The New Arrivals – Newz9

Every day, hundreds of immigrants land at Pearson airport in Mississauga, Ontario. Some come on momentary work visas, others on worldwide-scholar permits. Some are on a pathway to everlasting residency, whereas others declare refugee standing as quickly as they arrive at customs. All of them need security, prosperity and freedom. To doc these newcomers of their first few months in Canada, photojournalist Ian Brown spent weeks reaching out to settlement businesses, refugee centres and group teams. He met folks fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan, Ukrainian refugees who left their households in a struggle zone and younger professionals from India looking for higher schooling and job prospects. He criss-crossed the Greater Toronto Area, photographing them within the neighbourhoods they now name dwelling. “Everyone I met was resolved and committed to bettering their lives and integrating into Canadian society,” he says.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Afghanistan
ARRIVED IN CANADA: June 2022

Rashidi and Mosleh left Afghanistan with their son when the federal government collapsed they usually not felt secure. They lived in Macedonia earlier than touchdown at Pearson airport and claiming refugee standing. At first, they couldn’t discover an condo. For the primary 5 months, they stayed in motels near the airport. Now they dwell in Toronto’s Thorncliffe Park neighbourhood, though their condo has mattress bugs. “Back home, I was a videographer and my wife had a master’s degree and worked for the ministry of the interior,” Rashidi says. “Now, neither of us can find jobs.”

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Ukraine
ARRIVED IN CANADA: July 2022

Back dwelling in Kyiv, Hrek awakened one morning to the sounds of air raids and explosions. “Events unfolded around me like in an American action movie,” she says. She left Ukraine and, after travelling via Poland, Portugal and Berlin, landed in Toronto. She was fortunate to have buddies in Canada. One helped her discover a room for hire and open a checking account. Others helped her write a resumé and search for a job. Hrek now works at a biochemical lab in London, Ontario. Her largest problem will probably be getting everlasting residency. “The government puts up a lot of obstacles. They calculate everything: are you married, do you have Canadian education, do you have Canadian work experience,” she says. “I feel safe now. I see my future here, and I hope it will become reality.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Ukraine
ARRIVED IN CANADA: November 2022

In May of 2022, Kukhta came to Canada to do a short internship. Her hometown of Kyiv was a war zone, and so she returned to Toronto just a few months later. An organization helping Ukrainian refugees set her up in a motel in Mississauga. It was hard to find a place: rent was expensive, and people were asking for proof of income and employment, which she didn’t have. Eventually, Kuhkta found an apartment on Facebook Marketplace. She now works as an usher for the Canadian Opera Company and for an NGO that helps newcomers. It’s hard to get PR unless you work in health care or other skilled industries, she says. “But when I realize how bad things are in Ukraine, I don’t have anything to complain about.”

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: China
ARRIVED IN CANADA: June 2023

Chen grew up in poverty within the Dabie Mountains of Anhui province and dropped out of faculty after junior excessive. He later moved to Shanghai and earned a legislation diploma. He moved along with his kids to Canada final yr so they might get a greater schooling. He now works as an impartial life insurance coverage dealer for Mandarin-speaking shoppers and supplies free tax companies for brand new immigrants with the Canada Revenue Agency. “My challenge now is to improve my English skills as quickly as possible so that I can serve more clients.”

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: India
ARRIVED IN CANADA: January 2023

Mathias and her household are initially from Mumbai, however they moved to Singapore for her husband’s work a couple of years in the past. Expat life was exhausting for them: every part was costly, they usually wished their two youngsters to get a greater schooling. Mathias got here to Canada as a global scholar, nevertheless it took her husband 4 months to seek out work. Employers wished Canadian expertise, which was exhausting to return by when he’d arrived from a special nation. Eventually, he discovered work at a financial institution. “I felt that Canada welcomed us with open arms,” Mathias says. “It doesn’t matter where you come from. If you’re a PR, you’re a Canadian. I get all the benefits every Canadian gets.”

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Uganda
ARRIVED IN CANADA: October 2023

In May of 2023, Bwanika’s dwelling nation of Uganda handed a legislation imposing life imprisonment for gay relationships and the demise penalty for what it deems to be “aggravated homosexuality.” Bwanika is bisexual, and he’d beforehand been jailed for his sexuality, so he left his dwelling and his household to keep away from additional persecution. He claimed asylum on arrival and has been dwelling in a homeless shelter in Toronto ever since. His refugee listening to date hasn’t been set but. “I pray so hard that the Almighty lets me stay here so I can have a better life,” he says. “Because I had lost hope, and now I have a second chance.”

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Ukraine
ARRIVED IN CANADA: September 2023

Zanik left Ukraine as a result of life in a struggle zone was so unsure. “You never knew what would happen tomorrow,” she says. It was exhausting to go away her mom and 4 siblings behind, however her father was already dwelling in Canada, so she moved in with him in Mississauga. He is a roofer and sheet metallic employee. Zanik was a bodily therapist again dwelling, and he or she’s tried to get her licence right here, nevertheless it’s been an extended and tough course of. Still, she says, she likes Canada. “It’s like a small world, because there are a lot of immigrants. It’s amazing how many people live together, and how many programs there are to help.”

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Burundi
ARRIVED IN CANADA: December 2023

Kamugunga and her younger daughter left an unstable life in Burundi, first looking for refugee standing in Hong Kong and later in Canada, the place the Jewish Immigrant Aid Services helped them discover lodging in midtown Toronto. The group continues to assist Kamugunga with meals, transportation and housing prices whereas she research to change into a therapeutic massage therapist. “I am so grateful. When I arrived, JIAS volunteers were there at the airport waiting for me with a warm welcome and offering me a place to stay.”

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Afghanistan
ARRIVED IN CANADA: July 2023

Bik fled Afghanistan for Pakistan when the Taliban took over in 2021. The Malala Foundation helped his household financially and paid for his or her tickets to Canada. There are 9 of them in Canada now—Bik, his mother and his siblings. It was exhausting to seek out housing; he didn’t have a job, they usually had been newcomers with no credit score historical past. Finally, they secured a 3-bed room home in Concord, Ontario. The landlord is from Iran, Bik says, and he rented them the home out of solidarity. “Right now I’m learning English as a second language,” Bik says. “When I came to Canada, my English was zero.”

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: India
ARRIVED IN CANADA: May 2023

Soares and his spouse got here right here for higher job alternatives—they wished to be a part of a worldwide workforce. Before they arrived, they used a pre-arrival service to grasp the form of resumés and canopy letters they’d want to seek out jobs. His spouse now does environmental and social governance for KPMG, and he works in donor relations on the United Way. “Finding an apartment was difficult. Even though we had money in our Indian accounts, we were not accepted as applicants because we didn’t have a credit score,” he says. Eventually, they moved into a 3-bed room condo with family and a good friend. “We’re all living happily together.”

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Ukraine
ARRIVED IN CANADA: November 2022

In Ukraine, Yevusiak labored at a pharmaceutical firm. After the struggle began, she realized she couldn’t have a secure or secure life there, so she and her husband got here to Canada. They selected it as a result of Yevusiak speaks English, and he or she’d already secured a job provide. Her husband spent a couple of months taking English lessons and now works at a pharmaceutical firm. “I never had a feeling that I was a foreigner or not welcome in Canada,” she says. “All I want is for the war to be over, so my family and friends and I can live peacefully.”

This story seems within the July concern of Maclean’s. You should purchase the problem here or subscribe to the journal here.