Feb 18, 2016: Delta Regina, I am sitting with my husband Noor with our kids Amaima, Nabeera, Zunaira and Ibrahim on seats beside us. We are all dressed in our best formal dresses. Our hearts are pounding with joy but with anxiety too for everything to be fine. The hall is filled up with families gathered to take the oath to be Canadian citizens. I can see overjoyed faces, showing pride in accomplishment, I can see everyone’s eyes, we finally made it. Hall is filled with very hardly controlled laughter, non-stop chatting, sounds of people coming and finding good seats near their loved ones, rustling sounds of papers that were brought to prove identification and some brochures for future privileges as Canadians. I look proudly at my kids waving the small bright Canadian flags we were all given and notice how shiny the Red Maple leaf pin looks on my husband’s black coat. I look down at my Abaya and smile looking at my Maple leaf pin, such a beautiful treasure to keep. My kids loudly ask me to come in the selfie they are taking, it is too loud in here to talk quietly anyways. We all come closer and a click makes a memory of a lifetime. My daughter posts it on Facebook and in no time my family starts congratulating us, I feel so important being the first family of my relatives in Regina to become Canadian citizens.
Flashes of all the journey associated start coming to my mind. How hard it was to apply, finding all the documents, putting them all together and then the long wait times for approval. Then the heartbreaking part of leaving my home country, leaving loved ones, familiar smells, scrumptious foods, my familiar places behind, coming out of comfort zone, and coming here; all for the dream of keeping our children safe, happy and having chances to progress, without any limits to stop them. Today is the day! All the hard work is going to be paid off. We are going to be citizens of this beautiful place on earth, which has embraced us with so much love and respect. I could not be happier being part of any other nation than Canadians.
I am reading the amazing privileges we get for one year from today. We get 50% off on camping sites. Whoa! I have never been camping, now is the time. My heart is singing. Someone is wearing Lavender perfume nearby. I feel myself already on a campsite among beautiful flowers. Suddenly I see a lady approaching me. I am in the middle of seats, why is she coming to me? She comes close, leans on the side and tells me that I can not take Oath here. What!!!! Why???? I am panicked, My hands started sweating but quickly she tells me that since I am covering my face, I can not take oath as they need to see my lips saying the words of the oath. I am anxious to hear that, but she is calm. She takes me to a different room where its only me and her so I can open my face covering ( My religion only tells me to hide my face from men). It’s so quiet here that I can hear my heart racing. the room is filled with different flags and looks so formal. We stand in a corner and she hands me the paper copy of the oath. She starts saying the words of oath and I start repeating them. I SWEAR THAT I WILL BE FAITHFUL AND BEAR TRUE ALLEGIANCE…….It changes the feeling of my heart. How strongly connected I feel to Canada. Yes, I will be loyal, Yes I will. Now I have two countries to stand for, Yes I will be faithful to my new home too. Where my religious beliefs are respected and I am not humiliated by asking to take off my religious covering in front of everyone. I feel tears of joy trying to come around the corner of my eyes. She hugs me, It’s all going to be ok. I can not wait to go tell my kids that I became Canadian 2 minutes before them.
ECS110 