This first-person article is the experience of Misba Noor, who lives in Calgary. For more information on CBC’s first-person stories, please see the FAQ.
I believe there is light at the end of every dark tunnel, but it took years to find it after we moved to Canada.
My husband and I moved to Calgary with two children – ages five and two – in 2015. We started looking for work right away and were full of hope because my husband was a branch manager of a well-known bank in Pakistan. But we were in shock. The only job he could find was laying carpets.
After just a week of work, he looked exhausted and said: “When I was walking up the stairs of our block of flats, I wished for a house without stairs. My legs are so sore.”
The next morning he changed back into his work clothes, which were torn and ragged at his knees. His black shirt was faded from washing every day. His hands were full of cracks from the dust and dryness of his work.
“I can’t even stand on my feet today,” he said.
He left and I sat down with my cup of tea. All I could think was: Why are we here?
Misba Noor and her daughter in their first apartment in Calgary in 2015 (Submitted by Misba Noor)
We were not happy. We lived in a small apartment with little furniture and missed our family and friends back home. Every day we worried about what the next day would bring.
Moving to another country gives you a different picture of life and makes you a new person. My brother applied to come to Canada on my behalf in 2008 when I was still single. I was excited to move, happy to take the necessary language tests and collect the many documents.
But it took a long time—seven years—before we finally got the permanent resident visa in the mail. Meanwhile, I got married and have two children.
I was still eager to come to Canada, hoping for better job opportunities, higher wages, and a brighter future for the children. But now that we had young children, the struggle to recover was much greater than we expected.
After I finished my tea, I began desperately looking for a job. I have a master’s degree in education, but filling out online job applications was new to me and every job I found required Canadian work experience.
It was a life of constant stress.
I’m usually shy, but I started talking to strangers – people in my building, parents at my kids’ school, people in the library. I asked them how to get a job here. They would leave me a link to some recruiting companies and websites that I didn’t understand.
I desperately wanted to work so my husband could go back to school – Misba Noor
I lost almost 22 pounds due to stress and eating less to save money. I was desperate to work so my husband could go back to school and get a good job. But none of us were lucky.
He interviewed for a position as a financial advisor at a bank and then paid $1,200 to a private company to try to become a transit operator. But each time the hiring managers turned him down, saying “your English isn’t good” or “you don’t have Canadian or work experience.”
We felt frustrated and useless. Canadian officials accepted us because of our education. We had our documents verified so many times in the process that we thought our degrees would be appreciated here. We were wrong.
Finally after two and a half years I took a break. One day my son came home from school and told me that the cafeteria manager was leaving.
It took years for Misba Noor and her husband to find good jobs and feel financially secure again after moving to Canada. (Submitted by Misbah Noor)
I hurried to meet the principal. I told her about my degree and teaching experience at home. After patiently listening to my struggle, she told me how to apply. She guided me through the entire process, from creating an account for the job application to structuring my resume to meet the job requirements.
I got this part-time job. My husband then got a job as a forklift operator at an oil and gas delivery warehouse that had better hours and was easier on his body than installing carpet. We still couldn’t afford to have him upgrade his degree at school, so I took a two-year course to become an education assistant. Finally, six years after we first moved, he landed a position as an oil and gas pricing analyst without a promotion.
Those early days were so uncertain. I remember the day he called after he got the price analyst job. I cried for joy, hugged my children and was so thankful to God. I believed that this would be the end of our difficulties and stress. As we shopped together for his shirts, pants, and shoes, I choked back tears.
In January I started working as an educational assistant and we bought a house where my children can jump, run and play freely.
But the stress of the past seven years had lasting effects. After going through so much, I still feel tired and anxious about everyday problems. I feel like my memory is affected by chronic stress and my husband now has high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. We believe this is also related. This is the price we paid to get to where we are now.
We eventually found financial stability and made our home in Canada. So it is a story of going from disappointment to hope, deception to knowledge, failure to success and nervousness to confidence. But if I could go back in time, I would think twice before immigrating. It’s harder than we thought.
Telling his story
CBC Calgary is running a series of in-person writing workshops across the city to help community members tell their own stories. This is a first-person column from a workshop organized by the Genesis Centre. To learn more about our writing workshops or to suggest a community organization to help host, email CBC producer Elise Stolte or visit cbc.ca/tellingyourstory.
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