Immigrating to Canada a Personal Story

Being Canadian has undeniable advantages, and foremost of these is safety and security from political harassment and persecution. Canada is certainly a haven for someone who lived most of his adult life in fear of being the next name on the Iraqi secret police’s wanted list.

    There were also many disappointments in my experience of Canadian life and in time these piled up and composted into utter bitterness. The Arab adage says that what drives one to a bitter place must be an even more bitter situation. This logic, however, does not justify the less bitter life in Canada which I suffered for more than two decades.

     Let me be the first to admit my failure as an immigrant. Others may have been more fortunate, better prepared or more skilled in dealing with the challenges facing them and achieving what they came here for. Regrettably, I am not one of them. Some of the responsibility for this failure falls on me but most of it, in my judgment, rests with forces in the Canadian institutions and society. This book tells the story of my arrival at this sad conclusion a short time after arriving here.

     Like most immigrants, I did not come to this country hoping to be fed, clothed and housed by the government but at the same time, I did not expect to be treated as a second-class human being whose previous existence and all his knowledge and experience -except his financial assets- are of little or no value to Canada. My qualifications, experience and motivation are more than average by my standards. If my talents, skills and attitudes which helped me to survive elsewhere are unsuitable or insufficient for success here then Canadian authorities should not have approved my immigration application. No one alerted me to the dire possibility of failure before committing much of my efforts, limited resources and hopes into making a decent living and a future for my family here. Instead, Canadian officials fed me false promises raising my hopes and expectations unrealistically and my naivety or desperation led me to believe them.

      Adapting to a new country is a stressful experience for most immigrants but it should not be traumatic. All immigrants come here with great hopes, expectations and the determination to succeed but some of them like me are overwhelmed by the many challenges facing them in the first few years after arrival. They are left to rely on their own meager resources or scrounge for assistance and advice from others, mainly helpless immigrants like them. Despite all the difficulties I did not give up during the first months or year, pack up my belongings and go back like many immigrants do—one in five according to one source. I did try repeatedly and persistently to overcome the obstacles facing me in this country in order to transform my life and those of members of my family to the better. Unfortunately, all my efforts came to naught and persistent failures and disappointment exhausted my resources and patience.

     I am hopeful that this book will give voice to silent new immigrants who are struggling to survive here. Most of them are probably unwilling to share their experiences and innermost mixed feelings except with members of their families and close friends. They are the ones who will always answer in the positive the inane question put to them by some Canadians -mainly of European origin: ‘How do you find living here?’ They either do this to save face or out of fear of the repercussions, real or imagined, of total honesty.