Teachers Without Borders: Exploring Experiences, Transitions, and Identities of Refugee Women Teachers from Yugoslavia

Prior to September 11 2011, Canada was recognized as a leading advocate of international refugee protection and the third largest settlement country in the world. University educated refugees were admitted to the country in part on the basis of their education, but once in Canada their credentials were often ignored. The purpose of this study was to explore, through a transnational feminist lens, immigrant and settlement experiences of refugee female teachers from Yugoslavia who immigrated to Canada during and after the Yugoslav wars; to document the ways in which socially constructed categories such as gender, race, and refugee status have influenced their post-exile experiences and identities; and to identify the government's role in creating conditions where the women were either able or unable to continue in their profession. In this study, I employed both a transnational feminist methodology and narrative inquiry. The analysis process included an emphasis on the storying stories model, poetic transcription, and concentric storying. The women’s voices are represented in various forms throughout the document including individual and collective narratives. Each narrative contributed to a detailed picture of immigration and settlement processes as women spoke of continuing their education, knowing or learning the official language, and contributing to Canadian society and the economy. The findings challenge the image of a victimized and submissive refugee woman, and bring to the centre of discourse the image of the refugee woman as a skilled professional who often remains un- or underemployed in her new country. The dissertation makes an important contribution to an underdeveloped area in the research literature, and has the potential to inform immigration, settlement, and teacher education policies and practices in Canada and elsewhere.

Letter written by Napoleon Buonaparte (Bonaparte) to Guillaume Thomas Francois Raynal, June 24, 1790

Translation: Sir, It will probably be difficult for you to remember among the many strangers who annoy you with their admiration of a person to whom you kindly made civilities last year1 during a pleasant conversation about Corsica. I would be grateful if you could take a look at this sketch of his history.2 I present here the first of two letters. If you agree to them, I will send you the end. My brother, whom I recommend not to forget his deputies' commission to escort Paoli to his country,3 and to come and receive a lesson in virtue and humanity, will give them to you. I respectfully your most humble and obedient servant.4 Buonaparte, artillery officer Ajaccio, [Corsica] June 24 the first year of freedom [1790]5 1 Relations between Napoleon and Raynal have begun in 1789, which seems to confirm a confidence to Las Cases ( Memorial of St. Helena , La Pléiade , vol. I, p. 83) . 2 Latest version of history project of Corsica : Letters on Corsica to Abbe Raynal . 3 Joseph is part of a delegation sent by the city of Ajaccio to host Paoli 's return from exile in London . In doing so he has to go through Marseille where Raynal resides. 4 Shipping autograph, National Archives , 400 AP Biography 1. In the first years of Napoleon Bonaparte (1840) , Coston gives a rough version of this letter that it dates from 1786 , which is impossible because Raynal did not return to France that ' in 1787. Published for the first time in the Memories of Lord Holland (1851) , shipping is now kept in the national Archives Napoleons funds . 5 The letter is dated "June 24, the first year of freedom" (the word "freedom" is underlined twice). Given the dates of stay in Corsica Napoleon, it seems that is present in Ajaccio the month of June in 1790.