Desi News Corp - Index

Desi News Corp - Desi News - July 2009 - Index

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Garden like a desi farmer!
This time of year, gardeners
scan the skies, looking
for rain.
If you are like me, chances
are, you will water your garden
for a few hours only to have a
thunderstorm in the evening.
On the other hand, if you
wait, also like me,
certain that the black
clouds mean rain,
you will be faced
with wilting plants
the next morning.
This year, I’m going
to attempt to do what
the kisan (farmer in
India) does with his
Traditional Ecological
Knowledge (TEK), defined as “a
knowledge based on plants, animals
and climate change gathered
by indigenous people over many
hundreds of years through direct
contact with the environment.”
The farmer is happy if the
tamarind trees do not yield much
fruit for it means the monsoon
will be plentiful. In the absence
of tamarind trees in the average
Canadian yard, there are other
signs gardeners can pick up.
• In impending rain, bees
get GROWING!
34 Desi News July 2009
stay close to their hives.
• A mass and sudden appearance
of dragonflies and the
sudden movement of ants with
eggs implies rain is due.
• Animals, especially birds,
get quiet before a rain storm.
• Birds fly high in fair weather.
If large numbers roost
together on power lines, this
usually indicates rapidly-falling
air pressure and an approaching
rain storm. Falling air pressure
causes discomfort in birds’ ears,
and they seek relief by flying low.
• When the frame lines of
spiders’ webs are short and stout,
expect wind and rain; long and
slender frame lines point to
calm and fine weather.
• A ring around the moon
means rain within three days.
• The brighter the glow worms
shine, the more likely the rain,
according to trusted TEK.
I think back to a summer vacation
in PEI. Each night we were
treated to a dance of the fireflies
and the next morning,
to rain. Mere coincidence?
I wonder...
– With files from
MAHARAJA FEATURES
Don’t emulate Australia
Is it possible for the teacher
to become the student of
an erstwhile student? And
one with a poor performance
track record at that?
Emulating the Australian
model of immigration is an
obsession with our federal
government. But interestingly,
the Australian model of immigration
modelled itself on the
then Canadian model of immigration.
Confronted with decreasing
fertility rates and populations,
Australia started a
‘populate or perish’ campaign
in the 1970s to welcome immigrants
to the country.
Australia and Canada have
had similar histories, governmental
infrastructure and practices
– both are resource-rich
economies with less than salubrious
climates. Both need skilled
immigrants.
By the nineties, both countries
had experienced more than
two decades of immigration. But
the immigration experience, both
for the country and immigrant,
could not have been more different.
While Canada became increasingly
dependent on Asian
countries, Australia’s immigration
policies remained steadfastly
old fashioned – England
and New Zealand were (and
are) the principal source countries
for Australia.
While Canada attempted
(with varying degrees of success)
to admit enough immigrants
to augment its population
by one per cent annually,
Australia admitted immigrants
based on domestic needs and
requirements.
The numbers have varied from
a few thousand to 40,000 a year.
While Canada has largely
welcomed refugees, Australian
reaction has oscillated between
apathy and antipathy. The
1990s were particularly brutal,
with the setting up of isolated
camps in the middle of the
desert for
housing refugee
claimants.
Such ref
u g e e
camps
have been
condemned
by many
organizations
of international
S. GOPIKRISHNA
writes on issues of
relevance to the South
Asian community.
repute, including Amnesty International.
Canada’s immigration model
has met with universal
approval – a number of European
countries have adapted, if
not adopted, the Canadian model
in the last 15 years. The Wall
Street Journal, no fan of Canada’s
fiscal policies, praised the
Canadian immigration model a
few years ago and proclaimed
it to be superior to the American
model.
Given the above, should a
star performer like Canada
emulate the Australian system?
Newcomers will be required
to demonstrate proficiency in
English, tilting the
scales in favour of
countries where the
first language is
English.
Immigrants will be
picked based on Canada’s
requirements,
which dwindle during
a recession – no requirements
means no newcomers.
Services for newcomers,
a field in which Canada has
invested considerable resources,
are slowly but surely being
restructured.
Today’s something could be
replaced by tomorrow’s nothing.
The question is, should we
allow Canadian immigration to
regress in the name of progress?
up the ANTE
• The views expressed in this column do
not necessarily reflect the editorial policy
of Desi News.