CANADA: Hope, smiles and tears at settlement open house

BY JON WELLS/THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR

Rose MacGowan, lead hand for the City of Hamilton, shoots a photo of Mary Onyia, grandmother to Prince Onyia, 13, and Nation Onyia, 6, from Nigeria, along with Joana Fejzaj from Albania and Mustafa Hashem, 12, from Iraq. Image: Kaz Novak/The Hamilton Spectator.

The woman from Iraq with a tiny Canadian flag sticking out of her purse spoke halting English.

She turned to her interpreter for help. But first he had to finish a mouthful of pizza.

He is 12 years old.

“I like Canada. It is very nice. There is no killing in the streets. I like the rules — the laws,” said the boy, whose name is Mustafa.

He was translating for his mother, Baadi, at City Hall.

They attended an open house Saturday aimed at helping new immigrants and refugees learn of the community services available to support their settlement in Canada.

More than 40 booths were set up representing groups ranging from the Hamilton Police Service to the Y to the Muslim Council of Hamilton and Hamilton Chinese Alliance Association. Organizers said about 150 people attended.

Young Mustafa might want to consider setting up his own booth next year. He is a Grade 7 student at Ryerson Public School. His sister, Zubaida, 13, was also there.

Zubaida wants to be a doctor someday. Mustafa? “A policeman and a soccer player.”

For refugees like their mother, the road to feeling at home in Canada can be a challenging one. But the two kids are proof of the maxim that youth adjust quickly to most anything.

The trio arrived in Hamilton from Iraq two-and-a-half years ago. The kids knew no English but now appear to speak it fluently.

Baadi, too, knows some of the language — she has been studying it in school — but is hesitant to use it when a journalist approaches out of the blue.

She did say on her own that she has enjoyed services offered in the community by the library and the Y.

“Things are very good here.”

The future is more uncertain for another recent refugee who dropped by the open house. Karol Pulgarin picked up some pamphlets while pushing her five-month-old, Bella, in a stroller.

Karol, her husband, Mauricio, and their daughter have been in Hamilton for two years. They hail from Colombia. They have applied to remain in Canada on humanitarian grounds but Canadian immigration officials have not yet approved their request.

She said two of her husband’s family members have been murdered in Colombia. She fears more violence if they are forced to return.

“Canada feels like my home and I’m so proud my daughter was born here. We want to raise her here.”

She held Bella in her arms and started to cry.

“We want to stay. It is a wonderful country.”