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The film is largely a recollection of these sentiments and experiences, but the neighbourhood itself has changed beyond recognition. The post-war Eastern European immigrant communities have now dispersed throughout Montreal, as they integrated economically and socially, and have since been replaced with new waves of immigrants, first from southern Europe (Portuguese and Greeks), and now from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. As a result, the neighbourhood has a very different feeling from that of his childhood – different foods and smells, different languages and religions, different faces and dresses. At one level, he knows nothing about these newcomers. And yet he feels a strong sense of kinship with these new residents of his old street.

In the attached clip, Kish describes the bonds that link new and old immigrants. The new immigrants on St. Laurent, he says, are “custodians of a tradition” of departure and arrival, of settlement and dispersion. It is a tradition as old as Canada itself and one that is full of uncertainties and stresses, but also full of powerful hopes and dreams for a better life. It is a tradition that has enriched Canada immeasurably and which is vital to our future as a country.

There are no magic formulas for addressing the challenges of immigrant integration. Each new wave of immigration brings new uncertainties and new dramas. What worked well for the Italians and Hungarians may not be appropriate or sufficient for the Haitians and Algerians. But as these films show, many of the anxieties about immigration have a long history, and we can learn a great deal by exploring how they have been addressed and overcome, and by listening to the voices of immigrants themselves, both old and new. 

This article is part of the Across Cultures Web site <nfb.ca/acrosscultures>.

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