Tag Archives: Syrian-Canadian

Ethnic diversity increasing in Greater Victoria, but still lags behind the rest of BC (incl. Cortes, Quadra and Campbell River stats)

Editor’s Note: The ethnic minorities in our area are far less numerous than the than provincial average cited below (34.4%). According to the 2021 census, only 2,120 of the 37,505 tabulated Campbell River residents (5.65%) are members of a visible minority. The most numerous being: South Asian -535, Filipino -410, Southeast Asian -260, Black -205, Korean -130, Japanese -110, Latin American -125, and Arab -15. On Cortes Island only 35 of the 1,055 tabulated residents (3.32%) are members of a visible minority. The most numerous being Filipino -10 and Southeast Asian -10. In Area C, 65 out of 2,675 tabulated residents (2.4%) were members of a visible minority. The most numerous being: Chinese -20, Japanese -20, Filipino -10 and South Asian -10. (All census numbers appear to be rounded off at the nearest multiple of 5.)

By  Diary Marif, New Canadian Media, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Greater Victoria is experiencing a demographic shift as more visible minorities choose to settle on Vancouver Island, according to the latest federal statistics.

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Danny Ramadan, the enduring storyteller

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Danny Ramadan has an intriguing way of answering a question. 

“Let me tell you a story,” the Syrian-Canadian author, public speaker and longtime advocate for queer refugees says.

Ramadan is in every way a storyteller, a hakawati, who builds lyrical narrative around dichotomies; contrasting beauty with ugliness, tenderness with violence, love and loathing, all interwoven with memories bitter and sweet. 

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