To the editor:
I would like to respond directly to the thoughtful yet erroneous letter Kelowna still has plenty of racism with a couple of quick points. In his setup, the writer makes a failed attempt at equating colonization and immigration which are two incredibly different, emotional issues. Then, to add legitimacy to his weak diversion, he spouts the trendy claim, “I’m a victim of racism.” To add insult to injury, he insults the city that has harbored him for 30 years – and even let him run for council. Sir, I can almost guarantee you that you have not experienced racism outside of your own perception.
My family experienced persecution during the Second World War and my father and grandfather were liberated by Allies in 1945. Their experiences with the Allies (a man from, you guessed it, Kelowna) helped them decide to come to Canada to escape the memories of what genuine racism brings. Your watering down of the term ‘racism’ terrifies me.
I am confused why the writer brings up immigration in other ‘rich’ countries when the topic for discussion is specifically about our country and our new (and old) policies. What the writer fails to understand is that strong controls on immigration and hard limits are important for the existing population to adjust economically and socially to keep the standard of living such that it benefits both immigrants and residents.
As an aside, I believe that the writer fails to notice that there is a fundamental difference between immigration and asylum. It is a just cause to help people escape foreign lands, but it isn’t a right of the people to come to our country. The only reason we have such a beautiful Charter is because we keep our society culturally balanced enough to understand its necessity. A balance is something that is easy to upset—so stop trying.
Solomon Orovich, Kelowna
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