By Dimitrije Martinovic
Dimitrije is a staff with FOCUS MEDIA ARTS CENTRE

Regent Park and the surrounding areas of the downtown east are home to many diverse communities with immigrants making up approximately 67% of the population.  Integrating newcomers into Canadian society is a goal both for the newcomer and the community they find themselves in.

RPTV News reporter Mahsa Alikhani, a recent newcomer to Canada herself, speaks with Abdullah, Liene, and Rashed, about their experiences. Not only were these newcomers faced with the normal challenges of setting up their lives in a new surrounding, dealing with language, finding employment, housing, accessing services, getting around, learning the new culture and customs, but they had to manage all that while dealing with the conditions imposed on them by the coronavirus safety protocols.

Unanimously our newcomers Abdullah, Liene, and Rashed identified that learning the language, finding work, and connecting with the social and cultural ways of life in their new surrounds are extremely challenging, but that all of these have been further exacerbated by the restrictions caused by the pandemic.

Another hurdle faced by many newcomers is that often the education and work experience they had in their home country is not recognised in Canada.  For example Abdullah who is from Sudan, was an electrical engineer back home with nine years of experience in the field. While Liene holds a master’s degree in International Management, and Rashed who is from Saudi Arabia, graduated from university as physiotherapist.

Unfortunately, finding work in their respective fields may take time and effort, and as is often the case, newcomers must retrain and find more immediate sources of employment that may not fully reflect their education or experience.