PPCII - Peterborough Partnership Council on Immigrant Integration

“Because of my work in Colombia, I have been threatened by extreme rightist and leftist groups ... as the press, we are between a war that is not ours.”  Alberto speaks of his job in his native Colombia as a journalist, where he says that his job is to report the news. 

After an incident which put a member of the guerrillas behind bars, Alberto and his family became “under the obligation of leaving that part of the country...”.

After spending a few months in the United States waiting for his wife and eldest son, they made their way to Canada, arriving in April 2010. At the border, they were met by a Colombian case worker and she told them about a woman named Sister Ruth Hennesey in Peterborough, who would be able to help them.  And so, without knowing where Peterborough was, or anything about it, they made the journey based on trust.  The family speaks highly of the support they received from Sister Ruth, who provided them with a home in addition to moral, economic and spiritual support.

Mariana and Alberto describe the time leading up to their refugee hearing, saying it was very stressful:  “We were in limbo ... we didn’t know what was going to happen to us.” But they describe their process as quick and were flooded with relief with the positive outcome of the hearing.

They explain that they encountered hardships such as the language and finding a job.  While Mariana and her sons had some English, Alberto did not speak any.  When they arrived in April, there was no room for him in the English classes at Fleming and so “... he had to wait to find someone to teach him and for him this was very hard.”  Mariana says that while she knows English, she too feels lost sometimes with all of the documents and paperwork they must fill out.

Mariana and Alberto share their frustration about the barriers they are faced with when looking for employment.  Alberto says, “ ... being an immigrant doesn’t mean we are incapable ... we know how to do things, we have an education from our own country, but here we are categorized as not knowing anything ... we have to accept jobs in factories, construction and cleaning ... and they do not give credit to our education and experience.”  Mariana adds, “... you have many things you can bring to a new job ... you have to accept the jobs that you haven’t done in your country ... but you have to be real and you have to start with these jobs, the ones at the bottom ... if you need the money to support your family, you need to do it ... ”.

Despite only arriving in Peterborough eight months ago, Alberto has obtained a cleaning job and a factory job, while his wife is volunteering with an organization where she can use her teaching skills.  Their most memorable experience was waiting for the hearing, “... when the people say do not worry, you are safe ...Welcome to Canada!”

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Caitlin worked at the New Canadians Centre as the Summer Student in 2010. After she returned to her studies at Trent, she undertook a project through the Trent Centre for Community-Based Education titled "Oral Histories of Immigrants in Peterborough". This story is one of many that she compiled for her project.