The Editor,
Re: "Fear and the 'problem' of the city's ethnic enclaves," Column, June 13.
I so enjoyed reading Dr. Greenholtz' column in the June 13 issue. It was not the black and white, hit-you-over-thehead-with-a-sledge-hammer, I-am-right-and-the-other-side-iswrong style taken by some.
His reflective and empathetic view with a look beyond the surface (e.g. his observation on how integration is a multigenerational process with research showing second and following generations are less likely to live in an ethnic enclave) seems to me to be a more successful approach in presenting food for thought.
I'm a resident of Richmond and the growth of the Asian community here has caused me to examine my prejudice. I somehow thought the new immigrants were not trying to integrate, but to overtake.
However, when visiting Canadian friends living in Hong Kong, I received another view. There, I found a big enclave of English-speaking residents living in westernized housing, celebrating Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
All the while, they were trying the new food, new culture and, little-by-little, social interaction at a speed they found comfortable.
I have come to believe this is probably a characteristic common to all humanity. Change is hard for mostly everyone and complete change (e.g. integration, not just into a new country, but for other situations like the merging of families or two companies) is even harder, not just for immigrants, but also for natives.
Elizabeth Davidson Richmond
