Sarah Bawazir, Accountant, “Canada is the one country that is welcoming and accepting of all cultures, religions, and races.”

Sarah Bawazir is an unassuming young woman with big ambitions.  The oldest of five children, Sarah looked up to her father to guide her through life.  She was encouraged to pursue her education in accountancy and felt her life was good until the Yemen Civil War broke out in September 2014.  In desperation, Sarah escaped to Jordan, where she applied for refuge through the United Nations Refugee program, and within a year she was accepted by Canada.  Sarah arrived in Canada in June 2019, just a few days before Canada Day.  “The celebrations were exhilarating”, says Sarah, “but the COVID lockdown a few short months later made it impossible to meet people or to attend any public events.”  This year however, she has enjoyed being able to attend some of them.
Sarah’s inspiration is her father, an aircraft mechanic who was the very first Yemeni national to work with Saudia Airlines in Riyadh.  He studied in Egypt and Ethiopia, sparking Sarah’s love for travel and adventure. After returning from Saudi Arabia, her father’s job took them all over Yemen and Sarah believes that he faced the same difficulties she has faced in Canada, just in his home country. The struggle to find a community, friends, accommodation.   When she left for Jordan, he did not deter her instead he encouraged her to seek a good future for herself.  Sarah remembers his words well, “Your education is your power, if you graduate you can do anything.”  She continues, “I saw the truth of that, because when I went to Jordan, I found work as an accountant.”
When Sarah applied for the UN Refugee Program, she hoped they would send her to Canada.  “From my research,” says Sarah, “Canada is the one country that is welcoming and accepting of all cultures, religions, and races.”   When asked about her expectations, Sarah says, “Before coming to Canada I thought when I get there I will finally start living, be the best person, realize my dreams and start my real life.”  The happiness she felt when she stepped off the aircraft on arrival in Toronto was intense and she felt so proud of herself, for having made this entire journey on her own. 
Sarah’s first hours in Canada were memorable, and a reminder to her that her prayers had been answered.  She was received at the airport by someone from the Canadian Refugee Program, who waited with her for over three hours to catch a bus to London.  Once she arrived in London, there was a taxi waiting to take her to her temporary home.  When she got there, she was greeted by members of the London Cross Cultural Learner Centre (CCLC) who had a hot meal and warm welcome waiting for her.  During her first few weeks she credits volunteers from CCLC who helped her in many ways, including finding furniture for her one-bedroom apartment and negotiating simple things like grocery shopping.  It was through the London & Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership that Sarah found her apartment, and CCLC helped her to negotiate all the paperwork.
“Everyone has helped me, even my neighbours,” says Sarah. “I have never felt worried about my safety, and even when I walk home a little late, I don’t feel afraid”. 
Sarah did not like being on social welfare, as she has looked after herself all her life. “This is not me”, says Sarah, “I have never needed help from the government before, and I don’t need help now.” She signed up to English-language courses at College Boreal and is currently enrolled at Fanshawe College to obtain her Accountant Certification for the Canadian market.  “I still need to improve my English,” says Sarah, “so I listen to the English News and to TED Talks.  That helps me to stay current with what is happening in Canada and around the world and learn to listen and speak at the same time.”
The move to Canada has not been easy for her – the loneliness, lack of a community, the difficulty finding work, made worse by the pandemic lockdown. However, as soon as she was able to, she started job hunting.  Sarah found initially that her Yemeni Accountancy degree and work experience in Yemen and Jordan were not accepted here in Canada, so she took the chance of approaching the new Yemeni restaurant on Wharncliffe road for work.  Sarah has been working there as an Accountant for the past year, under the tutelage of the owner Morad AlHarabi. 
Sarah is her father’s daughter – every aspect of the way she describes her father is the way in which she tries to live her life.  Sarah has some goals she wants to achieve in the next year - buy a car, finish her accountancy diploma studies, and get her Canadian Citizenship.   
She says to newcomers, “Be patient - patient with yourself, patient with your community, patient with the process. Work on your English skills and work on finding your place in your new country.  Work to reach what you want, because otherwise you will remain in one place.  Even one step in one year is better that not moving at all.”

---