Newcomers find warm welcome
Event gathers resources at single venue
Dhamber Diyali still remembers what it felt like to arrive in a strange land, knowing he had the ability to build a new life for himself but feeling overwhelmed by the prospect.
“In the beginning, it was very difficult for us,” says Diyali who, along with his family, came to Calgary as a refugee fromBhutan in 2009.
“Back home, it is very hot, and here it is very cold. We did not have a car, so all the time we had to wait for the bus. We didn’t have any jobs — it was difficult to find a job because we had language problems.”
Three years later, Diyali calls Canada, “one of the best countries in the world.”
But as he toured the booths Saturday at Calgary’s first New Canadians Expo, he acknowledged there is a real need for this type of event.
“It is very helpful,” he said. “There are new people here, they are in a new country, and they need our help.”
Organized by a local charity called the UTurn Project, in partnership with the Calgary Police Service, the New Canadians Expo — held at the Genesis Centre in Falconridge — was designed to give recent immigrants and refugees the information they need to navigate life in Calgary.
The Calgary Public Library, the Salvation Army, the Calgary Pregnancy Care Centre and other local groups gathered Saturday to greet newcomers to Canada and
YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO AND BE ANYTHING YOU WANT IN THIS COMMUNITY. MAYOR NAHEED NENSHI
provide information about their services.
“Many new Canadians fail to understand how to integrate with the mainstream Canadian system,” said Jay Chowdhury, president of the UTurn Project.
“Some are flourishing, but some are not. And the ones who are not flourishing don’t know where to go to get help.”
Chowdhury said by bringing a variety of community services under one roof, UTurn Project wants to show new immigrants they don’t have to feel isolated — that there are many people ready to help them with whatever they may be struggling with. He said that’s important, because in circumstances such as domestic violence, new Canadians will often be reluctant to seek help within their own immigrant community because of shame or embarrassment.
Acting Sgt. Mark Kane said it’s important for the Calgary Police Service to make connections with people who may not necessarily feel comfortable around officers in uniform.
“A lot of these people come from countries where the police service may not be the first route they want to go to for help, because of either corrup- tion or because the police in that country physically beat people or abuse them,” said Kane. “Here, we’re trying to say to people, ‘We’re a different kind of police service. We’re actually here to help you.’ ”
Mayor Naheed Nenshi welcomed the new Canadians in attendance, telling them they’d done the right thing by coming to Calgary.
“This is indeed a place where nobody cares who your dad is or where you went to school — they care what you bring to the table,” he said.
Nenshi said it’s important for new Canadians to understand that their adopted community supports them and wants to see them succeed.
He went on to say many immigrants speak of coming to Canada as a way to give their children a better life, but he wants the parents in the room to understand they have the right to reach for happiness too.
“Focus on yourselves and how you can live a great life,” he said. “Don’t defer your own dreams . . . You have the opportunity to do and be anything you want in this community.”