CANADA DAY - ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE

July 1, Canada Day: From Another Perspective

Our hard-working Refugee Committee has had the privilege of welcoming and accompanying several individuals and families settle in Canada over the past 7 years. I invited 3 individuals to share the significance of becoming a Canadian Citizen.  Their names are withheld for privacy reasons, but their stories are uplifting and instructive.

One woman from Eritrea came to Canada through Cairo, a second woman fled Ethiopia to Cairo and then on to Canada, the third a young man who immigrated from Thailand. We feel blessed to have been a part of their journey, and share their feelings this Canada Day.

-Sister Ann Marshall, csj

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Image: Unsplash/Hermes Rivera

1.       I have voted for the first time!  Canada is very important to me because I believe it is the most peaceful country in the world.  It is my country that gave me the freedom to speak and learn.  Above all, I have received equality, honor, and respect from this blessed country.  When I am in Canada, I feel much safer than in any other country. 

I want to say a lot, but I do not know enough words to describe my country, Canada, and the people in Canada.  God chose me to be a Canadian - who I could be.  I love Canada and everything about Canada and Canadians!

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Image: Unsplash/Lewis Parsons

2.       Being a Canadian citizen to me is critical. Being a Canadian citizen means, being a person who has the freedom to travel in and outside the country with respect and safety, and always knowing that you would come back home at any time. As well as having access to more opportunities in the communities. For example, having the right to vote, and working in the parliament. In addition, speaking up for your rights against the government.

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Image of Thailand: Unsplash/Panuson Norkaew

3.       This is what I have been feeling about citizenship. There is a tiny hole in my chest whenever people ask me "Where are you from?", I always answered, "I am from Thailand."  I also wanted to tell them that I'm not Thai but I am Burmese from Thailand. If I say it, it usually causes confusion, and I must explain to them why and how. So, I don't usually say it. Also, I am not really proud of myself for saying I am from Thailand because I am not a Thai citizen. I cannot really say I am Burma/Myanmar citizen either. 

I was born in Thailand and raised in a refugee camp. My parents are from Burma/Myanmar, which makes us a Burmese family. As a Burmese child who did not legally become a Thai citizen according to Thai law even though, I was born in Thailand. Also, I did not have Burma/Myanmar citizenship because I was not born in Burma/Myanmar. Legally speaking, I do not have a country until this. Now, I can say I am a Burmese Canadian proudly. Becoming a Canadian citizen will fill the tiny hole in my chest next time I get asked. I think this is why it is important to me to be a Canadian Citizen.

The Perfect Storm

Every time we turn our attention to the news, we hear of one crisis on top of another – rising food prices, cost of gas, gun shootings in several cities in the U.S. and war in Ukraine.  Each of these events alone present new challenges, but when they all seem to be happening at the same time, we can feel overwhelmed as we try to emerge from COVID 19.   And I have heard several people say they feel depressed and helpless as they we live this reality in one way or the other. 

Image: Unsplash/Louis Reed

However, one of the messages coming from the Climate Movement is to remind us that all life is interdependent.  When one part of our Beautiful Blue Home thrives, we are all better.  The reverse is also true.  We also experience the pain and sadness of the effects of climate change, war, and sickness.  We are all interconnected and what happens to one also impacts others.

In the past few weeks, I have been working with some wonderful people who have just arrived in Canada after fleeing conflict in their home in the Congo and then living several years in a refugee camp hoping to come to Canada.  Their life has not been easy, and they are people filled with hope, gratitude, and love. They are eager to settle, improve their English and find work.   Their positive outlook has been a blessing - a kind of visitation from God. 

“Sometimes God shows up in our lives in human form and visits us in a way we do not expect.”

Sometimes God shows up in our lives in human form and visits us in a way we do not expect.  If we open our minds and hearts to welcome the human face of God, not as I expect it, but as God choses to visit we might discover more wholeness and hope. 

Rumi, the poet expresses this so well in the poem called The Guest House.  I will offer a few lines…

…This being human is a guest house,

Every morning a new arrival, a joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected guest …

Be grateful for whoever comes because each has been sent as a guide from beyond…

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of furniture, still treat each guest honourably. 

He may be clearing you out for some new delight… (by Rumi)

 -Sister Joan Atkinson, CSJ

A Labour of Love

Amina and her 3 boys

Amina and her three boys, Abdulahi, 13, Abdihakin, 12, and Abdihamid, 8, arrived in Canada, October 20, 2017.  For the first couple of days they lived with the Sisters of St. Joseph in Hamilton before moving into a 2 bedroom apartment. In a Zoom interview with the family I learned a little about their adjustments to Canada.

Q. Where did you live before coming to Canada?

We lived in Camp Kakuma, in Kenya with thousands of other refugees in tents and we went to school in the Camp. (Camp Kakuma is considered one of the largest refugee camps in the world according to statistics published in 2019)

Q. What do you miss most about Kakuma?

All three boys said emphatically, we miss our friends!  We used to play a lot of tag, hide and seek, and soccer.  After we finish our education we will go back to Kenya for a visit to reconnect with our friends.

Q. What do you like about your home in Canada?

All agreed it is so comfortable here. In Kakuma we didn’t have so much stuff.  We had to walk to get water.

Q. Have you played hockey yet?

I love hockey but I find it hard to control the stick, said Abdulahi.  Basketball was the most popular sport with all three boys’ because we can play it at the park with our friends. Abdihakin spoke most enthusiastically about sports. He is involved with track and field and a Checkers Club.  He has travelled on tournaments. Snow is especially fun for Abdihamid as he likes to go sledding.  All three liked snow ball fights. We have many friends who live in this neighbourhood. Drawing is a passion for Abdulahi. 

Authentic Canadian Poutine

Q. What is your favorite Canadian food? Poutine was the loud answer. Abdihamid immediately added pancakes with syrup, and burgers.  “It is all nice food.”

Q. Are you looking forward to Christmas and the holidays? The family is Muslim and celebrates Eid, so Christmas is not too familiar to them. However, Amina said that the boys are open to presents just the same.

I asked Amina, What do you find most difficult living in Canada? To which she warmly replied, “I don’t find anything difficult because of you people.  All you people on the Refugee Committee are so wonderful.  You reached out in help each time I or the children needed help. You are our friends in this new country.”

Amina is referring to the Sisters of St. Joseph Refugee Committee that has been supporting refugees seeking asylum in Canada for many years.

Assisting refugees is a labour of love and demanding, but the joy and determination that each of our families has shown makes the work so fulfilling. It also makes us very aware of how fortunate we are to live in Canada – COVID or not.

-Sister Ann Marshall, csj

Reflections from a New Canadian for Canada Day 2020

Reflections of a New Canadian, July 1, 2020

Recently, Sister Ann had the opportunity to interview a young woman from Ethiopia, who immigrated to Canada from Egypt.

After her arrival in 2015, she settled in southwestern Ontario in the home of her sponsoring family. Since that time she has gained her grade 12 certificate.  After graduation, she secured steady employment. She became a Canadian Citizen on Valentine’s Day 2020.

With Canada Day approaching I asked this new Canadian a few questions.

Q    What inspired you to come to Canada?

Coming to Canada was not my choice. While living in Egypt, I applied through the UN to immigrate to a country where I could live in freedom and peace and get an education.  The UN directed my application to Canada. Thankfully, God chose Canada for me, and I had the opportunity to continue my education. Canada is my home and the home of many other newcomers like me.

Q   What did you have to learn about Canada prior to your arrival?

Before coming to Canada, during orientation, I had to learn about the two official languages: English and French, about rights and responsibilities, customs and traditions, etc.

Q   What are the challenges you faced as a newcomer to Canada?

My biggest challenge was the language and since Canada is a multicultural country I had to accept/accommodate people from many different countries.

Q   What do you love about Canada?

I love everything about Canada especially, for example, equality of women and men, religious freedom.  I especially love how polite, respectful people are and how the dignity of everyone is respected.  Canadians welcome everyone and make a home for them. I’m inspired by how hard Canadians work in order to be successful. I love the way the Government works, I especially like the opportunity everyone has to education and healthcare.  I see taxes as a gift that protects the people when they are in need.  I love Prime Minister Justin Trudeau because he believes in family and supports family reunification.

Q   What are your future hopes and dreams?

My hopes and aspirations for the future are to complete my education, to pay forward what Canada and Canadians have done for me unconditionally. I want to help newcomers understand that Canada is their new home; I want to be of help to newcomers.  I hope someday to bring my family to this great country!  If I am successful, I will fulfill my mission to raise orphans around the world.  Moreover, I want to live a better and healthy life. I thank God for my faith which I know supported me through the difficulties I experienced the first few years as a refugee.    Thank you, Canada.

-An Interview with a new Canadian by Sister Ann Marshall, csj

When Did We See You Homeless?

There are cases of women who manage on several occasions to escape rape in one country, get to a neighbouring country, only to be threatened with even more danger there because of negative political involvement between the two countries. Consequently, they are left with no place to go and with little or no hope (Canadian Council for Refugees).

“It is easy to walk away from Justice as a cause but much harder to walk away from the person who has knocked at the door” (The Other Face of God: When the Stranger Calls Us Home, by Mary Jo Leddy, p. 68, Orbis Books, 2011).

Why are refugees desperately knocking at our door, seeking safety and security in Canada, met with insurmountable odds? Why is it nigh to impossible to be heard?

One reason is that refugees who are already here are caught in the present immigration laws for sponsorship. The law is that if a refugee here can prove that he/she has enough money to look after a family member for 10 years, he/she may sponsor only parents and/or grandparents or orphaned single brothers or sisters 22 years of age or less and still studying. Jason Kenney, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, is seeking to limit the requirements even more.

A second reason is the length of time it takes to sponsor a refugee: it takes six months just to have the papers sent from the local immigration office overseas. Then there is a waiting period before the visa office involved calls the refugee(s) for interviews and starts medical and security checks. Consequently, it often takes another year or more. In contrast, just to have the same sponsorship papers sent to Nairobi, Kenya, it always takes more than another year. Then the sponsor and refugees are notified to not even contact the immigration/visa office for 90 months, i.e. seven and a half years! "Protection delayed, protection denied." For more information, see the Canadian Council for Refugees Nairobi Report; the "Waiting For My Children" exhibit; and the Canadian Council for Refugees Nairobi action statement.

Put yourself in the position of a refugee who has safely arrived in Canada via Nairobi and is now trying to settle into the new country. Would you not spend most of your time worrying about the safety of your two younger siblings back home whom you cannot help, knowing that they are on the run from being raped and are spending their energies just seeking safety; when they have no one, no place to welcome them? How effectively would you be able to focus on getting settled in this country? What medical problems might plague you? For the overseas refugees left in limbo, the longer they have to wait for resettlement the more difficult it will be for them to settle and integrate into their new life here.

“The spiritual challenge of this time and place is to find the true center, the new center of our lives. It means allowing our lives to be thrown off center and embracing the disorientation that this implies” (The Other Face of God: When the Stranger Calls Us Home, by Mary Jo Leddy, p.54, Orbis books, 2011).

If we are willing to insert ourselves into the life of a refugee, may our lives be thrown off centre, and may we embrace the disorientation that is theirs and become a voice for the voiceless and a host for the homeless. “May we find it harder to walk away from the person who has knocked at the door..." and thus work for justice for that person and all refugees.