“We were attacked by pirates three times,” says Florence. “I was too young to know exactly what was happening or to understand the danger, but I do remember the feeling that something very serious was happening, that something was not right.”

Plucked from the sea by Malaysian authorities, Florence, her sister, mother and father spent the next six months in a crowded refugee camp with thousands of others who’d taken the same chance on freedom.

Eventually, Florence and her family met with a Canadian immigration official, who left a lasting impression.

“He was the first Caucasian person I had ever seen,” she says.

Florence recalls the feelings more than the actual events. “There were medical examinations, the dentist, interviews. I remember feeling the seriousness of the situation,” she says. “I could tell my parents were very concerned, very worried.”

Florence also remembers her father being very upset when the immigration officials said that the refugee family would be going to Québec City — a place of which he’d never heard.

“He begged for us to be allowed to go to Toronto or Montréal,” Florence says, laughing. “He said, ‘I cannot have my family living in an igloo. We must have electricity.’ ”

Once the matter of electricity was cleared up, the family went to Québec City.

“Our first home was very simple, and not in a very good part of the city,” says Florence. “But the people who lived in the neighbourhood, even though they had little themselves, were so generous, so welcoming.”

“The man who lived next door to us built me a little toy car from wood. I will never forget that little toy car.”

Today, Florence, a graduate of Laval University, works in Ottawa with Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

“I always wanted to be in public service of some kind,” she says. “I felt this was the best way to thank Canada and Canadians for taking us in, for giving us a new and better life—by working to make Canada even better.”

Florence is also deeply grateful to her parents.

“I realize now how difficult and what a struggle it was for them,” she says. “They did such extraordinary things for my sister and me to give us a better life.”

In January of 2008, Florence and her sister travelled to Vietnam.

“After all that time I spent as a child feeling sort of disconnected, to be back in the country where I was born, standing in front of the embassy of my new country—it’s hard to describe the feeling: strange and wonderful at the same time.”

Florence hopes that some day she will be able to work for Canada in another country, perhaps even in Vietnam.

“It’s such a thriving, vibrant place,” she says. “I believe our two countries have a great deal to offer one another, and I would love to play a part in bringing us closer together. It would be like closing the circle for me.”

Thirteen years later, she is a manager in Alberta’s department of education and has just welcomed the rest of her family to this country.

Vivian believes that success is achievable if people are willing to work for it.

“The sky is the limit for immigrant women,” she says. “We can go places where no one has ever been and forge the path for others.”

Vivian moved to Canada as a permanent resident in 1995 after being sponsored by her husband, Norm, whom she met and married when he was visiting family in Lebanon.

Settling with Norm in Edmonton, Vivian worked as a math tutor and in a bakery while also taking university classes for three years to earn a Bachelor of Education.

As if that wasn’t enough to keep her busy, Vivian also had two children during that time and has since had a third. She credits her in-laws for taking care of her children while she completed her degree.

After graduating, Vivian was hired by the Edmonton Public School Board to teach mathematics and science and, after only a year, became head of the mathematics department in her school.

While teaching full-time, she also completed a masters degree and moved on to work for Alberta Education, first as a consultant, then as a program manager in mathematics, and now as Senior Manager in the Department’s Official Languages section.

In February 2008, Vivian extended her family in Canada when her mother, father and three brothers arrived in Edmonton. Sponsored by Vivian, they came here as permanent residents and are already settling into work and school in Canada.

“They describe their arrival in Canada as the discovery of a gem,” says Vivian.

Vivian continues to upgrade her skills by taking leadership courses. She is a Sunday school teacher, a choir member and President of the Antiochian Women of St. Philip Orthodox Church in Edmonton. She also volunteers her time to help newcomers who, like her, have moved to Canada from other countries.

While her own drive and ambition have been key to her success, Vivian also credits her friends, her community and her entire family for their support.

“Alone, we go fast,” she says, “but together, we go far.”

The Iranian-born-and-trained physician immigrated to Canada with her husband and young daughter in the summer of 2002. Sepideh says they left behind a good life.

“I’d been practising medicine for five years. My husband had a good job. We were successful, but we wanted something better for our daughter—a place where we wouldn’t have to worry about bombs being dropped on our heads.”

They settled in Toronto, and while Sepideh says they enjoyed being part of the city’s active Iranian community, she is candid about the family’s difficulties.

“We didn’t speak English very well and our savings ran out within a couple of months. Since we came from Iran, no one here knew anything about our qualifications and we had to take any work we could find just to survive.”

Sepideh’s husband, with a master’s degree in chemistry, worked as a labourer. She went from one medical office to another, searching for work.

“I would have taken anything in the medical field, a clerk’s job, anything,” she says. “I couldn’t even get a job as volunteer!”

While she looked for work, Sepideh took classes to improve her English, and eventually found a job as a cashier in a drug store. Although this helped her family’s finances and gave her a chance to work on her language skills, her health was suffering.

That’s when things started to change. When she visited a doctor and described her symptoms with precise medical terminology, Sepideh was asked by the doctor if she was a nurse.

“As soon as I said I was a doctor, he said he knew exactly what was wrong with me,” says Sepideh, noting that the physician told her that stress was affecting her health because she lacked a way to put her training into practice.

An immigrant to Canada himself, the doctor pointed Sepideh to a special licensing program at the University of Toronto. She was accepted into the program in 2003 and completed the program over the next four years.

Today, Sepideh and her family have moved to St. John’s, where she is now practising medicine.

“It was hard, especially for my husband, who worked all those years at survival jobs to support us while I was training,” she says. “But now my husband is working on his PhD at Memorial University, I have a busy practice, and our daughter is doing well.”
Sepideh is unsure about what the future may hold and says it could depend on where her husband is able to find work after he finishes his PhD.

“I sometimes miss big-city life,” she adds, “although we went back to Toronto last year and it seemed so big and crowded and busy. St. John’s is so relaxed and friendly, and I’m only ten minutes from anywhere I need to be.”

Wherever they settle, this time, it will be as Canadians. In 2007, Sepideh, her husband and daughter all became Canadian citizens.

“It’s like a Cinderella story,” she says. “We went from mopping floors to being flown to Ottawa for the 60th anniversary of Canadian citizenship. We got our certificates from the Governor General.”

“I can’t describe how wonderful I felt that day, and how good it feels to have the freedom of being a Canadian.”