A DREAM Eliseo A. Martell "I had a dream about many people leaving their countries, children, parents, grand parents, uncles, friends. Migratory birds, thousands, hundreds of thousands of them adopting different and capricious forms ... planes, ships, people. I dreamt that whales were stranded on the beaches, people looking at them with astonishment, and they were the people I love and had gone."

These are some lines that my brother sent me in a letter. He describes the feelings of those who stayed when we left our native countries. As new Canadians we can also interpret his words. We are as migratory birds, flying from south to north, from east to west. People coming to Canada, looking for a better future or escaping from a dangerous situation to a safety place.

New immigrants move, change, can take the form of planes. They learn how to fly, to live better, to reach new horizons. They are the 'successful'. However, others can adopt the form of ships, always in movement, going from Quebec to Kitchener, from Toronto to Vancouver. Never finding a place of stability. But both are people. Souls with feelings, fears, illusions and frustrations. They are eager to learn and to share their knowledge with other immigrants and born Canadians. They live in Canada, but part of their being is in other places. As the whales in my brother's dream, we get stuck in our perceptions of the country we left, in memories of friends and relatives, in visions of places and events.

These perceptions do not change, they are fixed in our mind. Yet friends, relatives, places and relations change with time, and our memories, like the whales, become a contradiction. Although they are real, they are also a mirage because life is not there any more. There is a lack of dynamism on it that is difficult to perceive. These memories change with time, they acquire a new dimension, they become bigger, and more pleasant. This change translates into nostalgia, homesickness "everything was better there". It is so difficult to accept that the whale is not able to return to the sea any more.

These attitudes have an explanation: It is so demanding to deal with a new situation, to learn a new language, to make new friends, to change behaviours that were considered acceptable before. It is so difficult to deal with racism, and to be accepted with respect. It is so hard to find that our knowledge and experience are not valuable because they are not 'Canadian'.

I dream of immigrants and born Canadians working together, changing the whales stuck on the sand into whales alive, and happily swimming in the sea, discovering new reasons to live and to grow. Canada is so beautiful and special that it deserves to be great! THE ARMENIAN STORY Ani Ghazarian

As an Armenian youth it is my pleasure to discuss my heritage with others. Though small in numbers, the Armenians are a people who take great pride in their ethnicity and their diverse culture that has endured for centuries. The famous Armenian author William Saroyan described us as follows: "I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread and music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered".."send them into the desert without bread or water".."then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again."

Armenians first came to Canada in the late nineteenth century and they continue to migrate from various countries, including Lebanon, Syria, Egypt .. to name a few. The most famous Armenians to migrate to Canada were the Georgetown Boys who were orphans migrating from Asia minor in hopes of finding a new homeland where they could continue to follow and culminate their culture with that of the Canadian identity.

Even today Armenians continue to keep their culture alive through such traditions as the Armenian churches whether they be the Orthodox, Evangelical, or Catholic churches located throughout Canada and the United States. Armenians accepted Christianity for their faith as early as the year 301.

As a people we enjoy such culinary delights as Shish Kebab and Bakhlava. Shish Kebab can either be beef, pork or chicken diced into small cubes and barbecued over an open fire. Bakhlava is another delicacy which is comprised of layers of puff pastry with crushed walnuts and a sweet sugar sauce. Many of our foods are similar to those of the Arabs and the Greeks.

Music is also very dear to our hearts. Through music Armenians tell stories of their past and they describe the beauty of their homeland. Many of the songs are patriotic and they have been a part of our culture for hundreds of years.

Along with the music, we have our traditional Armenian dances. The traditional Armenian round dancing is referred to as Shourch Bar. Another style of dancing is the Tak Bar which is similar to the Arabic. In general the music and dancing are a custom that we care to continue with today.

Education is a very important factor in the lives of Armenians. Presently, we have two day schools in Canada. The schools are located in Montreal and Toronto, and they teach both Armenian and English to their pupils. The smaller communities which include Cambridge, Hamilton and St.Catherine, have Saturday schools where children learn how to read and write Armenian and they learn the old Armenian stories and history.

It is very important for me to learn about my heritage and I do this by being a member of the A.R.F.Y.O.C. (the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Youth Organization of Canada. There are presently seven chapters within Canada and the majority of these chapters are named after famous Armenian heroes.

One of several festivities held every year is the event commemorating Musa Dagh. Armenians from both Canada and the United States come to Cambridge in September and enjoy the music, dance and food.

Similarly, on Canada Day, we join together with several ethnic groups at Victoria Park in Kitchener, to enjoy each others' food and culture. Armenians usually have a booth to sell their delicacies, and entertain with their traditional dances and music.THE BAHA'I CALENDAR AND THE FEAST Grace Guido Editor's Note: Two errors occurred during editing the article "Bahai Fast" of the April/May issue. The correct information should read: "There are nine Holy Days on which work is suspended and commemorations or festivities take place. In addition, Baha'is celebrate a period of four days (five in Leap years), known as Ayyam-i-Ha or Intercalary Days, a period of hospitality and sharing, as preparation for the annual fast."

The Baha'i Calendar dates from the declaration of the Bab, the Herald of the Baha'i faith, on March 22/23, in 1844, which marks the beginning of the Baha'i era. The calendar is based on the solar year, beginning on the March Equinox, and is divided into nineteen months, each of nineteen days, with four Intercalary days to make up the year, except in leap years when a fifth Intercalary day is added. Each day begins at sunset at any location on the globe. The months have spiritual attributes with names such as: Splendour,Will, Glory,Light,Mercy,Knowledge,Questions,Speech,Honour,Loftiness ..

The calendar exemplifies the Baha'i belief to "tread the spiritual path with practical feet". Incorporated within the Baha'i year are special dates which provide for the four aspects of humanity: the physical and emotional, the spiritual and the social being. For instance, every nineteen days, at the beginning of each Baha'i month, the community gathers to celebrate the Nineteen Day Feast. All Baha'is participate in the same three components in their feasts: spiritual, administrative or consultative, and social nurturing.

Since there is no clergy in the Baha'i faith, the host or hostess (or sometimes a committee) for each feast, chooses the readings. Individuals, young and old, may add prayers relevant to their own spiritual, physical or social concerns that may be read, recited from memory, chanted or sung in a variety of languages. They are taken from writings by the Bab, Baha'u'llah, founder of the faith, and Abdu'l-Baha, his son and sole interpreter.

The community then discusses its business and consults on matters to be presented to its Assembly - an elected Baha'i administrative body. The secretary shares correspondence. Every person is encouraged to contribute to the discussion.

The final part of the Nineteen Day Feast, is a time for informal socializing. The host/ess personally serves the friends food and drink. There is no ritual, so each host/ess may be as creative as he/she wishes. Feasts throughout the world occur on the same days but may be as varied as the cultures in which they take place - customs, music, arts, language, food, location and hospitality. Unity in diversity is emphasized.

There are nine Holy days in each year when Baha'is refrain from work. Two days commemorate the passing of the Bab and Baha'u'llah, while the other seven days are times of celebration and joy, and they are: * New Year's day, the first day of each Baha'i year (the feast of Naw Ruz on March 21st), marking the end of the fasting period that takes place between dawn and sundown during the last month in the Baha'i year (nineteen days between March 2 - 21) and is preceded by intercalary days on which social gatherings and visits take place. * The Period of Ridvan which includes the most important dates on the Baha'i calendar: April 21, April 29 and May 2; remembering Baha'u'llah's Declaration of His Mission in the Garden of Ridvan (Paradise), near Baghdad, in 1863. Similarly, the Bab's Declaration in Shiraz, Persia, 1844, is celebrated May 23rd. * The Ascension of Baha'u'llah,1892, is commemorated May 29th. * The Martyrdom of the Bab in 1850 is honoured each July 9th. * The birth of the Bab in 1819 and of Baha'u'llah in 1817 are celebrated on October 20th and November 12th respectively.

The gatherings for several of these celebrations are held at times during the day that reflect the time of the actual event they commemorate.

There are two other anniversaries in the calendar which are not treated as days when work should be suspended: The Day of the Covenant, November 26, and ... The passing of Abdu'l-Baha, November 28th.

In recent years many Baha'i communities around the globe also observe: World Religion Day, International Women's Day, Race Unity Day, International Day of Peace, Universal Children's Day, United Nation's Day, and Human Rights Day; and this is because they wish to abolish prejudice and to establish oneness of humanity and world peace.THE WAY OF PEACE: PART TWO 500 YEARS FROM AN INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVE Carleen Elliott is an Anishinabequa who belongs to the Saugeen-OjibwayBandonthe Bruce Peninsula. Her Ojibway name is Neepitaypinayseequa which, in English roughly translates to Walking Partridge Woman. The name is a 'concept' about a particular aspect of the character of the Partridge mother.

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue .... and discovered paradise. But paradise was inhabited by a race of human beings who occupied the continent from shore to shore. The race was not a war-making people, and in their tradition of hospitality, greeted the adventurer Europeans. The peaceful manner of the indigenous people was interpreted as ignorance akin of idiocy; that negative regard laid the framework for 500 years of exploitation and threat of annihilation of indigenous culture. The framework continues, and is the basis for a complex, problem-ridden relationship between the North American indigenous people, and successive governments.

The only contemporary defense that aboriginal people in Canada have against purposeful erosion of their existence is International Law, which defines a "People" as those groups who have a land base, language and culture. This definition of "People" provides entitlement to Canada's aboriginal people to consideration as legal Nations. The Treaties are the legal documents that ensure a land-base for aboriginal people, and the bi-lingual legislation assures freedom from further attack on aboriginal language. Given the successive Canadian governments' history of a paternalistic relationship with Native people, aboriginal people continue to guard against arbitrary abrogation of those legal standings. In spite of the seeming advancement of aboriginal right to land and language, aboriginal culture remains under constant threat. The reason is that aboriginal culture continues to be regarded as a culture without worth. The belief is a result of the persistent attitude that, upon "discovery", the indigenous inhabitants of North America were dirty savages who were doing nothing while awaiting salvation from their ignorance.

There are aboriginal people who were raised within the culture and tradition of indigenous people. It is difficult for these people to witness the philosophical and political diminishment of a culture that is truly unique on the continent. The uniqueness is a result of the belief in, and practice of The Way of Peace.

The Way is applied at conception, with the recognition that the child in the womb is a living being, and is conscious. Whatever happens to the mother is experienced by the child, and the experience of birth is the beginning of the child's ability to make sense of the world into which she is born. Everyone is born into a family and a community. It is the responsibility of the community to provide an environment for the children that encourages a set of philosophical standards and values to follow throughout their entire lives.

Within traditional Native culture, the birth of a child is anticipated with great joy. A child is considered to be a gift from the Great Creator, who is a further addition to the completeness of life, and who represents the eternal circle of life. In recognition of the brevity of childhood, and given the potential longevity of adulthood, a Native child is not told what to do, but is only protected from harm. As a child grows, her particular interests are observed, and thus her individual contribution to the community is noted, and is then encouraged.

The enforced assimilation policy that began in the mid-1800's, and was a legal manoeuvre against which aboriginal people had no defense, included removal of children from their families and from their communities. This seriously damaged the stability of aboriginal family and community structure. Adoption, in particular, of aboriginal babies away from their communities became a profit-making venture for private groups well into the 1970's. Such ventures were lucrative because underlying racism was strongly appealed to, and appealing to racist belief was effective. The reasoning was that the babies' chances of having a good and normal life depended on their being removed from the reserves.

Reserve conditions were deplorable, and pervasive racism prevented further exploration into the reasons for the existing conditions. It was assumed that sub-standard conditions existed because Native people did not know how to live any other way. In reality, the legislation that was created completely undermined Native economic stability, and set into motion a domino effect that affected every aspect of aboriginal life. The traditional social structure of Native people revolves around family and community. When the children were removed, into residential schools or adopted or fostered out of their communities, the assimilation process had its greatest impact on Native culture.

All youth enter an emotional and psychological phase of establishing self-identity, which is a very normal process. But Native young people who were adopted away, more often carried a double burden, as they also had to contend with a search for cultural heritage. Both of these situations are times of emotional upheaval. Within traditional Native culture, there are ceremonies of celebration around leaving childhood and entering adulthood. The rituals simply have to do with much story-telling for the purpose of developing understanding of the responsibilities of being an adult.

For youth who are raised outside, and so usually have no exposure at all to their culture, the element of racism is a terrible obstacle to be overcome. Racism against, and the perpetuation of stereo-type about Native people is very much a part of this society. Children who are raised within such a negative atmosphere about their own people face a terrible conflict. They want to participate in their culture, but at the same time general society holds aboriginal people in such contempt that the sense of shame at being a Native person is very strong, and the youth who have been essentially isolated from their culture face great personal turmoil.

Intact Native families and communities are able to withstand negatives about their people, and are now beginning to develop ways to heal the social, emotional, and spiritual damage that was brought about by the assimilation process. The healing ways are based solidly within aboriginal culture, and have proven to be the most effective. While it is recognized that the culture has undergone erosion, it has survived !THINK FOR YOURSELF ! Isn't Canadian Culture Still Worth Preserving ? Michael Ranieri

In the last century, some of the world's political/economic systems have undergone major transformations: There are no emperors left in China; Russia is in the midst of another major change; and the European Economic Community is getting closer to reality. The recent U.S. riots are a confirmation of the change that is required with our neighbours, yet we Canadians meekly sit and wait for others to think for us.

We see a need for an end to racism, sexism, environmental abuse, economic abuse and the ridiculous absurdity of our bureaucracy that puts paperwork before human beings. What can you and I, as individuals, do about this?

My background includes relatives that both fled and supported Russian aristocracy and communism. Ultimately, there seems to be no difference in the outcome for either. They came to the land of opportunity only to find a culture in which money is all and everything. In this economically driven Canadian culture, money takes precedence over community, over the arts, research, entertainment and over the basic necessities of life - putting a roof over your head and being able to eat.

Our culture is dying - people are not supporting the original concepts of freedom and real democracy where all are treated equal. I have a lot of sympathy for the unemployed and for the abuse the lower class in our society suffers. How can someone be sentenced and given a criminal record for stealing a pair of $12 shoes for their child, while an employee caught embezzling gets an internal "retraining" program ?

The Greeks had a number of words that they used to describe the various connotations of democracy. We have one that refuses to go away, where the "blue bloods" would tell people that they will do the thinking for them.

I have always been an "outsider", not participating in politicking, but if we should be more concerned with appearances and not make problematic issues public, then one of the most frightening aspects of this is : how many policies and practices will be rubber stamped and never disclosed or discussed ?

Other cultures have valued ethics and consistent morality (that is not necessarily dictated) as an integral part of culture. Does it still exist anywhere other than in a few individuals ?

As a business person my philosophy has been based on mutual satisfaction - if I do business with you, we should BOTH be happy. Some days I feel like an alien when I explain this pretty simple concept to people.

The examples are endless, but that is not the point. When people came to North America they brought their idealism and energy to try to find a better way to live. It was always stressed that adaptibility and flexibility are key components for healthy evolution. North America was the last great refuge for freedom, creativity and independence. It did grow and prosper, but often at the expense of women, third world countries, the environment and native cultures. However, these "subcultures" have fought back. Is our country now turning on itself because there is nothing left? We have forsaken the ideal of harmonic growth for advertising slogans.

Now is the time to start creating a sense of community: we cannot expect to be given jobs, we must be independent and start working outside of the confines that are holding us back. In a vacuum, culture can be created.

Support the Arts that you want to see, the ones you enjoy and derive satisfaction from. Participate in the things you can change and find others that agree.

Make mistakes as you try things out; for everything you try, a mistake will turn into the right stuff if you try hard enough.

Talk to people to whom you wouldn't usually talk to - find out if they are the same or different. Work beside them and play beside them - see if you remember how !! Think for yourself - Creat your own future ! till next time ..

This article was originally published in Cross Cultures Magazine in Volume 1 - Issue 4 - 1992. Unauthorized copying, distribution or other usage without express written permission of the publisher is prohibited.