Land of opportunity finds new arrival at Queen’s Park
Maryam Safarzadeh wasn’t convinced she had made the right choice to leave Iran and set off for Canada — until she was sitting in the public gallery at Queen’s Park recently, watching her 18-yearold son play the role of education minister in student model parliament.
She felt her homeland offered an uncertain future for son Yazdan and daughter Yasna Nikoo.
“We come from an educated middle-class family. I am a painter and a poet with more than 20 years of experience in teaching and participating in solo and group exhibitions,” Safarzadeh said.
“My daughter is a musician, their father is an artist, we have never had a politician in our entire family. I believe in Iran you cannot make it to good universities if you are not related to the government, and if you do there
is a very low chance of finding a job afterwards because you have no political connections.
“In Iran, good and important jobs are not for people like us.”
Yazdan came to Canada just over a year ago and stayed with a relative until the rest of his family arrived seven months ago.
He speaks perfect English with no discernible accent and also speaks French in addition to his native Farsi.
Not long after his arrival in Windsor, Yazdan was politically active, campaigning in the 2019 federal election for Liberal candidates Irek Kusmierczyk in Windsor-tecumseh and Sandra Pupatello in Windsor West.
Interest in politics drew him to apply for the annual Model Parliament for High School Students, which sees 124 students in grades 10 to 12 selected from across the province to participate in a threeday mock legislative session.
“It was amazing,” Yazdan said. “That was the best feeling ever.”
But an even better feeling came after his proud mother posted on Facebook about her feelings watching her son that day (Feb. 28), finally knowing she had made the right choice.
“It did mean a lot to her and it means a lot to me too,” Yazdan said. “Canada is a land of opportunities, and what I love about politics in Canada is that it’s not a legacy, you can try hard and if you try hard enough, no matter who you are and where you come from you can become an MPP and you can have that seat one day.
“It can be yours.”
In her Facebook post, Safarzadeh recalled having to fit her life into two suitcases and leave behind family, friends and homeland roots.
“I stood in front of the mirror many times and cried and asked myself, ‘What the hell I am doing here?’ ” she wrote about the first weeks after her arrival. “I didn’t know what’s the meaning of freedom.”
Safarzadeh said she began trying to come to Canada since Yazdan was 12, and seeing him flourish in the environment at Queen’s Park erased any doubts about her decision.
“When I saw my son with 124 boys and girls from different ethnic backgrounds, different religions, sitting on those chairs and I saw that peace, that harmony, the unity after the program was done among them,” Safarzadeh said.
“I felt so happy. Just as happy as when the nurse put a three-kilogram baby boy in my arms. I feel so grateful because they are here, they can have a brilliant future if they try hard. Nothing is for special people. Everyone can have that chance. It’s great.”
In her Facebook post, Safarzadeh wrote: “You were in the chamber and giving your speech and I couldn’t help but think about all the young kids who were working in oppositional parties back home and are in the prison now. You were up and speaking with passion and I thought to myself that if you still work just as hard you will one day deserve that chair and it would be yours because that seat is no one’s legacy.
“You looked at me from the seat and me and your sister made a heart for you with our hands. I cried again but this time it was because you were shining like a star. I cried because now I knew what the hell I was doing here.”