Q&A with Alka Kumar

In her research to prepare for the “StOries” creative writing project for CERC Migration, Alka Kumar stumbled upon an anthology project similar to her own. As someone who researches and assists internationally educated immigrants with job market integration in Canada, she believes that one of the ways to mentor newcomers and immigrants is to share her own story of how she overcame the dark days of immigrating to a new land. Alka’s story “Our Migration Journeys in Canada” was printed in the collection of stories Finding the Way, produced by the Immigrant Writers Association.   

Why was it important for you to share your immigration story? 

I try to use any opportunity that comes my way to teach through mentoring. Sharing an inspirational story helps me do that, and I believe the stories we hear from each other also help us all know that we’re not alone.

In your story, you describe a life in Delhi where you were thriving as an English professor, but you gave it up to come to Canada, to lead the life of Sisyphus, forever fighting the up-hill battle. Why did you make that choice, and what did you have to give up?

I moved to Canada as part of a family move when my spouse received a job offer, and I became a ‘trailing spouse.’ We both share a sense of adventure, and when we got the opportunity to realize the ‘Canadian dream,’ we decided to give it a shot. I was excited to have the opportunity, and I didn’t look at it in terms of a deficit, or look back with sadness at all I gave up, as I’m also well aware of how much I have gained. I have had the opportunity to go back to school at a mature stage in my career and a chance to dabble in new ideas, and to be exposed to a variety of methodologies for learning and doing. And that’s what I say to the men and women I work with. I encourage them not to look at migration transition from a lens of ‘what am I losing’ but instead reflect on ‘what am I gaining.’ I know well that it’s not easy. When you are in a dark place, you can’t see it.

How do you help the newcomers you encounter who are discouraged and living in that dark place? 

The one thing I always encourage people to do is think of your assets. When I ask, “What’s your biggest challenge?” some might respond, I don’t have good English, but I hear them speak, and it is not bad at all. In Canada, we know that people from different parts of the world bring their own versions of English and ways of speaking, and why wouldn’t they? We are a diverse nation of peoples, and we value this diversity.

One of the serious problems many people face when new in the country is the plummeting of their confidence. I know this personally: I used to write in India regularly for newspapers and magazines, and it has taken me years to get back to writing. When people send out hundreds of resumes that just seem to go into a black hole, it’s hard to believe in yourself, or be able to imagine that things will turn around.

In your own story, you finally stopped feeling like Sisyphus pushing the boulder up-hill. How did this come about?

I learned that it was important to take small steps, to keep going, and also to think in terms of short, medium and long-term goals, like they are all small pieces of a longer journey. Initially we have to believe that these tiny increments will all add up. These small successes went a long way to build my own self-confidence. One of my research participants told me how inadequate she felt when she was either not invited for an interview or when she failed at them, but finally she got that job she was after. When I ran into her months later, excitedly she said, “It’s all good now because I realize that it wasn’t about me at all. I was there earlier too, but they just did not see me. Now I know I’m as good as them, actually better as I train others now.” Newcomers need a chance to get their confidence back. It’s the little things that can give that ego boost that are so important. That’s why I keep trying – to meet people where they’re at, and to help them to ‘see’ themselves for who they already are.

Read the essay “Our Migration Journeys in Canada” by Alka Kumar in Finding the Way, published by the Immigrant Writers Association.