of Workshop Development Toolkit. (Finalist for �004 & �006 Out-

standing Business Achievement Award with the Hamilton Chamber of Com-

merce). Held November �7, �007

D e c 2 0 0 7 • Vo l u m e 1 • I s s u e 2 w w w. t h e v o i ce i n d i a s p o ra . co m8

Veronica Adu-Babie (Rev)

All Nation Full Gospel Church Hamilton.

A question that may be asked is “What is the Christ of Christmas to you? It doesn’t take much to

realize that a great majority of people who celebrate Christmas do not know what it is all about. To most people, especially the children, the attraction of Christmas is on Santa Claus. Despite this disregard and recognition of God’s gift to mankind, God has not left us without a witness of Himself. The world is gone frenzy because Christ the savior is born.

What is Christmas About?

Christmas is a love story- the compelling power of love. Though Christmas repre-sents love, many of us are more drawn to the virtues of faith and hope to the point of forgetting that the greatest of all these vir-tues is love. The bible tells us that faith can move mountains. It can still the storms. Mighty deeds and supernatural feats can be done through faith. Faith can turn im-possibilities to possibilities. “All things are possible to him who believes, and with-out faith, it is impossible to please God”. (Mk. 9:23, Heb. 11:6). Another important element to faith is ‘Hope’. It is the elixir of life. Its sustaining power is incomparable. Hope is unconquerable. It never gives up and never dies. As long as there is hope, there is life. Hope is tenacious. It is a go-getter and triumphs over all odds. Where the heart throbs with hope, death cannot gain con-trol until hope is lost. Hope never disappoints.

Faith and Hope are the two most lasting virtues in life. They take us through life and carry us over into eternity. What great virtues they are. By faith we conquer in-surmountable odds and do great exploits. And by hope, we obtain the grace to keep going until we cross the finish line to attain the desired goal. What then can be greater than these? The bible reveals that there is something that is far superior to these wonderful virtues. What is that? “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). The bible calls it love! What makes love the greatest virtue? Even though faith and hope may be used to help others, they are primarily for self, whereas love is totally and completely for others-selfless.

Love gave Jesus (John 3:16). Who will give his precious son for a sinful person? Yet God gave His only begotten son to save mankind. Christmas is not about a child in a man-ger, though He was born in such humble surroundings. Christmas is not about car-ols, though angels sang. Christmas is not about giving gifts, though wise man gave. Christmas is about Love. The love that compelled God to act de-cisively about your salva-tion and saved you from sin and Satan. It is this love that caused Jesus to come down and die for

you. Love that is so great, He willingly lay down His life for you. No wonder the bible states: Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for His friends (JN. 15:13).

True love will move you towards the need of others. Do you have a compelling love for others?

This Christmas, when I consider what love has done for me, I feel greatly indebted. Love gave Jesus the strength to die to save me from my sins. Love compelled Jesus to die for me in spite of my bad ways. When I ponder over this, my heart is deeply touched by His love for me; I in turn want to love Him back. Since God did not keep back any-

thing, but gave His all for me, I also want to give my all to Him. Will you do the same with me? Will you say to God, I thank you for loving me? I thank you for giving me Jesus. As you have given me your son, I also have given you my life. Has your love grown cold because of discouragement, depression, disease, afflictions, rejections, disappointment, divorce, and other nega-tive circumstances in life? Arise and fall in love again with God, His son, the Holy Spirit, your spouse, children and all others around you.

Love Never Fails! True Love Never Fails! ■

A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

percent of women pamper themselves only once every three months or less. The study also found that 34 percent do not put money aside while 53 percent allocate less than $25 a month to treat themselves. Results showed that when women do treat themselves they use their debit card to pay nearly half of the time (47 per-cent).

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Source : Published 2007 by: Business Periodicals – Business Wire

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Are you an ethnic/cultural artist? Do you want to

showcase your work and talent?

The Voice in Diaspora wants to hear from you

to participate in a cultural artistic exhibition taking

place fall next year. 905-9�0-175�

for more information. Also visit our website at

www.thevoiceindiaspora.com

A Muslim female soccer team in Edmonton has had to postpone all their games until the Alberta

Soccer Association makes a final decision on players wearing headscarves on the field.

Half the girls on the Al-Ikhwat team wear a hijab, a headscarf worn by some Mus-lim females in keeping with their belief of dressing modestly.

The provincial association has temporar-ily banned players from wearing hijabs on the pitch after a referee asked a 14-year-old girl to leave a game in Calgary last month. He said her headscarf posed a safety risk.

‘They don’t know how it’s like to run or to exercise or to be physically active with

a hijab on.’—Amereen Chowdhury, soccer player

The Alberta Soccer Association follows international rules that forbid all head-

gear, including sweatbands, but said it will review safety issues before making a final ruling on hijabs.

Amereen Chowdhury, a Grade 12 student

who’s played with the team for a year and a half wearing her hijab, says it’s not dan-gerous.

“Talk to us directly. Ask us what it’s like so we can show then that it’s not a dangerous issue. Our hijabs don’t have pins in it and they are tucked into our jersey,” she told CBC News.

“This is basically a lack of knowledge on their behalf because they don’t know how it’s like to run or to exercise or to be physi-cally active with a hijab on.”

The team plays in the Edmonton and Dis-trict Soccer Association’s indoor league. Mike Thorne, the group’s executive direc-tor, said women wearing hijabs have been playing in Edmonton for more than seven

years without any problems.

The EDSA is disappointed the team has been sidelined, Thome said.

“We feel a great deal of remorse over ac-cepting this team into our program and having their expectations shot down by Alberta Soccer, and we hope this ruling will get reversed and they can go back to playing the game they love.”

The earliest Alberta soccer officials are ex-pected to meet on the hijab issue is mid-December.

Soccer associations in B.C. and Ontario have made exceptions for hijabs while Quebec has banned it.

■Source: CBC News

Temporary Hijab Ban in Edmonton

Diaspora that with the significant growth of immigrants coming to Hamilton City, he and his staff are working on a new strat-egy to ease their integration into the area. In his words, he stated “The immigration strategy will start working on exactly how they are going to embrace the new culture and new work capabilities” in Hamilton. He went on to state that his staff have met and gathered a number of people to start talking about what the next immigration strategy is going to be. The mayor, who is also an immigrant, said the job is tough because there are a lot of immigrants coming from other countries .(Based on recent stats the immigrants coming to this city are from China-1,905 (9.2%) ,India-1,615(7.8%),,Pakistan-1,505 (7.2%), United States- 1,095 (5.3%), The Philippines –915 –(4.4 %), United Kingdom, Nigeria, Zim-babwe, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt Haiti among others). The Mayor is of the opin-ion that the city needs a policy that focus-es on all and not any one particular group so that everyone can be treated fairly and equally.

Mayor Eisenberger also told The Voice in Diaspora that a lot of immigrants have ulti-mately been hired because of their skills to contribute meaningfully to the greatness of this city. However, he cautions that the solution to easing the integration of immi-grants lies not only with the city govern-ment, but with the business community, the community at large, and the social service agencies. “All of them have a role to play in ensuring that we provide good op-portunities for immigrants based on the skills that have” the mayor stated.

On the issue of continual loss of immi-grants to other provinces due to labour shortages, Mayor Eisenberger told The

Voice in Diaspora that if there is a loss of a visible minority in the city, he does not believe this is an immigration issue but a structural, employment, and/or job cre-ation issue. He however assured that Hamilton City is working this year at put-ting additional resources into economic development to ensure the growth of businesses that are already in operation in this city, and to attract new businesses to the city. In his words, he stated “efforts are also underway for a long-term strategy to boost business so we can capture and hold the people trained here, educated here and who immigrated here so that we have opportunities for them. He also believes there is a need to accelerate diversification so that we can provide opportunities for those who move to Hamilton.

On his one year achievement in office, Eisenberger considers having an immigra-tion strategy as among his achievements, especially with the integration of minori-ties into the socio-political and economic activities in Hamilton. He cited the men-toring program of the city that gives im-migrants a chance to work with compa-nies or organizations and put their skills to use. “The city is working hand in hand with Hamilton Center for Civic Inclusion, (HCCI), Settlement and Integration Services Or-ganization (SISO) and other organizations on the immigration issue and how to wel-come the people into the community” For Mayor Eisenberger, the future of Hamilton is good, but could be better. He knows that there are a lot of challenges, but there are good efforts to tackle those challenges. ”We understand that there’s a challenge, we don’t think that we’ll ever get to per-fection soon but we certainly understand that we can do better”, he said*.

❖ to be continued

D e c 2 0 0 7 • Vo l u m e 1 • I s s u e 2 w w w. t h e v o i ce i n d i a s p o ra . co m10

T here’s something very unusual about diabetics - they tend to wear the wrong-sized shoes. Re-

searchers from Dundee University, led by diabetes expert Graham Leese, reckon that around 60 per cent of sufferers are walking around in ill-fitting shoes.

Aside from the discomfort, the habit could also cause serious health problems, from ulcers, infections - which could lead

even to amputation of the foot or leg if the problems are left untreated.

When the researchers reviewed the foot-wear of 100 diabetics, they found that 63 of them were wearing shoes that did not fit. Usually, the shoe was too tight, and researchers believe they know why the tight-fitting shoe is being chosen by the diabetic.

With diabetes, the sufferer loses his or her nerve sensation in the toes and feet, and so the shoe has to be tight fitting in order to even feel that it’s a good fit.

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Source: International Journal of Clinical Practice, 2007; 61: 1900-4

High Blood PressureO ver a 12 million people world-

wide, die each year from prob-lems associated with high

blood pressure. Otherwise known as “The Silent Killer”, it is difficult to spot because there are usually no symptoms associated with it in the early stages. Many people don’t even realize that they are suffering from it until a routine check up by their doctor reveals a problem.

If you begin to suffer from headaches, blurred or impaired vision, fits, feeling re-ally dizzy or even black-outs, you are ad-vised to see your doctor immediately as this could be a sign of dangerously high blood pressure.

When your doctor takes your blood pres-sure reading taken, he will be assessing how much force or power there is in the blood that is being pumped around your arteries. These are taken as two readings. The systolic pressure, which measures as the heart beats, and the diastolic pressure, which measures how much the heart re-laxes in between beats.

Normal blood pressure is less than 120 mmHg systolic and less than 80 mmHg diastolic. If you have been given a blood pressure reading of 140/90 mmHg or high-er, then you will be warned that you have high blood pressure.

There are a number of concerns that

comes with high blood pressure. If your reading is high, your doctor will advise you that it could cause an enlargement of the heart which could lead to heart failure. There may be a danger of experiencing little bulges in the blood vessels which are known as aneurysms, affecting the main artery that comes off the heart, brain ar-teries, and the arteries leading to the legs, intestines, and the artery to the spleen.

High blood pressure can cause harden-ing of the arteries leading to heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure or in extreme cases you may find that leg amputation is neces-sary. Blood vessels in the eyes are also at danger of bursting or bleeding which can cause problems with sight.

Prevention is better than a cure. Don’t smoke. Eat a healthy diet containing plenty of fruit and vegetables, eat low fat dairy products and limit your intake of salt. Keep an eye on your weight you will know yourself if you start getting heavier than is healthy for yourself as an individual.

Try and get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. It sounds a lot doesn’t it? But even a brisk walk can be quite sufficient and can do you so much good.

Alcohol can put added pressure on your system that your body can do without. Try and limit yourself to one glass a day if you are a woman and two glasses if you are a

man.

Once you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure you will be told that you may have it for the rest of your life. How-ever although there may be no direct cure for blood pressure problems the good news is that with better management and consistent treatment, high blood pressure can be effectively controlled.

In conclusion, on the whole, being fore-

warned, means that you can be forearmed about the dangers associated with high blood pressure. Making a few life changes and sticking to healthy diet options and having regular checkups with your doctor is a sensible precaution to take especially if you have a history of it in your family.

High blood pressure is hereditary, and if you are at risk, it is vital that you encour-age your children to lead a healthy lifestyle also. Give them the same diet as yourself, and make sure that they are getting plenty of exercise to avoid becoming overweight. By encouraging the habit of a healthier lifestyle you will be helping them to keep an eye on their health more easily, in-stead of them having to make difficult life changing decisions in the future believe me - they will thank you for it.

Whole Grain May Lower Blood Pres-sure

While health experts and food produc-ers battle over how much salt should be dumped into processed foods, research-ers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are looking into other ways that people can keep blood pressure down to healthy levels. The Scientific American reports on their discovery that whole grain diets may help. Experiments there put seven men, nine premenopausal women, and nine postmenopausal women, all with mildly high cholesterol, on the controlled Step I American Heart Association diet for 2

weeks. After that, refined carbohydrates in the Step I diet were replaced with whole-grain foods. Two types of whole-grain diets -- whole wheat/brown rice, barley, or half wheat-rice/half barley) were each consumed for 5 weeks. Sciam reports that blood pressure decreased significantly during the all whole-grain diets. Systolic blood pressure, the top reading, declined by 2.2 mm Hg when the subjects con-sumed the Step I diet and declined by an

additional 1.4 to 6.7 mm Hg while subjects consumed the whole-grain diets. Dia-stolic blood pressure, the lower reading, declined by 2 mm Hg on the Step I diet and was reduced an additional 2.9 to 3.7 mm Hg when whole-grains were added. Among the men, the article reports, the greatest reduction in arterial pressure was observed during the half-and-half diet, while the greatest reduction in arterial

pressure for women occurred during the diet with barley. Postmenopausal women were the least responsive.

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Read more in the Scientific.

Disclaimer: No medical advice is given or implied. Please consult your medical prac-titioner for any medical opinion(s).

A void alcohol and drink “health-promoting drinks” like organic fruit juices, green tea, and puri-

fied water instead. Here’s why: researchers have found one drink a day can increase your risk of breast cancer by 11%; two drinks a day by 22 to 40%; and three drinks a day by 33 to 70%.

Scientists have uncovered several ex-planations for alcohol’s high risk. Alcohol increases the production of estrogen and prolactin. Both of these hormones speed up cell division in breast tissue. The faster breast cells divide -- the higher your risk

of breast cancer. Alcohol also interferes with the function of liver enzymes. Liver enzymes are necessary to break down toxins and carcinogens. They also break down estrogen and prepare it for elimina-tion from our bodies. If your liver enzymes don’t function properly, the level of estro-gen, toxins, and carcinogens in your body will go up and so will your risk of breast cancer. Instead of alcohol, consider drink-ing organic grape juice. Grapes contain something called “resveratrol”. Resveratrol inhibits the initiation of breast cancer and decreases the growth of breast tumors.

It is a powerful antioxidant and anti-in-flammatory. Scientists have found both of these properties help protect against and fight breast cancer. In addition, if you have breast cancer and require radiation, resveratrol can help the radiation kill more

tumor cells.

Our bodies have an amazing capacity to heal. The moment you drop unhealthy habits and adopt healthy ones, your body will begin repairing itself. Enjoy your holi-days – and at the same time honor your health.

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Source: Christine Horner, MD., F.A.C.S. For more information go to www.drchristine-horner.com and www.protectivebreast.com

BREAST HEALTH TIP: What women should know!

Diabetics: Why They wear shoes that are too tight

11D e c 2 0 0 7 • Vo l u m e 1 • I s s u e 2w w w. t h e v o i ce i n d i a s p o ra . co m

Afghanistan girls dressed in their cultural customes

Why Country Profile?

Immigrants come from many countries where most times negative media reports make people ashamed to identify with their heritage. We in the Voice in Diaspora Newspaper want to correct this. We want to share with our readers the positive aspects in some of the so-called ‘backward’, ‘negative’ and ‘primitive’ countries that some of our ethnic populations originated from. There is no better way to do this than to profile countries in this newspaper. Knowledge is power, and the Voice in Diaspora is empowering our readers with valuable information regarding country’s achievements and strengths. It is only when we are informed and knowledge-able about something or somebody that we can make or provide accurate statements/information regarding the object or subject.

Negative media spreads hatred and destroys reputation. It instills fear in people and promotes hate crimes and intolerance. Ethnic/cultural populations are here to stay, and we have much to learn from one another. The more accurate information we have concerning other countries, the better we understand, appreciate, and live in harmony with them. Our differences make us unique; it is not a weakness, but more a strength.

(Send us your feedback on this via venike@thevoiceindiaspora.com)

Capital (and largest city): Kabul

Official languages: Persian (Dari), Pashto

Government: Islamic republic

President: Hamid Karzai

Independence: from the United Kingdom

Declared: August 8, 1919

Recognized: August 19, 1919

Area: 647,500 km² (41st) 251,772 sq mi

Water: (%): 0

Population: 2007

Estimate: 31,889,923 (37th)

1979 census: 13,051,358

GDP (PPP): Per capita: $1,490 (158th)

Currency: Afghani (AFN)

Calling code: +93

A fghans display pride in their re-ligion, country, ancestry, and above all, their independence.

Though the modern state of Afghanistan was founded or created in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani, the land has an ancient his-tory and various timelines of different civi-

lizations. Excavation of prehistoric sites by Louis Dupree, the University of Pennsylva-nia, the Smithsonian Institute and others suggests that humans were living in what is now Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities of the area were among the earliest in the world.

Afghanistan is a country at a unique nexus point where numerous Indo-European civ-ilizations have interacted and often fought, and was an important site of early histori-cal activity. Through the ages, the region has been home to various people, among them the Aryan (Indo-Iranian) tribes, such

as the Kambojas, Bactrians, Persians, etc. It also has been conquered by a host of people, including the Median and Persian Empires, Alexander the Great, Kushans, Hepthalites, Arabs, Turks, and Mongols. In recent times, unsuccessful invasions from the British, Soviets, and most recently by the Americans and their allies have taken place. On the other hand, native entities have invaded surrounding regions in Ira-nian plateau and Indian subcontinent to form empires of their own.

In the Middle Ages, up to the nineteenth century, the region was known as Kho-rasan. (The Middle Ages are commonly dated from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the 15th century). It was during this period of time when Islam was introduced and spread in the area.

Politics in Afghanistan has historically consisted of power struggles, bloody coups and unstable transfers of power. With the exception of a military junta, the country has been governed by nearly every sys-tem of government over the past century, including a monarchy, republic, theocracy and communist state. The constitution rati-fied by the 2003 Loya jirga restructured the government as an Islamic republic consist-ing of three branches, (executive, legisla-ture and judiciary). Afghanistan is current-ly led by President Hamid Karzai, who was elected in October 2004. The current par-liament was elected in 2005. Among the elected officials were former mujahadeen, Taliban members, communists, reformists, and Islamic fundamentalists. Afghanistan is administratively divided into thirty-four (34) provinces (welayats), and for each province there is a capital. Each province is then divided into many provincial districts, and each district normally covers a city or several townships.

Inflation had been a major problem until 2002. However, the Afghan government and international donors seem to remain committed to improving access to basic necessities, infrastructure development, education, housing and economic reform. The central government is also focusing on improved revenue collection and public sector expenditure discipline. The rebuild-ing of the financial sector seems to have been so far successful. Money can now be transferred in and out of the country via official banking channels. Since 2003, over fourteen new banks have opened in the country, including Standard Chartered Bank, Afghanistan International Bank, Ka-bul Bank, Azizi Bank, First Micro Finance Bank, and others. A new law on private investment provides three to seven-year tax holidays to eligible companies and a four-year exemption from exports tariffs and duties.

The overall good news is the country has potential to quickly come out of pov-erty and become an economically stable

country. This is due to many reports show-ing that the country has possession of mass amounts of high demand natural resources and minerals. According to the US Geological Survey and the Afghan Min-istry of Mines and Industry, Afghanistan may be possessing up to 36 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 3.6 billion barrels of petroleum and up to 1,325 million barrels of natural gas liquids. This could mark the turning point in Afghanistan’s reconstruc-tion efforts. Energy exports could gener-ate the revenue that Afghan officials need to modernize the country’s infrastructure and expand economic opportunities for the beleaguered and fractious population. Other reports suggest that the country has huge amounts of gold, copper, coal, iron ore and other rich minerals.

Although literacy levels are very low, clas-sic Persian poetry plays a very important role in the Afghan culture. Poetry has al-ways been one of the major educational pillars in Afghanistan, to the level that it has integrated itself into culture. Before the Taliban gained power, the city of Kabul was home to many musicians who were masters of both traditional and modern Afghan music, especially during the Nau-roz-celebration. Kabul in the middle part of the twentieth century has been likened to Vienna during the eighteenth and nine-teenth centuries.

Afghanistan has rapidly advanced in communication technology, and now has wireless companies, Internet, radio sta-tions and television channels. Afghan tele-communication companies, Afghan Tele-com, Afghan Wireless, Roshan, Areeba and Etisalat which is expected to be launched in 2007, have boasted a rapid increase in cellular phone usage.

Afghanistan’s commercial airline, Ari-ana Afghan Airlines, now serves flights to Frankfurt, Dubai and Is-tanbul to and from Kabul and Herat. Automo-biles have re-cently become more widely available, with Toyota, Land Rover, BMW and Hyundai dealerships all over Kabul, and imports of sec-

ond-hand vehicles from the UAE on dis-play in Kandahar.

On the educational sector, as of 2006, more than four million male and female students are enrolled in schools through-

out the country. Primary education is totally free and available for all boys and girls. Literacy of the entire population is estimated (as of 1999) at 36%, the male literacy rate is 51% and female literacy is 21%. Up to now there are 9,500 schools in the country.

Another aspect of education that is rap-idly changing in Afghanistan is the face of higher education. Following the fall of the Taliban, Kabul University was reopened to both male and female students. In 2006, the American University of Afghanistan also opened its doors, with the aim of pro-viding a world-class, English-language, co-educational learning environment in Afghanistan. The university accepts stu-dents from Afghanistan and the neighbor-ing countries. Construction work will soon start at the new site selected for University of Balkh in Mazari Sharif. The new building for the university, including the building for the Engineering Department, would be constructed at 600 acres (2.4 km²) of land at the cost of 250 million US dollars.

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Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

St. Joseph Immigrant Women Centre Hamilton hosted 3rd International

Market Place:

T wenty-nine immigrant women vendors partici-pated in the 3rd international Marketplace at St. Joseph Immigrant Women’s Center, Friday,

November 29, 2007 in Hamilton, Ontario. The vendors displayed international arts and crafts that created eco-nomic freedom for these women and their families.

Joyne Lavides, Marketing coordinator said, these wom-en vendors coming from different countries of the world exhibited pieces of their history and culture; from Afri-can wooden and soapstone carvings to Vietnamese sea grass baskets; Egyptian perfume bottles, to Sudanese henna tattoos; Pakistani Quran ayyats to Turkish rice necklaces and artworks, from Syrian accessories to Pa-

shmina shawls, Kenyan paintings among others.

The local community was treated with an international lunch for a very minimal fee, which was prepared, by the staff and volunteers of St Joseph Immigrant Women’s Center. There was also an international coffeehouse set up for the guests where Turkish coffee, Kashmir pink tea and Columbian coffee were served. The proceeds of the event will benefit the programs and services that St Jo-seph Immigrant Women’s Center provides for Immigrant and refugee women in the community, Lavides said.

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905.5�0.175�venike@thevoiceindiaspora.com