Didn't We Escape Poverty?

  With nothing but the clothes on their backs refugees flee their countries, leaving all their belongings, escaping and immigrating to a world  in hopes of finding  more opportunities, a war free zone and of course no poverty.  But what they are about to encounter is what they least likely thought to see and witness.

  Coming from an immigrant family household I can to some extent relate, my parents had to flee a civil war that was happening in Somalia, they had to basically run for their lives. Sadly still today Somalia is struggling, with famine and war; many other countries similar are as well.  And from the tragic stories I hear from the media and my parents I couldn’t bear to imagine someone going through.  Like my parents and many thousands of immigrants who fled their countries to come to Canada for a better life, a life of nonviolence and freedom, they are faced with numerous struggles and problems. One of the biggest problems I consider they face is the lack of communication from opposite sides, not knowing the language puts them into a disadvantage among non-immigrants. Canada has become a tougher place for immigrants who come here to improve their lot. Most are probably better off than they would have been had they stayed put, but relative to other Canadians, the trend of the past two decades is unmistakable: Poverty rates have risen substantially for most new immigrants (Little, 2003).

             

 Like the saying goes, “with happiness comes sadness”.  I feel as though this saying describes the situation these individuals are going through. With all these “perks” given to them, there’s a slight catch in the end. A January 2007 Statistics Canada study found a high proportion of recent immigrants faced chronic low income, even though more immigrants are arriving in Canada with high professional skill levels. Refugees face particular burdens.  For example, the Canadian government expects resettled refugee families to pay for their transportation to Canada, with the result that these families spend their first years in Canada trying to pay off of debt of up to $10,000 (“Canada ”, 2009). These immigrants already face enough struggles as it is by fleeing and entering a foreign country, and now they have the burden to pay off this financial debt.  It’s been said that the immigrant poverty is most obvious among the most recent arrivals, those who have been in Canada for five years or less (Little, 2003). So with nothing and no job these new immigrants are left in a dilemma to frantically pay it off.  Some say it’s absolutely unconscionable and shameful, it makes them shameful to be a Canadian (Rollason, 2009). Reading this just makes me surprise and sad, to think one would be ashamed to call themselves a Canadian.  We’d always hear that Canada gives out hope and opportunities to newcomers, welcoming them with big open arms, yet... When they do come, there left fallen through the cracks. The policy of the government of Canada ensures refugees will be in poverty for their first year (Rollason, 2009). Ensures? So instead of helping them get out their ensuring them to poverty... This just throws me off, to think the government allows refugees to live in poverty, no wonder why these individuals feel like they are better off not even leaving, to run away from a lifestyle and later on join it, is quite unspeakable.

  Therefore the question that lies is how do we put an end to poverty on immigrants and refugees? To that I believe would be to provide them with more resources and guidance, helping in learning the language and finding a job, because if the Canadian government expects these individuals to pay off their transportation fees they acquired then there should be more  of an effort in assisting them. Making sure that the lifestyle they left is indeed what they left, not something they shouldn’t be experiencing again. And lastly comforting and guiding these individuals on opening a new chapter in their lives.

- Hannah

References:

Canada, the rights of the child and refugee and immigrant children. ( 2009, March). Retrieved November 13, 2011, from http://ccrweb.ca/en/canada-rights-child-and-refugee-and-immigrant-children.

Immigrants by Regional Source as Percentage of Total Immigration. (2010, June 14). Retrieved November 13, 2011, from http://www.asiapacific.ca/statistics/immigration/immigration-arrivals/immigrants-regional-source-percentage-total-immigration.

Little, B. (2003, Jun 23). Immigrant poverty growing in Canada. The Globe and Mail, pp. B.2-B.2. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/383876812?accountid=14569

Rollason, K. (2009, Oct 22). Refugees, immigrants in poverty: Report. Winnipeg Free Press, pp. A.8. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/752218450?accountid=14569