What I learnt from being recognized as an immigrant in these troubled times

(Views my own)

I will be honest: it has been a very emotional few weeks. Since the nomination for the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant was announced, so many friends, colleagues and students have reached out to me. I had lost touch with many of them, so it felt wonderful. I have also made a lot of new friends. There seems to be several new projects that we may be able to collaborate on. Friends and connections, old and new, have been generous in their encouragement and appreciation. A simple ‘thank you’ is not enough to express what all this means to me.

I also heard from many newcomers I got to know when they had first arrived in Canada. Some have lived through, and overcome, pretty major challenges. I am so grateful for getting to know these stories of perseverance.

Most immigrants and newcomers go through a period of dislocation, often marked by a need to do things they haven’t done before. The network that we grew up and took for granted is suddenly not there. We are expected to reach out, advocate for ourselves to people we don’t know. The universe tells you that your worth is in question – but you are still supposed to carry on – and continue to promote your worth. It is extremely difficult. It can be hurtful and disempowering, leading to a vicious cycle of eroding self-esteem, withdrawal and negative impact on mental health. 

We need to break this cycle.   We know that. But how and where do we start?

Research conducted almost 15 years ago showed that the mental and physical health of Canadian immigrants begin to deteriorate sharply after five years of their arrival. Statistics Canada’s recent report shows that immigrants are facing much higher levels of anxiety due to COVID. Quite understandably, they are extremely concerned about maintaining social ties as well as about the ability to support one another in this new circumstance.

In the coming days, we need to brainstorm together to see how we can make social ties and mutual support a critical part of our ‘new normal’. COVID has revealed the importance of social and human connections. As immigrants we bring many skills that support human connectivity. But they get lost and devalued and every immigrant’s struggle becomes an individual one. While so many succeed brilliantly, I am sure there are many more successes we could see in a social fabric that was more connected.

Let’s work on this together.

Reminder: You can vote here till August 7, 2020. I look forward to your support https://canadianimmigrant.ca/canadas-top-25-immigrants/vote