Immigrating to a new country is fucked-up hard. A lot of us who've grown up in Canada don't quite know just how hard.
I used to be a teacher in Toronto. One of the schools had an Iranian guy running a hotdog stand nearby - It's tough feeding hungry kids, there's always someone who wants to cause shit.
Started talking to him. Turns out he's an engineer (Iran has the highest number of trained engineers and doctors per capita in the world), gave up a job in Tehran with an oil company and moved to Canada.
WTF. My Canadian mind couldn't understand why a guy comfortably in the middle class in Iran would move here.
He took his tongs and gestured at the school.
"You see those kids? They will never know starvation like I saw back home. They won't know the fear of secret police knocking at the door. I love my home, but I came here because of my children. Whatever happens to me, my life has already started and is on its course. I came here so that my children have a chance at an education and to live life in a safe country, in a welcoming country."
Canada has its faults, I will admit. But that man knows more about life in my country after a few years than I've had in a lifetime.
It is deeply humbling to hear the immigrant experience. I once had an Uber driver who moved here from Nigeria and went back about ten years ago.
He had his passport stolen by customs officers while he was in line, and swore never to go back. Once arrived, he went straight to the Canadian embassy, and as he tells it, "I told them who I was, showed them the documents I had on me, and I was told "Don't worry, we'll take care of it", AND THEY DID! I didn't have to worry about anything. I knew then that this country takes care of its own and I have always been happy to be here."
People leave the most brutal and oppressive of situations and contribute so much here. Our country is immigrants, and it has made us a better nation.
halolover48 on April 24th, 2021 at 22:32 UTC »
Sponsored a refugee family? What does that mean exactly? Curious how that works
FritoHigh on April 24th, 2021 at 22:49 UTC »
Wow, does anyone know if you could sponsor refugees or immigrants here in the United States?
GoodAtExplaining on April 24th, 2021 at 23:26 UTC »
Immigrating to a new country is fucked-up hard. A lot of us who've grown up in Canada don't quite know just how hard.
I used to be a teacher in Toronto. One of the schools had an Iranian guy running a hotdog stand nearby - It's tough feeding hungry kids, there's always someone who wants to cause shit.
Started talking to him. Turns out he's an engineer (Iran has the highest number of trained engineers and doctors per capita in the world), gave up a job in Tehran with an oil company and moved to Canada.
WTF. My Canadian mind couldn't understand why a guy comfortably in the middle class in Iran would move here.
He took his tongs and gestured at the school.
"You see those kids? They will never know starvation like I saw back home. They won't know the fear of secret police knocking at the door. I love my home, but I came here because of my children. Whatever happens to me, my life has already started and is on its course. I came here so that my children have a chance at an education and to live life in a safe country, in a welcoming country."
Canada has its faults, I will admit. But that man knows more about life in my country after a few years than I've had in a lifetime.
It is deeply humbling to hear the immigrant experience. I once had an Uber driver who moved here from Nigeria and went back about ten years ago.
He had his passport stolen by customs officers while he was in line, and swore never to go back. Once arrived, he went straight to the Canadian embassy, and as he tells it, "I told them who I was, showed them the documents I had on me, and I was told "Don't worry, we'll take care of it", AND THEY DID! I didn't have to worry about anything. I knew then that this country takes care of its own and I have always been happy to be here."
People leave the most brutal and oppressive of situations and contribute so much here. Our country is immigrants, and it has made us a better nation.