本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛 Immigrants are Struggling
If a person wants to eat Chinese food for breakfast, Italian food for lunch, and French food for dinner, he can realize his dream in Canada, especially in some metropolises like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. In Canada, besides tasting different flavors of food, people can experience cultures of different countries, appreciate various national costumes, and make friends with people from different countries.
As a beautiful kindly wealthy democratic country, Canada attracts a lot of immigrants from many countries around the world. Statistics released by Citizen and Immigration Canada show that more than 150,000 immigrants came to Canada every year from 1987 to 2001, and the number of immigrants reached as high as 250,386 in 2001. Immigrants come to Canada to chase their dreams. Some of them want to get a better job, some of them want to earn more money, and some of them want to improve the quality of their lives. Have these dreams come true? The fact is that life is very challenging for many immigrants, especially for newcomers.
After arriving in Canada, immigrants have to face many difficulties such as lack of language skills, not being able to obtain a license, and lack of Canadian experience.
Many immigrants have language barrier because English is not their native language. Statistics show that 44 per cent of immigrants who came to Canada in 2001 don’t speak English (Janigar 20-5). Even though English is taught as a second language in many countries, many immigrants still don’t have enough English skills to find a job and communicate well. Kambiz Setoodehnia, who is a 31-year-old chemical engineer from Iran, told the Toronto Star his experience, “…I'm tired of being asked to explain, in five words, what are my weaknesses…” (Murray F1).
In addition to the language barrier, immigrants have to face other barriers such as obtaining a license. “Immigrants' academic credentials and work experience were frequently sharply devalued'' (Hurst A1). For many professional immigrants, they have to obtain a license before they can work in their professions no matter how much experience they gained in their homelands. The process of obtaining a license can take years. Can all applicants receive their licenses after they qualify for their professions? The answer is No. Some applicants will not receive their licenses until they fulfill certain years’ Canadian work experience. For example, Nanthee Veluppilai, who is a 50-year-old Sri Lankan civil engineer immigrated from New Zealand, had a very strong background in United Nations development programs involving coastal protection and building bridges, roads and dams. Because of his impressive experience, the PEO (Professional Engineers of Ontario) exempted him from taking any technical exams except for the professional practice exam. However, he still could not get his license because he could not meet the requirement of Canadian experience (Hurst A1). Canadian experience is many immigrants’ nightmare. Besides being required to obtain a license, Canadian experience is required by almost all employers when immigrants apply for jobs. Like Kambiz Setoodehnia said, “…Any company you apply to, they ask for Canadian experience. I've applied to 700 to 800 companies so far and it's always the same…” (Murray F1). Canadian experience has become “obscene” (F1) to many immigrants, because “…How are they going to get Canadian experience if no one gives them a chance? …” (F1).
As a result of language barrier, lack of a license, and lack of Canadian experience, the employment situation for immigrants is not good. Compared to Canadian-born people, the employment rate among immigrants is obviously low. According to Canada and the World’s coverage:
In 1986, the employment rate among recent male immigrants aged 25 to 44 was 81%. A decade later, this had plunged to 71%. During the same period, the employment rates for comparable Canadian-born males were 87% and 84%. Immigrant women were in an even worse position; by 1996, their employment rate had fallen to 51%. At the same time, the employment rate among Canadian-born women was rising to 73% in 1996 (13-15).
Many highly educated and skilled immigrants have to face the reality that they have been unemployed since they arrived. With savings depleted, they have to settle for some jobs for which they are overqualified. “It's not an urban myth that among Toronto's cabbies, pizza deliverers and security guards are umpteen foreign-born professionals trying to eke out a living” (Hurst A1). If a foreign-trained medical doctor is delivering pizza or a person with a PhD is driving taxi, it is a waste of talent. Unfortunately, this kind of things is happening to many immigrants. “The top 29 occupations of recent male immigrants holding university degrees included restaurant and food service managers, taxi and limousine drivers, truck drivers, security guards and janitors” (Perry A1). Moreover, compared to Canadian-born workers, immigrants have not only less job opportunities but also less pay. “In 2000, male immigrants who had been in the country for a year earned, on average, 63 cents for every dollar made by those born in Canada, the same as in 1990 but down from 72 cents in 1980” (A1).
Discouraged employment situation leads to bad quality of many immigrants’ lives. Since many immigrants only can take survival jobs and get low salary, they are suffering from poverty. The study shows that almost half the families using Toronto food banks are headed by immigrants (Carey A1). Life is enjoyable for many people in Canada. In spare time, people like to travel, watch movie, have party, garden, and taste delicious food. However, it is not many immigrants’ life. Because they have to devote all their time and energy to improve English skills, find a job, and take survival jobs. As Kambiz Setoodehnia described in the Toronto Star, “…I work long hours so I can afford a decent apartment…Working for sometimes 15 hours a day doesn't leave a lot of time to look for a job. I'm on the Internet at 3 a.m. looking for companies to send my resume…there isn't much time for entertainment anyway” (Murray F1). In addition to lack of entertainment, poverty and struggle for jobs impact some other aspects of the life like marriage. Setoodehnia also told the Toronto Star that he was supposed to marry his fiancée in Iran the next year. Then he would sponsor her to join him in Canada. But he would delay the wedding if he could not find a better job by then. He said, “I can't bring her to this kind of life. I won't get married if I'm working as a pizza cook'' (F1).
In Canada, many immigrants are struggling. While they improve their language skills, they have to overcome barriers like a license and Canadian experience. To make a living, many immigrants have to work in low-skilled occupations with low wages instead of their professions. They are suffering from poverty, and they don’t have entertainment. Some of them can not even get married because of the dilemma. It is true that immigrants need to make some adjustments in a new country because they have to prove their abilities. However, immigrants are not able to overcome all barriers themselves. The government and the community need to help them by simplifying the process of obtaining a license and eliminating discrimination. Otherwise, there will be a cycle of decreasing hope and opportunity.
Works Cited：
Carey, Elaine. “Poverty among immigrants on the rise.” Toronto Star 14 Mar. 2003: A1.
Citizen and Immigration Canada. July, 2002.
< http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pub/you-asked/section-03.html#5>.
Hurst, Lynda. “Tragedy of immigrant brain rein Professionals often barred from using their
skills here in Canada.” Toronto Star 13 Feb. 1999: A1.
Janigan, Mary. “Immigrants: how many is too many? Who should get in? Can we tell them
where to live and what to do?.” Maclean's 16 Dec. 2002: 20-5.
Perry, Ann. “Jamaica success fizzles in new land.” Toronto Star 12 Mar. 2003: A1.
“Pounding the Pavement.” Canada and the World Dec. 2002: 13-15.
Murray, Maureen. “An immigrant's Catch-22 - no work, no experience.” Toronto Star 16 Feb. 1999: F1.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
If a person wants to eat Chinese food for breakfast, Italian food for lunch, and French food for dinner, he can realize his dream in Canada, especially in some metropolises like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. In Canada, besides tasting different flavors of food, people can experience cultures of different countries, appreciate various national costumes, and make friends with people from different countries.
As a beautiful kindly wealthy democratic country, Canada attracts a lot of immigrants from many countries around the world. Statistics released by Citizen and Immigration Canada show that more than 150,000 immigrants came to Canada every year from 1987 to 2001, and the number of immigrants reached as high as 250,386 in 2001. Immigrants come to Canada to chase their dreams. Some of them want to get a better job, some of them want to earn more money, and some of them want to improve the quality of their lives. Have these dreams come true? The fact is that life is very challenging for many immigrants, especially for newcomers.
After arriving in Canada, immigrants have to face many difficulties such as lack of language skills, not being able to obtain a license, and lack of Canadian experience.
Many immigrants have language barrier because English is not their native language. Statistics show that 44 per cent of immigrants who came to Canada in 2001 don’t speak English (Janigar 20-5). Even though English is taught as a second language in many countries, many immigrants still don’t have enough English skills to find a job and communicate well. Kambiz Setoodehnia, who is a 31-year-old chemical engineer from Iran, told the Toronto Star his experience, “…I'm tired of being asked to explain, in five words, what are my weaknesses…” (Murray F1).
In addition to the language barrier, immigrants have to face other barriers such as obtaining a license. “Immigrants' academic credentials and work experience were frequently sharply devalued'' (Hurst A1). For many professional immigrants, they have to obtain a license before they can work in their professions no matter how much experience they gained in their homelands. The process of obtaining a license can take years. Can all applicants receive their licenses after they qualify for their professions? The answer is No. Some applicants will not receive their licenses until they fulfill certain years’ Canadian work experience. For example, Nanthee Veluppilai, who is a 50-year-old Sri Lankan civil engineer immigrated from New Zealand, had a very strong background in United Nations development programs involving coastal protection and building bridges, roads and dams. Because of his impressive experience, the PEO (Professional Engineers of Ontario) exempted him from taking any technical exams except for the professional practice exam. However, he still could not get his license because he could not meet the requirement of Canadian experience (Hurst A1). Canadian experience is many immigrants’ nightmare. Besides being required to obtain a license, Canadian experience is required by almost all employers when immigrants apply for jobs. Like Kambiz Setoodehnia said, “…Any company you apply to, they ask for Canadian experience. I've applied to 700 to 800 companies so far and it's always the same…” (Murray F1). Canadian experience has become “obscene” (F1) to many immigrants, because “…How are they going to get Canadian experience if no one gives them a chance? …” (F1).
As a result of language barrier, lack of a license, and lack of Canadian experience, the employment situation for immigrants is not good. Compared to Canadian-born people, the employment rate among immigrants is obviously low. According to Canada and the World’s coverage:
In 1986, the employment rate among recent male immigrants aged 25 to 44 was 81%. A decade later, this had plunged to 71%. During the same period, the employment rates for comparable Canadian-born males were 87% and 84%. Immigrant women were in an even worse position; by 1996, their employment rate had fallen to 51%. At the same time, the employment rate among Canadian-born women was rising to 73% in 1996 (13-15).
Many highly educated and skilled immigrants have to face the reality that they have been unemployed since they arrived. With savings depleted, they have to settle for some jobs for which they are overqualified. “It's not an urban myth that among Toronto's cabbies, pizza deliverers and security guards are umpteen foreign-born professionals trying to eke out a living” (Hurst A1). If a foreign-trained medical doctor is delivering pizza or a person with a PhD is driving taxi, it is a waste of talent. Unfortunately, this kind of things is happening to many immigrants. “The top 29 occupations of recent male immigrants holding university degrees included restaurant and food service managers, taxi and limousine drivers, truck drivers, security guards and janitors” (Perry A1). Moreover, compared to Canadian-born workers, immigrants have not only less job opportunities but also less pay. “In 2000, male immigrants who had been in the country for a year earned, on average, 63 cents for every dollar made by those born in Canada, the same as in 1990 but down from 72 cents in 1980” (A1).
Discouraged employment situation leads to bad quality of many immigrants’ lives. Since many immigrants only can take survival jobs and get low salary, they are suffering from poverty. The study shows that almost half the families using Toronto food banks are headed by immigrants (Carey A1). Life is enjoyable for many people in Canada. In spare time, people like to travel, watch movie, have party, garden, and taste delicious food. However, it is not many immigrants’ life. Because they have to devote all their time and energy to improve English skills, find a job, and take survival jobs. As Kambiz Setoodehnia described in the Toronto Star, “…I work long hours so I can afford a decent apartment…Working for sometimes 15 hours a day doesn't leave a lot of time to look for a job. I'm on the Internet at 3 a.m. looking for companies to send my resume…there isn't much time for entertainment anyway” (Murray F1). In addition to lack of entertainment, poverty and struggle for jobs impact some other aspects of the life like marriage. Setoodehnia also told the Toronto Star that he was supposed to marry his fiancée in Iran the next year. Then he would sponsor her to join him in Canada. But he would delay the wedding if he could not find a better job by then. He said, “I can't bring her to this kind of life. I won't get married if I'm working as a pizza cook'' (F1).
In Canada, many immigrants are struggling. While they improve their language skills, they have to overcome barriers like a license and Canadian experience. To make a living, many immigrants have to work in low-skilled occupations with low wages instead of their professions. They are suffering from poverty, and they don’t have entertainment. Some of them can not even get married because of the dilemma. It is true that immigrants need to make some adjustments in a new country because they have to prove their abilities. However, immigrants are not able to overcome all barriers themselves. The government and the community need to help them by simplifying the process of obtaining a license and eliminating discrimination. Otherwise, there will be a cycle of decreasing hope and opportunity.
Works Cited：
Carey, Elaine. “Poverty among immigrants on the rise.” Toronto Star 14 Mar. 2003: A1.
Citizen and Immigration Canada. July, 2002.
< http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pub/you-asked/section-03.html#5>.
Hurst, Lynda. “Tragedy of immigrant brain rein Professionals often barred from using their
skills here in Canada.” Toronto Star 13 Feb. 1999: A1.
Janigan, Mary. “Immigrants: how many is too many? Who should get in? Can we tell them
where to live and what to do?.” Maclean's 16 Dec. 2002: 20-5.
Perry, Ann. “Jamaica success fizzles in new land.” Toronto Star 12 Mar. 2003: A1.
“Pounding the Pavement.” Canada and the World Dec. 2002: 13-15.
Murray, Maureen. “An immigrant's Catch-22 - no work, no experience.” Toronto Star 16 Feb. 1999: F1.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net