Leaving your homeland in search of better future prospects can be a dream-shattering experience
AS the aeroplane began its descent to Toronto’s Pearson International airport, my heart started to pound with excitement and fear. I was wondering what lay ahead for me in a country where I was now going to live all my life, hoping to build a promising future.
It all started as the process of ‘immigration’ to Canada began. It was advertised in the local newspapers and Canada was dubbed as place ‘to be’ where everyone from the Third World wanted to settle.
Most immigrants and potential applicants harbour hopes that once they reach Canada, all their problems and so-called injustices done to them in their homelands would vanish into thin air and they would be able to breathe fresh air with loads of dollars rolling into their bank accounts. Therefore most people don’t worry about going through the hassle of preparing immigration papers, paying different kinds of fee, which sometimes they can ill afford. And the most troublesome of all, saying goodbye to their dear homeland which once provided them with so much love and support over the years. It’s because of their countries that they’re accepted and got the green signal from immigration officials in Canada. Many even squander their lifetime savings to pay the hefty charges of immigration agents who claim guaranteed good results for their services, thus ripping people off; but they are actually not better than mere post office boxes.
Now coming back to my journey to Canada. As I had already informed my relatives in Canada, they were there to welcome me at Toronto’s international airport. I stayed with them initially until I found a place to get started.
In Canada, to find a small apartment for yourself is not an easy task for it requires either a suitable job or personal guarantee from someone known. So if you are not blessed enough to meet these requirements, then forget the comforts of your own accommodation and you will be forced to stay with somebody (relative or a friend) or share it with someone you don’t even know by sharing the rent. If you are lucky, you can also find some apartment available to sublet from the original leaseholder, but it would be for a shorter period during which you have to find an employment to meet rental qualifications. Throw your privacy out of the window and prepare to live with another family in the same single-room accommodation. Exciting, isn’t it? Not to mention that it’s a rented unit unlike the situation in Pakistan where most people have a house and don’t have to pay a hefty rent every month. So I tried very hard but was unable to lay my hands on any suitable job. One of the reasons was that a college or university degree obtained from the Third World is not acceptable to the so-called developed countries. Also, one has to experience the fact that once you land in a foreign land, you lose your real identity. One has to literary start from scratch and only if one is lucky and happens to be at the right place at the right time, one can get a suitable job.
So I was going through really desperate times and wanted to take care of my fast vanishing savings. As a result, I started doing odd jobs like tele-marketing and a packing job at a factory and working part time at a fast food takeaway outlet. Though I was making enough to earn a living, I had begun seriously regretting the day I decided to leave the job and comfortable lifestyle in my country. With the passage of time, reality started to sink in that things were not as I had expected. I also started sharing accommodation with some bachelors passing through similar circumstances as I could ill afford to continue paying rent.
Despite the constant search, I was not able to find a reasonable job let alone a job in my area of expertise. Only odd job seemed to be the way to go about it, but it wasn’t what I had come to Canada for. The situation reminds me of a person from India who was working with me at a departmental store. He had been a finance manager in a multinational organization in India with almost 12 years of experience, but even with that qualifications he was unable to find a lower level job in Canada. After spending two years in Canada with his family, he was so hard pressed that he used to go to cheap Chinese stores to buy food items. He would fondly remember the days when in India his servant would perform all such daily chores.
The weather in Canada is usually cold and is not suitable to do outdoor work if one is not healthy enough. In winter it gets extremely cold with temperatures dropping to -30 degrees Centigrade to -40O degrees Centigrade.
The people, particularly with conservative backgrounds, face another problem. Children growing in this free society often get spoiled and parents lose control over them. This happens as children try to be a part of the Canadian society so as not to be isolated or socially alienated from the world they see around them. In the process, with the passage of time, they become more associated with Western cultural values and don’t like their parents’ traditions.
It’s been two years since I first landed here and I am still looking for a proper direction to move in. I have now decided to do a course in order to get some acceptability in the job market; but the future still seems very uncertain. Countless other immigrants are also passing through the same phase, especially those with large families.
I have a sincere advice for those who are eager to fly to Canada, a country the Americans call “frozen wasteland in the north or a parking lot” that they should think at least 100 times before packing their bags to come here.
Leaving your homeland in search of better future prospects can be a dream-shattering experience 
