Some newcomers come to the U.S. as students;

some come as corporate executives or medical

specialists; some come as farm laborers and some

are fleeing the relentless horrors of war, persecution

and genocide. Some possess a flawless command

of English and others speak dialects known only

in very small parts of the world. Some come as

families, but many arrive alone, separated from

families and friends. Their belief systems encompass

a variety of spiritual practices, including Christian,

Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and animistic. Newcomers

are diverse in every way, but they all share – to

some degree – the pain of accommodating to a new

culture. We call this experience of acculturation

"integration" and, not surprisingly, it’s a complex

and dynamic process.

Many terms – including settlement, resettlement,

adaptation, adjustment and integration – have been

used to describe how newcomers become part of a

community. The United Nations Economic and

Social Council has defined this experience as:

to make their own distinctive contributions.

The Canadian Council for Refugees views

the integration process as a continuum (see

chart below).

Settlement is relatively short-term. It involves

acclimatization and the early stages of adaptation,

when newcomers make the basic adjustments

to life in a new country, including finding a place

to live, beginning to learn the local language,

getting a job, and learning how to get around in

an unfamiliar environment.

Integration refers to the longer-term process

through which newcomers become full and equal

participants in all the various dimensions of society.

"If you come to a country

where everyone has only

one eye, you have to take

out one of your eyes so that

you can fit in. Integration

is THAT painful."

Response to the question,

"What is integration like?"

by a Somali woman resettling

in Canada, Canadian Council

for Refugees, page 10