Negotiating belonging: hybridity, nostalgia and the politics of identity among Syrian refugees in Canada

This study investigates how Syrian refugees in Canada negotiate identity and belonging within a multicultural but often exclusionary social landscape. Drawing on bicultural identity, nostalgia and transnational belonging, it explores how refugees reconstruct selfhood amid displacement, cultural preservation and adaptation. Using thematic and interpretive analysis of in-depth interviews with 32 Syrian refugees in the Kitchener–Waterloo region, the research identifies four central domains – location, language, religion and culture – that shape refugees’ lived experiences of integration. Findings show that participants actively maintain elements of Syrianness through cultural practices, collective memory and faith, while simultaneously developing adaptive strategies for participation in Canadian public life. Yet, subtle forms of social exclusion and linguistic and cultural barriers complicate their integration, often resulting in hybrid or fluid identities. The study calls for more inclusive multicultural frameworks that move beyond celebratory discourse to address the emotional, spatial and cultural dimensions of refugee belonging.