Perceptions of Canada before coming here

[hammad.khan]

Hello all,

I'm a PhD candidate and am studying the settlement of Pakistani newcomers to Canada. This also involves a focus on national identity and belonging. I was wondering what people's impressions of Canada were before coming here. Although I'm mostly interested in people from Pakistan, anyone is welcome to chime in. Please leave a comment here. I will be using these in my research without using anyone's name or username in any way. Thank you

 

[hammad.khan]

I'll start it off myself. I came here when I was 13 years old with my family from Karachi. I used to think Canada was a place where you did whatever you wanted as a child. We didn't have a lot of freedom in Pakistan. Most of this was based on what my cousin's used to tell me. I also thought that it was a place where you only spoke English, and not being able to speak English meant you just didn't speak. I wasn't aware of the diversity here. But this was the perspective of a 13 year old remember.