Who Are Those of 2nd Generation and Beyond?

The movie Our School deeply resonated with me. The struggles that Koreans living in Japan is something I identify with. The identification is definitely not to the extreme that the Koreans experience, but something similar.

I am a Canadian citizen, as are my parents. I was born here, however my parents were born on the island of Sri Lanka. They left the country during what was the 25-year civil war between a Sri Lankan terrorist organization and civilians. The war was fought between the two largest ethnic groups of the island, the Sinhalese and the Tamils. My parents are both Sinhalese.

Unlike the Koreans in Japan, during the time of my parent’s immigration and my youth the government did not ostracize Sri Lankans. However the media had somewhat portrayed the entirety of the Tamil people as the victims and the entirety of the Sinhalese population as the ‘other’. This portrayal resulted in several uncomfortable situations. When people found out that my parents identify as Sinhalese, citizens would respond, “Oh… So the bad guys.” I remember from my youth being told by an older woman that I was not supposed to speak to her as I am Sinhalese and she is Tamil.

Being a 2nd generation Sinhalese Sri Lankan, there has been several points in my life where I’m expected uphold my cultural roots. Starting in the third grade I was taught Buddhism on an institutional level and from the fourth grade I was taught Sinhala. From birth my parents spoke to me in Sinhalese, but they enrolled me in a French immersion program and started to speak English at home to make sure I did not forget English. So I lost some of the Sinhalese language, but my current understanding of the language is high, and should I be in the country I am able to communicate on what is probably the same level of the Koreans in Japan.

At cultural events I am expected to wear a sari while men are expected to wear suits. I am expected to learn how to prepare Sri Lankan dishes and also continue my higher education while my male counterparts are only expected to be educated. There are many unfair gender roles that I am expected to fill.

I feel obliged to ‘not forget my culture’, to not be extremely assimilated to Canadian culture. But being Canadian is what comes first to me. I am proud to identify with Canada.

Above all, I am expected to be both a fair representation of the Sri Lankan identity, and not in any way Sri Lankan. By this I mean that people who are not Sri Lankan are always disappointed when I say that I can “get by” in Sinhalese. “Why aren’t you fluent?” is something I am always asked. I am fluent in English. Is fluency in language a requirement to be identified by the said nationality? Is one’s nationality reflective upon one’s citizenship, or the qualities that person inhibits of the ‘national community’? To some Sri Lankans, the distance between my parent’s country and Canada means that I am not representational of any aspect of the Sri Lankan culture. But on the other side, some people never consider me Canadian first. Often I am asked in either restaurants or on the street, “Where are you from?” I will always answer, “Canada”. The response is never good enough so the asker will continue, “No, I mean, where are you from?” I will respond that my parents are from Sri Lanka. Not once has anyone been satisfied with “Canada.”

I can, to a certain degree, understand what these Koreans are feeling. I feel lost and confused. Why are people allowed to take away my identity and give me a new one?

I understand that Sri Lankan is a country that still exists while the country that some Koreans of Japan identify with is divided, the feelings of being the ‘other’ from both sides is mutual.