The Harsh Reality

Many people refer to North America as the “Land of Opportunity”. But is it really the “Land of Opportunity”? We often hear about people who have immigrated to Canada in order to seek a better future. These people settle down and start a family, hoping that their child will be provided with opportunities they did not have in their home country. This type of mindset has run from generation to generation. People living in developed or developing countries make an effort to escape their home country and travel to a country that they believe will provide more opportunities for their lives. Of course, there is nothing wrong in doing this. In a developed or developing country, immigrating to other countries may be hard and those that do end up leaving are often the lucky ones. The major problem for these people, is that sometimes they are not provided with the opportunities they may have hoped for when they arrive in Canada. Immigrants who are not fluent in English, are offered with very limited job opportunities in Canada. They may work as janitors or nannies. They may work in large factories doing labor-intensive work. They may also be working in conditions that may be harmful towards their health. But like many others who have immigrated to Canada to look for a better future, they are faced with the reality that they are part of the working class once again. The language barrier and the educational requirements needed for certain careers, limits their potential tremendously. They are working in job sectors that are heavily focused on their skills and their ability to perform labor-intensive tasks. The saddest part is that they are also paid minimum wages, wages that are not enough to support their families or allow them to explore the luxuries that other families would be able to. They are forced to constantly live on a low-budget and to constantly save their money for future use.

An example of someone I know that has immigrated to Canada in order to seek a better future, is my father. My father had escaped Vietnam with a few other people from his town on a boat. He was able to arrive at a refugee camp where he lived with many others for a few months. My father recalls learning English at the camp, along with a few other labor-intensive skills. Through a successful interview, my father was able to immigrate to Canada where he was granted a home to live in and a few other necessities. His journey from Vietnam to Canada truly inspires me because he did whatever it took to get him to the place he is in today. My father left his entire family back home in Vietnam and set off on a journey that was unpredictable. Although he was educated and worked as a nurse in Vietnam, he was unable to find a medical profession here in Canada. The language barrier has prevented him tremendously from working in the career that he would have loved. Since coming to Canada, he has worked in factories for over 20 years. It upsets me because he has had to wake up extremely early in the mornings and drive over an hour to work, yet he is still making what is considered to be a low-income each year. The conditions he works in are not the best either. The factory he is in, contains harmful chemicals that could possibly damage his health over a long period of time. But my father is not the only one working in the factory with this type of situation. Many of the other employees are often faced with the same reality he is in. They have no choice really, no other job sector will hire them due to the language barrier and the educational requirements for certain jobs.

Immigrants are faced with the harsh reality of life, but they are also providing better opportunities for their children and their grandchildren. Raising their children in Canada will allow their child to overcome the language barrier and allow them to be just the same as any other child in Canada. They will find more employment opportunities and be able to support themselves with jobs or career that may not require such labor-intensive work. I believe that children who live in North America are extremely privileged in the fact that they are able to achieve a high paying job not through labor-intensive skills, but through post-secondary education and knowledge. They will be paid much higher salaries than their parents ever did and most of them will not even have to engage in any sort of physical labor.

A few months ago, I remember reading a post from a popular Facebook page called Humans of New York. The post had a picture of a lady who was quoted saying, “After I finish my shift at the bakery, I start my shift at Starbucks. I work 95 hours per week at three different jobs. One of my sons graduated from Yale, and I have two more children in college. And when they finish, I want to go to college too. I want to be a Big Boss. I'm a boss at the bakery right now, but just a little boss. I want to be a Big Boss." This lady is not only working to support and help her children, but also aiming to achieve her “American Dream” that not many people are able to do. Immigrants should not be undervalued or looked down upon, but rather praise for their commitment of working multiple jobs to provide a future for their own children.