Journey to Canada

A local man has been living in Canada for more than 30 years after fleeing his birthplace in the Middle East.

Mohammad Memariani, 70, is originally from Iran but moved to Canada in 1987. According to Memariani there were many problems in his country and the only thing he could do was bring along his family, including his wife and three children.

“We left the country to go to Turkey where the United Nations are,” said Memariani. “We gave them our story and they accepted us as refugees. We had to stay there for 17 months.”

Memariani said there were many opportunities offered to them and whichever country came first is the one they would go to. He said Canada was the first country, so his family were all interviewed and they moved here.

Memariani is not alone. Thousands of people come to Canada every year.

Dawn Dhillon, 51, moved to Canada a year and a half ago.

Dhillon and her family left England to start her own business and to be closer to her brother and sister. She is currently studying in the landscape and horticulture program at St. Clair College.

Canada is giving Dhillon the opportunity to have the education she needs to open her own business of gardening and landscape work. She said she currently does not have a job because it would be too much to manage her family of five children, a marriage and studying full-time.

Not only did both Memariani and Dhillon leave their countries behind, they also left their jobs.

In Iran, Memariani was working as a chief executive at the Ministry of Commerce. He said when he arrived in Canada, it was a month long wait to get a job as a salesman. He now owns a convenience store in Amherstburg.

“I was a teaching assistant in a kindergarten school,” said Dhillon. “It was a very funny job, lots of great memories.”

Memariani said Iran has strict assimilation laws, but his family have been treated wonderfully by Canadians. There were no problems adapting to the small changes and everyone in his family are happy to be here.

“I was quite familiar with the situation in this country,” said Memariani. “Prior to that, I was in Australia and with the way of life everything is practically the same.”

Even though Memarani’s family adapted well, Dhillon says her family had a difficult time adjusting.

“The hardest thing was the long cold winter last year. I have never seen so much snow or been so cold in my life,” said Dhillon. “The other thing that took a bit of adjusting to is driving on the right hand side.”

Dhillon would like to move back but said she would be quitting and giving up on a new adventure before it has started. Memariani said he would only visit Iran but moving back there would be a different story.

“I don’t know about tomorrow, but I’m 70 years old,” said Memariani. “I don’t know how many more years I am going to be alive.”