By: Bethany, Community Engagement Coordinator
Over the course of my internship as a Community Engagement Coordinator, one of the highlights of my summer was the Hub Walk. The Hub Walk is an annual event in partnership with the Victoria Park Hub which invites newcomers to discover the Victoria Village area which ends with a barbeque at ETCBC. We had many families with young children from the community attend the Hub Walk and the majority were Syrian refugees. I had the opportunity to have some very interesting and eye-opening conversations with some of the families.
One woman came with her sister and another relative along with several young children who were running around and having a grand time drawing all over the whiteboards in one of the classrooms. Pastor Tim and I chatted with them and learned that one woman had come to Canada a year ago, another came 3 months ago and the other, she came just 1 month ago! It was wild to me that I was chatting with someone who just over a month ago, was living overseas and now had to adjust to a new country, language, and culture. I was very encouraged by one woman who inquired about opportunities for her to volunteer and could practice her English. I cannot imagine how difficult it is to navigate everyday life in a foreign country, so I was impressed by her willingness to put herself out there to adapt to life in Canada.
I also met a mother and daughter who came to Canada 3 years ago and are on their way to study law and engineering this coming Fall. The daughter expressed that her first couple days in Canada were extremely overwhelming. She was in a new country with no family or relatives to guide them, she didn’t speak the same language and she didn’t understand how things worked in Canada or the culture. Interestingly, when I asked how she learned to speak English, she said that she just watched a lot of Youtube! I thought it was funny that a social media platform I use for entertainment could be used to learn a new language and help someone settle down in a new country.
As the event went on, I realized that I had minimal knowledge on how immigration processes work in Canada. As I chatted with more people, I learned that there is a special exemption for refugees who are resettled from overseas because they can automatically become a permanent resident. Unknown to me, this was significant because permanent residents have the right to receive social benefits Canadian citizens receive, including health care coverage as well as live, work or study anywhere in Canada. Most importantly, they can apply for Canadian citizenship. As someone who was born in Canada, I never realized how much of a privilege it is to have these sorts of rights and how much we take for granted our citizenship.
As I reflect on these experiences, I am reminded of the words of King Lemuel’s mother from Proverbs 31: 8-9 (NRSV), “Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy”. Although my occupation is not in social work or immigration services, I hope that I can use what God has blessed me with to bless others, whether it is simply educating myself to be more aware or supporting those who are simply trying to find their place in a new country.