Making Canada Home: Snapshots of Syrian and Iraqi Newcomer Cultural Production in the Waterloo Region, 2016-2019

Authors

  • Anne Elizabeth Vermeyden Independent Researcher
  • Eid Mohamed Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.40588

Keywords:

Syrian newcomers, Iraqi newcomers, arts and culture, community theatre, dance, acculturation, identity, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Abstract

Since the beginning of the Syrian Crisis in 2011, millions of refugees from Syria and Iraq have been displaced. Over 25,000 Syrian newcomers settled in Canada between 2015 and 2016. The Region of Waterloo, home to a population of approximately 535,000 by 2016, was where about 2,000 of these newcomers settled. This article argues that these newcomers have used arts and culture to navigate the difficulties of settlement and acculturation. Evidence from newspaper articles, interviews, and participant observation indicates that refugees from Syria and Iraq in this region have utilized dance and theatre to develop community that retains cultural connections and identity linked with Syria and the greater Levantine region. Professional and community arts initiatives spearheaded by refugees showcase how culture and identity are caught up in continuous circulations of culture that are geographically situated in the Canadian context. For Syrian and Iraqi refugees in the Waterloo Region, acculturation, nostalgia, and assimilation are complex and powerful sites of community.

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Author Biographies

Anne Elizabeth Vermeyden, Independent Researcher

Anne Vermeyden is a writing consultant at Conestoga College.  She can be reached at avermeyden@conestogac.on.ca.

Eid Mohamed, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

Eid Mohamed is an assistant professor of Arab-US Cultural Politics at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. He can be reached at eid.mohamed@dohainstitute.edu.qa.

Published

2020-04-25

How to Cite

Vermeyden, A. E., & Mohamed, E. (2020). Making Canada Home: Snapshots of Syrian and Iraqi Newcomer Cultural Production in the Waterloo Region, 2016-2019. Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, 36(1), 30–39. https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.40588
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