Mohammed From Palestine

Transcript

Fariah: Interviewer, Project Lead for Stories Without Borders

About Mohammed

Mohammed is a student from Palestine who is studying business and arrived in Canada in 2023.

Interview Transcript

Brief Glossary

There are certain terms and phrases that may be used in this interview that are commonly used by Muslims.

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu: May peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah (God) be upon you.

Alhumdulillah: All praise belongs to Allah

InshaAllah: God-Willing

JazakAllah Khair: May Allah reward you well

Du’a: A form of prayer

Sabr: Patience

Beginning of Transcript

Fariah:

Assalamu Alaikum, Peace be upon you, Hello everyone, Welcome to Stories Without Borders, a platform to share the stories of refugees and newcomers in Canada. Today, we’ll be interviewing Mohammed to learn more about his life experiences. Mohammed is a student from Palestine who is studying business and arrived in Canada in 2023. 

Mohammed, thank you so much for being with us today. To start, I wanted to ask you, What was your experience like living in Canada as a newcomer? What are some barriers you faced and what helped you overcome those barriers?

Mohammed:

Well, at the beginning, like when I arrived here, the first, the main goal for me is studying. So when I tried to join the university, so I couldn’t because I had my high school in Palestine and they told me, no, you can’t do that. And after that they brought me in high school, which I was surprised from. So I had like to spend a year and a half of my life, like just in high school, which I didn’t take any like this, that they chose like my level. So like, it’s like I wasted a year and a half of my life.

And you know, when I first arrived here, like now, the trauma that happened like back home because like I went out from a war that recently happened and it continued when I was here. So it’s like your family, it’s on the other, other side fighting. And I’m here fighting too, but like for my future, but they’re fighting for their lives. So that was. These two, were the. The main two things that I faced especially. 

And as I told you, like when I first came here, like, as any newcomer, so I had like. Like I wasn’t that much involved in the community. Like, I had this like, trauma from like changing the people. Like when I go out to the streets, like the people I never saw in my life and I’ve never talked to in my life. So I had this feeling of like not belonging here.

You know, like after a few months, let’s say, like with some organizations that help, that it’s actually from the government. So I was involved, like in some of them. I volunteered with some of them. So that’s when I started to like, get involved more.

And one other thing that because I’m a student, I couldn’t work that much to like, to have my enough salary to pay the uni, to pay my study, to be paid for my life. So that’s why that was one of the hardships that I faced when I first came here.

Fariah:

Thank you so much for sharing, Mohammed. I appreciate that. It’s very important for us to learn about the experiences of newcomers in Canada. My next question is how did your faith support you during your experience?

Mohammed:

Well, actually, my faith, like, it’s, I think it’s the main reason that, that I successfully, like, continued my journey in studying and in the community. Like, I didn’t give up and just say, like, no, I don’t want this country, I want out.

Because, like, because I’m a Muslim too. We, since I was young, my parents teach me how sabr could help you and how we could handle those hardships.

And one other thing, because as I said, I went out from war. So when I came here, I told myself that I wasn’t just representing myself. I was here on behalf of my people there who was facing more hardships than I am, than I do. So this thing gave me like, the push to continue and to do my best to represent those people. 

And one other thing, like, as a Muslim, we go to mosques and we get involved and some like, Islamic things like gatherings, kind of like that. So like, this helped me like, socially get involved with people and talking to people and normal people that helped me a lot in this journey.

Fariah:

Mohammed, thank you very much for sharing. That’s very inspiring. And it’s important for us to learn about your experiences and how faith can support you. Thank you so much for sharing that.

My next question is what resources are currently missing in Canada that can help us better support refugees and newcomers?

Mohammed:

Well, well, this problem is not just facing me, it’s facing a lot of people here, like, which is like, some people, like, did have their certificates out of the country and their diplomas and many, many different things. So actually we don’t have here, it’s, you don’t accept like, some of the other diplomas in the other countries, which, which is gonna make it way harder for the people that had already finished their studies and now they have to do that again. So like, many people will of course, like, see that as a waste of time, but like, and they might give up. I’m not saying most, all the people like, but most of them, they do because of like, the feeling that they had. They hadn’t done anything eventually. So they, they just give up. And that’s the main thing, actually.

And one other thing is, like, some people, they want to, some of them when they come here, they want to like, be depending on themselves. Like, when I first came here, I was thinking that to work at the beginning and get my money, my own money and that’s, and my university money, but it didn’t work like that. Because of like the money, the papers and your residency here and the government can’t allow that and those kind of things. So they, these things that really affected like and those things that I know eventually but I know about other people. Yeah.

Fariah:

Thank you so much for sharing, Mohammed. Is there anything else that you’d like to add?

Mohammed:

No, I’m good. I’m good with my answers. But if you have any more questions, I will be glad to answer.

Fariah:

Sure. I had one question that I thought of based on your responses.

So how, what are some specific challenges that students face? So for example, you mentioned how like your credentials from Palestine, they didn’t accept those in Canada and you had to redo those years in high school. So I was wondering are there any other specific challenges that students in particular face when they come to Canada?

Mohammed:

Well, yeah, there is actually. So as I know some Palestinian students here, well they have like some problems with living, living conditions like with, with the money and that stuff. Like they don’t have that support here and because of the, like they can’t, those Palestinian students, that’s a, an international student. So like some of them might have trouble.

That and one other thing that I really saw that the new students that came here like me or like others, they didn’t get involved in the community that much. Like they just closing themselves which is actually like I see as a danger for them and for me too, like they might just give up at a specific time that they feel that they can’t do it or something like that.

So like I think there should be like, especially for the students, there should be more programs that help them because like the students, they are the main thing like, without students there is nothing.

Fariah:

Yes, thank you so much for sharing. JazakMullahu Khairan. That’s very important. So Mohammed, thank you so much for sharing your story with us today. Your journey is very inspiring and I appreciate your honesty and insight. I wish you all the best moving forward and I hope your story inspires many others. Thank you so much.

Mohammed:

You’re welcome. Thank you.