Building a new life

After a long search Wasil Hussain can finally provide for his family and feel good about the work he does. A lucky father considering most recent immigrants have a hard time adapting to Quebec culture. Yet, since he became a business partner at Shahi Palace, a Pakistani restaurant in Dollard des Ormeaux, last March, Hussain has felt right at home.

Strangely enough, his new found happiness all started with a coincidence. Two days after Hussain arrived from his native Pakistan, he found part-time work at the restaurant on Sources Boulevard, as a general worker. “I arrived on Oct. 15, 2002,” said Hussain, reminiscing on the turn of events. “(In Pakistan) I was in insurance. I never worked in a kitchen, but I needed work. I had my wife and parents to take care of at the time. I walked in (Shahi Palace) for a calling card to phone home, and asked if they were hiring.”

Several months had passed and Hussain found new work around the West Island, at one point he was even a security guard at McGill’s MacDonald campus. Life was moving at an ordinary pace for a few years, until he heard his old employer was looking for a new associate.

Since that faithful day in spring, Hussain hasn’t looked back. “I always kept an optimistic outlook and told myself that everything would workout,” said Hussain. “It’s the public dealing I like (of the restaurant business), sometimes it gets a little hectic with all the demands, but it’s well worth it.”

Hussain was one of thousands of recent immigrants in the West Island looking for a stable way to provide for their families. Unfortunately for others, finding respectable work isn’t as easy.

For those struggling to make a decent living, services like the Centre d’Integration Multi-service de l’Ouest de l’Ile (CIMOI) in Pierrefonds and Pointe Claire are there to help the newly arrived get over the language barrier and give advice on how to find work.

But such programs do not benefit everyone. “We have two kinds of people (looking for work). One will find work after three or four attempts and stay loyal (to the companie), the other will try different places and give up,” said Mustapha Kachani, director general of CIMOI. “The ones that find work are usually 35 to 45 years old; they have families and are more likely to stay at a company (that’s what they look for). The ones that give up will think it’s not normal to have a hard time looking for work and find their own means. It’s not uncommon they end up working in the black market.” “Often (the ones who find work) will start with a job inferior to the one they had in their countries and work their way up in a firm,” added Kachani.

Despite CIMOI’s integration efforts, it does not reach every recent immigrant, according to the Hindu Temple chairperson, Subash Khana. “They aren’t very visible, I can’t say I have heard of them,” said Khana. “I have heard some complaints (from recent immigrants) it’s very hard for chartered accounts and people holding MBAs.”

For more information on CIMOI visit www.cimoi.com.