When Fairuz summed up life In Canada
Life in Canada is heaven and hell…cruelty and tenderness…challenges, adventures, and fun.
The secret of the smile and happiness that prevail in the midst of the harshest – and most beautiful – conditions.
Life in Canada is experienced in three distinct colours.
Cultural diversity is the basis of life in Canada.
‘Men come last after children, women, and dogs’.
The strong and impactful presence of the Arab community in Canada.
Hossam Abdel Kader
Snow… immigrants… freedom…cultural diversity… green spaces… these all form an integral part of life in Canada; indeed, it’s impossible to speak of life there without mentioning them.
The incomparable Fairuz summed up life in Canada to a great extent in her song ‘My Little House in Canada’, where she says:
No one knows the way to my little house in Canada
Its roof tiles are covered in snow
The meadow is full of trees where birds perch, rest, then fly away
On the tiles of my little house in Canada, every time it snows, I wait for the snow to melt
Every time the sky clouds over, I wait for spring to return.
My little house in Canada is surrounded by endless space
Its door has no key: my mind is at rest
In my little house in Canada, only my voice and its echo can be heard
No friends, no neighbors, only the moon staying up late
I think of you and yearn for you, I grieve and feel the emptiness of your absence
At the door of my little house in Canada, I light a fire and wait for you to return, my beloved
To be by my side so I won’t be left, a stranger
I want no visitors in my little house in Canada
Only the one my heart has chosen and told its secrets to
To see you, I would cross the universe… and find my happiness here.
The lyrics were written by Rima Rahbani and the music composed by Louis Gasté; the original song, Ma Cabane au Canada, was sung by the French singer Line Renaud and harks back to the year 1947.
When you step on Canadian soil, you feel transported to a life different from any other; you are on another planet, not just another continent. You experience heaven and hell, sweetness and bitterness; you live in the midst of formidable challenges, and acquire a plethora of skills in a short time without being aware of it. And you find yourself in love with Canada without even realizing that you have fallen under its spell.
The amount of green spaces everywhere is the first thing you notice when you arrive in Canada: there are no streets without trees, and every house, big or small, has a lawn or a small garden around it; moreover, every residential area has its own park, a large green space with playing fields and recreational activities; some have swimming pools for children and adults, and there are swings and games for the little ones. Every district has its own park that differs from those in other areas, and there is always something going on: competitions for young and old, celebrations and festivals, and all free of charge.
All this resplendent greenery turns to white when the snow begins to fall, and life changes completely. You feel as though you’re in a different country to the one you thought you knew, and fresh experiences and adventures now begin to unfold.
Life in three colours
In the span of one year, Canada lives through three different colours: the vivid green of summer, which gradually begins to turn into colourful red and yellow in the autumn before the leaves begin to fall. And when the trees have shed their leaves, the second colour takes over: grey, with the bare branches of trees providing an awe-inspiring sight
Seeing the trees shed their leaves in the autumn drives one to contemplate the ingenuity of God; the trees discard their leaves and become completely bare in preparation for the blanket of white soon to come, then, when winter is over, they clothe themselves once more in green, which turns to yellow and red, in a never-ending cycle.
These natural scenes that occur throughout the year lead one to meditate in awe, for man has no hand in them, and can only adapt and make use of nature to the best of his ability.
The third colour is white, a colour that announces the beginning of winter when all of Canada turns white and is completely covered in snow.
Life in the midst of snow
Living in the midst of snow is not just hard; it has its own mores which every newcomer to Canada needs to internalize; there are the special winter clothes made to withstand temperatures that can fall to 40 degrees Celsius below zero, and shoes that need to be lined and which have special soles that make it possible to walk on the snow; in fact, the last thing you think about when buying a pair of shoes is how they look!
Then you need to wear leggings underneath your trousers; there are thermal ones that don’t let the cold in, and your face and your extremities have their own special accessories: gloves are a must and cannot be dispensed with, and ears have a special covering as well; a hat, of course, lined with wool, and a woolen scarf round the neck. There are also special masks that completely cover the face and neck, leaving only the eyes exposed, so you can’t tell whether the person passing you in the street is a man or a woman.
All these garments are taken off as soon as you enter your home or office, as all indoor spaces are heated; even your shoes must be removed because they will invariably be soaking wet.
However, there are always exceptions to the rule: you can sometimes find, in the midst of the snow and icy temperatures of twenty below, people walking along in nothing but a jacket worn over a T-shirt, or a girl in a miniskirt; you can’t help but feel that these are alien beings from outer space, not ordinary people living in the same place!
The car in a white coat
Dressing suitably is not the only skill you need to acquire: driving on snowy roads is another. Cars are buried under the snow every day, and it’s sometimes hard to identify your own car when all vehicles are covered in a coat of white snow. You need to use special snow-cleaning equipment, and it can take up to half an hour to clear the car of snow, depending on how thick it is, a fact you need to take into account when making an appointment, particularly if work related.
Once you’ve managed to extricate your car from under the snow, the next challenge comes: how to drive it on snowy roads. Cars tend to slide rather than roll along, and if you brake, the car carries on moving; you have far less control over it in the snow, and need to learn how to drive slowly and to avoid stopping suddenly in order to avoid – God forbid – causing an accident, although these are fairly frequent.
In spite of the country’s commendable efforts to clear the snow, the amount of snow falling often exceeds the capacity of the snow-clearing vehicles and equipment to keep up with it. These begin with the main roads, then move on to the side streets; the clearing takes place in two stages, first the snow is lifted from the road and stacked on both sides of the street, then other vehicles see to its removal, in a noticeably quick and coordinated process.
Then another snowstorm comes, and the snow piles up again, almost as though there were some sort of covert competition between the snow and the government’s snow clearing equipment; a competition which continues with no clear winner until winter is over.
All this is nothing compared to the icy rain that causes what is known as black ice, a coat of transparent ice that sticks to the ground and is as slippery as soap, making it impossible to walk on the pavement or road; you see people literally ‘dancing’ as they walk along trying to keep their balance, a process akin to tightrope walking in a circus! There are special devices for shoes that are fixed on to the soles to help prevent slipping on the ice, but these aren’t very practical. Needless to say, driving on black ice is even more difficult than driving on snow, with the same problem of being unable to control the car.
When you get out of the car to get to your home or a shop, you need to walk very carefully to avoid falling; they call this type of walking ‘the penguin walk’ because you have to move one foot, stop, then move the other next to it, and so on. It’s even worse if you’re carrying shopping bags as there’s nothing to hold on to with your hands full; if you look around you, the scene looks like a movie filmed in slow motion, with everybody moving extremely slowly to get to where they’re going.
However, when it comes to children, it’s another matter: it’s wonderful how children in Canada enjoy playing in the snow, skating on ice, and building snowmen in front of their homes, completely indifferent to the biting cold. It really warms the heart to see how people here seek enjoyment in every single season, and I can’t help but admire the young people who go running in shorts in temperatures of thirty degrees below zero; I feel as though they’re from another planet and have supernatural powers!
Smiles everywhere in spite of Covid
In the midst of these harsh conditions and daily challenges, you see smiles on people’s faces wherever you go, which drives one to wonder: how can people be so happy, cheerful and carefree in spite of these relentlessly hard conditions; conditions imposed by nature that human beings have no hand in? These people have succeeded in adapting themselves to this harsh environment and in turning it into a source of enjoyment and of strength, to the extent that Canada has become one of the top ten strongest economies in the world, and the leading country in attracting immigrants from all over the world.
People here actively seek sources of happiness, and know how to enjoy life with the simplest of means and resources; a family will go to the nearest park with their grill and have a barbecue; they’ll eat, dance, and sing happily for several hours, then go home to bed. Quite simply, and at no extra cost, they’ve moved from their home to another location, and with the same food and drink they would have had for lunch or supper.
People will go for long runs as a form of exercising and of releasing any negative energy while having an enjoyable time; others will go cycling, and so on.
Happiness is contagious; it passes from one person to another incredibly quickly: you can’t possibly react to a smile with a grumpy face, so you smile back and before you know it, your mood has changed without your realizing it!
And in spite of the disappointment felt by most people these days because of Covid and its impact on us, with Christmas and the New Year passing by with no festivities, and with hefty fines of up to 6500 dollars imposed on those who flouted the rules and insisted on going out and gathering to celebrate, people still did their best to enjoy themselves in every way possible and to deal with the crisis without losing their smiles.
Life amidst cultural diversity
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants come to Canada every year, in addition to the refugees who have been coming in ever-increasing numbers over the past few years as a result of the deplorable political events in several countries, notably in Syria, Iraq and Yemen in the Arab world. Canada has in fact become the foremost country worldwide to take in refugees.
These immigrants have created an atmosphere of rare cultural diversity where you find yourself living amongst a number of different cultures simultaneously, all of which coexist in a state of problem-free harmony where everyone adheres to their traditions, customs, and forms of worship in absolute and unconditional freedom. Under existing laws, no one has the right to interfere in the affairs of others and everyone is equal so long as they abide by the law.
The first time I went to a mosque for Friday prayers, I was surprised to find that most mosques hold two prayers, the first in French and the second in Arabic; other mosques preach the Friday sermon in both Arabic and English, where the preacher provides an immediate translation of every passage he delivers. I performed Friday prayers twice, the first time in French and the second in Arabic; as I sat in the mosque, I looked around and saw a variety of faces covering the colour spectrum from white to dark brown and every shade in between, and thought to myself, “Glory be to God, the Most High, who said: ‘We made you into nations and tribes so that you may get to know one another.’”
Masha’Allah, by God’s grace, all the mosques are overflowing with worshippers; during Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, I went to the ‘Gameya’ mosque, the Canadian Islamic Centre in Montreal, a grand, very imposing edifice, which was so crowded that there was barely room to stand. It was a heartwarming sight to see this huge assembly of worshippers filling the immense expanse of the mosque. This was, of course, before Covid and its restrictions.
Muslims organize festivities to celebrate the various religious holidays, where, with the permission of the authorities, they take over part of a public park and carry out their celebrations in complete freedom, and the same applies to all religions and all ethnic groups: everyone is free to do what they wish as long as it is falls within the law.
The famous quotation by Imam Mohamed Abdou perfectly summarizes life in Canada, America, or Europe: “I went to the West and found Islam, but no Muslims; in the East, I found Muslims, but no Islam.” Canada boasts a society that can truly be described as adhering to Islamic values: it promotes social justice and collective responsibility and solidarity; it takes from the rich to give to the poor; it encourages positive values and decent behavior, but does not advocate prayer – any form of prayer. Sadly, the opposite holds true in our societies.
People who attend prayers here don’t do so to show off, or to be seen as pious, simply because no one cares whether you pray or not: people mind their own business, because a person’s relationship with God is very personal and no one else’s concern.
Mosques and churches are plentiful here; Montreal, where I live, is known as the city with a hundred churches, and you can always here the church bells ringing regardless of whether there are any worshippers inside the churches or not.
Rites are performed in perfect freedom as long as they don’t impinge on the freedom of others; you are free as long as you harm no one, within the precincts of a strict law that permits freedom in every sense of the word. You are also called upon to accept the freedom of others without ever showing disapproval even with the slightest look or gesture; to do so would be an infringement of the other person’s freedom.
A culture that respects the Other
In the society you now find yourself in, you’ll hear expressions new to your ears that will astonish you, especially if you’re an Arab, such as “I have a boyfriend/girlfriend” which you might have come across in an American movie or watched with a touch of derision in an Arabic film, but hearing this in real life is another thing altogether!
You must also accept the fact that there are homosexuals who live in the same society as yourself; they are acknowledged by the state, and you can neither scorn them nor deny their existence.
Sometimes this is easier said than done; we can call for tolerance in our articles and opinion columns, yet feel a sense of ignominy and shame when we come across this phenomenon in real life, until we get used to it or learn to ignore it.
However, some immigrants can’t come to terms with this way of life and prefer to return to their own countries, despite all the efforts made and money spent to get an opportunity to emigrate.
Yes means yes and no means no
Here in Canada, just because a woman smiles at you or initiates a conversation doesn’t mean that she fancies you or is trying to come on to you; things are much simpler here and people say what they mean directly without any of the hidden meanings that only exist inside our own minds! Here, yes means yes and no means no, so if someone offers you a drink and you say, “no thanks,” then as far as they’re concerned, you really don’t want it: they will not repeat the offer several times until you finally accept it as is the custom in our Arab countries.
‘Men are last on the list’
A famous saying here in Canada is that men come last on the list of priorities after children, women, and animals. However, this is a truth being deliberately twisted to sound negative, propagated by immigrants when confronted with society’s overwhelming concern for children, women and animals, contrary to the state of affairs in their own countries where men reign supreme when it comes to social and cultural rights. The truth is that every person in society enjoys equal rights regardless of gender: all are equal.
Canadian law grants women full rights, as stated in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; these include the right to work, travel, vote, marry, divorce, and remarry, all in complete equality with men; women cannot be discriminated against for their gender, age, social status, or sexual preference.
Canadian law does not automatically grant the right of custody to women alone; it focuses rather on the welfare and safety of the children, meaning that whoever is seen as capable of providing security and a decent life for the children is granted custody, and this is almost always with the agreement of both sides involved.
Men in Canada can’t take a second wife; the law forbids bigamy, and if it is proved that a man has more than one wife, he can be sentenced to up to five months imprisonment.
Children are of paramount importance in Canada; the law protects them to an extent that we Arabs sometimes feel is excessive, and there are even those who warn would-be emigrants to Canada that the state could take their children away from them and place them into care homes!
This seems laughable, but in some cases, it can actually happen, but how?
Canadian law categorically prohibits the beating of children for any reason whatsoever, but the culture of Egyptian and Arab fathers sees beating children as an essential part of their upbringing, and children in our societies understand this completely; in fact it is common for youngsters to share jokes and stories about the good thrashings they got from their father and the story behind each, spinning humorous anecdotes around them, but things here in Canada are very different, and there is nothing funny at all about hitting a child.
If it’s proved that a father or mother has beaten a child, they’re punished by having the child taken away and placed in a care facility or with another family who will undertake the child’s upbringing, a very harsh punishment indeed. Sometimes, it’s the neighbors who report the matter if they see a child being beaten, as they see this as a violation of the law, while in schools, children are instructed to call the police at once if anyone hits them, even if it’s their parents who do so.
Another sight I found very strange at first was to see an old person over seventy out walking in a temperature of twenty degrees below zero in the middle of a snowstorm, with the streets covered in white and the danger of slipping very possible, and to my intense astonishment, finding them holding a leash with a dog or two at the end of it!
I thought at first that the elderly man or woman must have been been advised by a doctor to walk for health reasons no matter what the weather conditions were, and that they were taking their dogs along for company. However, I turned out to be greatly mistaken, and the opposite was true: it’s the dog who needs to walk because sitting indoors for a long time can lead to depression and a daily walk is essential for the animal’s well-being.
This is neither an exaggeration nor do I in any way intend to be disparaging, I’m simply describing a way of life: animals here in Canada – and in most European countries – are profoundly important and indeed esteemed and respected; it’s never a question of simply having a pet to play with; animals, and especially dogs, who enjoy top status with Canadians, play an important role and are considered part of the family; they can replace an absent husband, or a child that was never born; they also play an essential role with the elderly as guide dogs and helpers after receiving special training.
As soon as you step into the street in Canada, you’ll notice that most people walking are accompanied by one or two dogs, while inside many cars, the family dog will be sitting on the back seat happily looking out of the window!
Dogs enjoy full rights that must be lovingly observed by their owners in compliance with the law. Failure to do so can result in legal action being taken against them, especially if a neighbor sees and reports it.
Dogs have to be fed healthy food, and are given clothes to wear, not only for pampering or for show but to keep them warm in winter, with special footwear to protect them from ice and snow, and pullovers for those who can’t tolerate the icy weather; all easily available at any supermarket.
Of course, dogs must be taken out and exercised as I mentioned before; they also need to be trained to be friendly to people and other animals; if a dog causes any damage or disturbance, its owner is held legally and financially responsible.
A positive role for the Arab community
There is a strong Arab presence in Canadian society, socially, economically, and politically; several ministers and members of parliament in the Canadian government are of Arab descent, as well as a large number of businessmen. Many of the shops and restaurants are owned by Arabs, especially those from Lebanese and Syrian backgrounds. On a cultural level, there are Arab creatives in every field with recognizable achievements who have made a name for themselves here in Canada.
Contrary to what some may think, Arabs here help one another and are always ready to assist newcomers who are still finding their way around, whether by helping them find jobs or introducing them to the way of life in their new country.
The topic of life in Canada is extensive and can’t really be summarized in an article such as this, but I have tried to highlight the most salient features of life in this beautiful country that experiences the harshest and most beautiful natural conditions.
Originally published in Arabic in Tales from the Land of the Maple (حكايات من بلاد القيقب), Dar Almofaker Alaraby, Cairo.
Shirin Abedinirad, Heaven on Earth, 2014. Installation art, Treviso, Italy. Presented at Fabrica, the Research Center of United Colors of Benetton, the work draws on Persian architectural traditions and Islamic geometry to transform a staircase into a mirrored passage of light. Echoing the artist’s vision that “mirrors give light,” the installation turns sky into ground and reflection into a fleeting vision of paradise, inviting viewers into a meditation on beauty, wonder, and spiritual transformation. Artwork courtesy of featured artist Shirin Abedinirad.
