Former newcomers share stories of ‘Hope away from home’ for World Refugee Day

“The war had just ended, but our paperwork had been processed. By that time, everything was in ruin and infrastructure was non-existent. It was overwhelming to arrive, but also exciting. I felt very welcomed at the airport, and looked forward to finding out where I was and what I would be doing,” she shares.

The family spent two weeks at a reception house, and went through the settlement process of getting a SIN number and health card, and enrolled in English classes.

“It was a solid culture shock. At some point early on, you realize you can’t read some signs, or people don’t understand your jokes. To this day, people will see me as approachable or they’re willing to talk to me until I open my mouth,” says Jovanovic. “They’re surprised I still have an accent after 27 years here. I can only say that I don’t have any intention of changing that.”

Jovanovic, now working for Red Deer Local Immigration Partnership (RDLIP), believes processes have improved as far as helping newcomers overcome challenges quicker.

(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

But there’s still work to do, she says, when it comes to making people feel welcome and understanding the plight of a refugee.

University and college degrees are often non-transferable from country to country, there’s the language barrier, learning to live in -40 weather, and wrapping it in a bow is the lingering trauma.

There are family and friends newcomers must leave behind, siblings and parents who didn’t get the same chance to immigrate.

Which does she feel more is her home: Canada or Serbia, people have asked her.

“I was a refugee, a misplaced person, and I am now fully Canadian and feel blessed to be here. My kids have opportunity to enjoy peace and democracy. But we are like a flower’s seeds which were put in the ground somewhere, grew, then without input or agreement, a flower raised and educated in tradition was taken from the ground and thrown 8,000 kilometres away into an environment where you just have to figure out how you’re going to grow again,” she says.

“You work hard and find ways to accomplish your goals and survive even though maybe you weren’t meant to be in that place. But forever, your roots stay where you were born.”

Now imagine your nine-year-old wielding an AK-47 assault rifle; that was a childhood reality for Maluk Ayomkok.

Born in what’s now South Sudan, Ayomkok was displaced by a war which began in 1983, and travelled to Ethiopia where he found himself in a refugee camp. At the tender age of nine, he was recruited by a rebel group to join the fight.

He completed training two years later, and was chosen as a bodyguard for the rebel group’s high command, but in 1985, Cuba offered Spanish lessons and a chance for some to travel there and continue training.

Some returned to Sudan and died fighting, while others pursued higher education where they were.

Then the chance to come to Canada; St. John’s, Newfoundland to be precise.

“The biggest challenge was the weather. At Signal Hill one day, we experienced all four seasons within an hour. The first time I saw snow, it was surprising and scary. I’d never seen anything like it. The other challenge was language, but because I had experience learning Spanish, I could incorporate that into how I progressed with English. I’d watch TV news, read the paper, and if there was a word I didn’t know, I’d pull out my dictionary,” he recalls, also noting the reception house he spent some time in, like Jovanovic.

“Sometimes people forget that all over the world, for a long time people have been looking for refuge, except the English and other conquerors like the Spaniards and the French. Those who were not in that group have at one point looked to become a refugee because of the consequences of those conquerors. It’s just a matter of time for different generations.”

(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

It’s for this reason among others, Ayomkok says, that he sees racism differently.

“It’s just that some people don’t understand. The bully who takes your lunch or lunch money, they’re going to grow up and regret their choices,” says Ayomkok, who eventually spent time studying in Ottawa, then moved to Brooks, Alberta where he worked at a meat packing plant, before finally ending up in Red Deer to settle down with his family in 2005. He now works in retail.

“The story of a child with an AK-47, most people just won’t understand because it’s like a fiction to them. It takes a mindful person to realize that human beings go through a lot of things, but it doesn’t mean that person was the cause of the situation,” he says.

“When you see somebody different, put yourself in their shoes. I am lucky to have faced every situation in my life with an open mind. I learned to play chess when I was in Cuba, and because of that, now I think before I do something. I don’t judge people because I don’t know what another person is thinking.”

On June 24, Care for Newcomers invites the public to attend its World Refugee Day ‘Welcome to Newcomers’ event, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Festival Hall (4214 58 Street).

There will be free ethnic food, dancers from Uganda (Acholi), Ukraine, Cameroon, and the Philippines, plus speakers from Sudan, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Ukraine.

“We’ll be celebrating the newcomers who have enriched our community of Red Deer, past and present, with people who were born here,” says Jan Underwood, Settlement Practitioner. “Please join us as it will be a fun opportunity to make new friends. Everyone is welcome.”

More about World Refugee Day is at unhcr.org.

by Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Former newcomers share stories of ‘Hope away from home’ for World Refugee Day

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