“Tell Me What I Need to Know”: South Asian Women, Social Capital and Settlement

Abstract

This paper reports on the findings of in-depth interviews with 50 South Asian immigrant women in Toronto regarding their settlement needs and the role of social capital in meeting these needs. The main findings discussed in this paper relate to the emergence of information as the most important settlement need and the ways in which information and orientation were obtained. Participants were found to rely on informal networks of friends and relatives as the most exhaustive and specific source of information and orientation.Résumé Cet article fait état des résultats d'entrevues en profondeur auprès de 50 immigrantes de l'Asie méridionale vivant à Toronto. Les entrevues portaient sur leurs besoins en matière d'établissement et le rôle que joue le capital social pour répondre à ces besoins. Les résultats évoqués dans cet article portent sur l'émergence de l'information comme le besoin le plus important en matière d'établissement, et sur les moyens par lesquels l'information et l'orientation ont été obtenues. Nous avons trouvé que les réseaux informels d'amis et de parenté constituaient la source d'information et d'orientation la plus exhaustive et précise pour les immigrantes.

Settling in: The Relationship between Information and Social Inclusion

“…This is easier for settlers with high levels of English language and literacy, and more difficult for those who do not have these competencies. There is further potential for exclusion of refugees in regional settings where unlike those in other studies (George & Chaze, 2009) there may be no existing groups from their own former countries to pave the way and provide support in communities not used to having an influx of people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.…”

“…In a regional setting, they have the additional task of sensitising the existing community to the needs of refugees. Unlike settlers in a Canadian study (George & Chaze, 2009) who did not find help from government sources to be useful for everyday living, the refugees in this study appreciated and relied heavily on information provided through government via their caseworkers. As refugees complete the IHSS and no longer have the intensive information and social support provided by caseworkers, the study clearly identifies that many feel socially excluded.…”

“…Caidi and Allard (2005) suggest that settlers face substantial information problems, in the first instance relating to the navigation of information related to basic needs such as housing, employment, education, and health. Other studies (George & Chaze, 2009) also find that information is the most critical need of new settlers and otherwise note a strong relationship between social exclusion and information (Aspinall, 2007;Bigelow, 2010;Colic-Peisker, 2005).…”

“…Thus social exclusion is conceptualised as an information problem. A lack of access to information is seen by George and Chaze (2009) to contribute to loneliness and stress and a feeling of social exclusion, influenced by an inability to find work, and loss of social support immigrants experienced in their home country.…”

The Emotional City: Refugee Settlement and Neoliberal Urbanism in Calgary

“…Moreover, family dynamics are affected as children and youth take on new roles and responsibilities through the settlement process. 2 Several researchers have emphasized the value of community connections in successful negotiation of the settlement process (Chambon et al 2001;George and Chaze 2009). In particular, rootedness in a broader ethnic or religious community can be crucial to positive outcomes for immigrants.…”