50 Years Later Here's What I Learned
50 years ago TODAY, my family and I arrived in Canada as refugees from Uganda. On August 4th, 1972, then-President Idi Amin declared that all Indians would be expelled and had 90 days to pack up and leave. We were stripped of our nationality, passports, and identities and essentially left stateless.
My parents were only 23 and 25 years old, with two children. I, at age 3.5 years old and my sister Farah Mohamed, M.S.M just over 2 years old.
Ironically I am the only one that was not born in Uganda from my immediate family. However, I am the only one that still straddles that fine line between being a Canadian and a Ugandan, and my current work helps to cement that feeling as I go back to Uganda frequently, which keeps those ties close to my heart.
I recently read something about the difference between a refugee and an immigrant that was really profound and hit home for me.
An immigrant will venture to a new country, readily adopt the new language, customs, culture, etc. and slowly leave the memories of their previous country behind. They might only go back to visit if they left their family behind.
On the other hand, refugees are forced to leave the country they call home, usually because of political or economic reasons, but not of their own free will. They come to their newly adopted country unsure of their present or future, and while they do their best to adopt the new country as their own, there's always that feeling of what they left behind. The question is always, "what would my life have been like if we were never forced to leave?"
I am grateful for my life in Canada and for all the amazing experiences, friends and colleagues I have encountered in my 50 years living here. I worked in the Canadian film and television industry, I've had my own businesses (film company, travel company, etc.), and have been a mortgage broker. Currently, I am the ED and founder of Cameras For Girls, which allows me to keep that Ugandan heritage entrenched in who I am and what I do.
I am grateful and also sad because of everything my parents lost and sacrificed to give me and my sister the wonderful life we have had. There have been, at times, insurmountable challenges, but we worked through them and came out ahead.
My parents will never return to Uganda, as is true for many Indians who left. For those that did venture back, they found a different Uganda than the one they were forced to leave behind - but the one thing that did not change was, and is still true today, which is the beautiful soul of the people. In my opinion, they lost so much more than we did. We built a life in Canada, where life for the local Africans is no picnic and keeps worsening yearly, under a regime that outwardly facing claims democracy but instead is a clear dictatorship.
I am grateful to wake up every day in a land where freedom is a right, not a privilege. I am grateful to be making a difference in Canada and Uganda. In Canada, through the various volunteer positions I hold and my work in Uganda, supporting marginalized females to find paid work in the male-dominated field of journalism and photography.
To my friends and family who arrived in Canada, the US, the UK and other parts of the world, I wish you all the best as we look to the future.
So finally, to what I learned:
Life is short, as they say, but when you come as a refugee to a new country under harsh circumstances, never squander those opportunities. In my youth, I did not know any better and looking back, I am ashamed of what I gave up for short-term gain, especially when I see females in Africa wishing for some of those opportunities I had.
Always remember where you come from. No matter how high you rise on the so-called “success ladder,” never forget who you are and what values you stand for, as they will guide you when that success is no longer the benchmark you strived for.
Honour your parents and elders, as they have so many lessons to teach you about resiliency, grit, goal-setting, and the things that are and are not necessary to worry over.
Don’t sacrifice values over material gains. Material possessions don’t mean much when your life is on the line, and I promise you that paying it forward, even in a small way, will make your life mean more and bring happiness and peace to your life. Happiness, paying it forward, putting others ahead of yourself, etc., matters more!