Table
3-5
Middle East
(Sample Size: 88 Adults and 19 Youth)
-
Language
and Ethnicity
- 36%
of respondents from the Middle East indicate Arabic as their mother
tongue. Other mother tongues include: Pashei (18%), Persian/Farsi
(20%), Kurdish (8%), Assyrian, Turkish, Armenian and Pushtu.
- 21%
cannot speak any English.
- Other
languages spoken include: Russian (7%), Greek, Turkish, Arabic (10%),
Hindi (8%), Urdu (20%), Pushtu (14%), Pashei, Kurdish, Farsi, Russian
and Chaldean.
- The
language used most often at home is Arabic (29%), while 18% speak
Pashei. Other languages used at home include: Persian/Farsi, English,
Armenian, Kurdish and Assyrian.
- 36%
of respondents are Afghan in origin and 33% are Iraqi. Other ethnic
origins include Arab and Kurd.
- Respondents
included in this region came from Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.
-
Time
of Arrival
- 48%
arrived in 1996/97, 32% arrived in 1994/95 and 20% arrived in 1992/93.
-
Refugee
Camp Experience
- 48%
of all respondents from the Middle East spent some time in a refugee
camp.
- The
mean number of months spent there is 59.
-
Demographic
Characteristics and Family Status
- 56%
are female, 44% are male.
- The
average age of adults from this region is 35.5 years while for youth
it is 18.0 years.
- 18%
of the sample is aged 15-21; 28% are aged 22-30; 34% are aged 31-40;
and the remaining 20% are over age 41.
- The
average size of households is 4.8.
- 58%
of adult refugees are married, 7% are married but their spouses
live elsewhere, 7% are divorced or widowed and 28% are single.
- 56%
of the sample reside in Calgary, 20% live in Edmonton, 17% live
in Red Deer, Lethbridge or Medicine Hat while 7% live elsewhere
in Canada.
- 77%
of respondents arrived in Canada at the same time as other family
members.
- 88%
left family members behind in their home country.
- 38%
had family living in Canada upon arrival.
-
Education
and Occupation Prior to Arrival (Adult Refugees only)
- 41%
indicate they had not obtained a high school diploma prior to arrival;
19% had completed high school; 13% had some post-secondary education
and 26% had completed their post-secondary education.
- The
mean years of schooling prior to arrival is 11.8. (Of the 21 respondents
without schooling in the sample, 17 came from the Middle East.)
- 34%
had some form of job training prior to their arrival.
- 71%
held a paying job before coming to Canada.
- 32%
indicate they did not have an occupation prior to their arrival;
26% were managers or professionals; 33% were blue-collar labourers
and the remainder were in clerical/service occupations.
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