A human library breaks down walls

Organizers and participants in “The Human Library” on November 5; Monika Dacosta (manager, Total Compensation, Human Resources); Murtaza Haider (professor, Ted Rogers School of Management); Anver Saloojee (professor, assistant vice-president, Ryerson International); Katerina Belazelkoska (program manager, Chang School); Rudhra Persad (mentoring facilitator, Student Affairs); and Saher Fazilat (chief administrative officer at University of Toronto Mississauga, previously Ryerson’s assistant vice-president, Facilities Management and Development). Photos by Clifton Li.

On the eve of a U.S. midterm election that was fought over borders and walls, a unique event showcased and celebrated Ryerson’s immigrant stories.

“The Human Library” brought together six “human books” from the Ryerson community to share their stories of career success, related to their immigrant experiences. Held on November 5 at Heaslip House and hosted by the Immigrant Employees Community Network, the event was held in the spirit of education, understanding, and respect.

In his introductory remarks, event co-organizer Igor Rosic (graduate program administrator, Yeates School of Graduate Studies) quoted the poet John Donne’s truism “No man is an island,” and added, “It can be interpreted in modern times as a cry against isolationism and nationalism, which treats many people as the proverbial ‘other,’ excluded from the community.

“Many immigrants and newcomers can attest to various ways we may have been both excluded but also accepted and recognized. It’s exactly why events like this one today are so important.”

The six participants told their stories to, and fostered conversations with, rotating small groups, sharing advice about what helped them succeed as immigrants. The “human books” were Anver Saloojee (professor and assistant vice-president, Ryerson International); Katerina Belazelkoska, program manager, Workplace Communication in Canada Program, Chang School); Monika Dacosta (manager, Total Compensation in Ryerson HR); Murtaza Haider (professor, Ted Rogers School of Management); Rudhra Persad (mentoring facilitator, Student Affairs); and Saher Fazilat (former assistant vice-president, Facilities Management and Development). Together, they explored many of the challenges and opportunities of the immigrant experience, from social networks to family support to academics to mentoring.

                                                                       *

Born and raised in Hungary, Monika Dacosta came to Canada for what was supposed to be a year during university studies to immerse in English language studies. The plan changed when she met her now-husband, who after a period of separation and visits convinced her to come back.

She moved to Canada in 1994. But what to do with school? Dacosta decided after three years of university in Hungary to start over in Toronto, specifically at Ryerson, completing her bachelors in administration and information management, followed later by a certificate in business management to gain the Canadian credentials that seemed essential to find jobs. Since 1999, she has worked at Ryerson’s Human Resources department in various capacities, including as compensation advisor, senior HR planning analyst, to her current position as manager, total compensation.

That doesn’t mean the transition was easy. “You’re learning a new language, new culture, new traditions,” said Dacosta. “You’re missing a bit of history—some TV shows you’ve never heard of, some foods you’ve never seen, all kinds of little nuances of everyday life. I found it very hard at first to make friends, and deal with the stresses of everyday life without a family nearby.

“Making connections becomes easier once you start looking for commonalities, instead of seeing differences. If you’re just navigating with the notion of being different, and being afraid of missing something, it’s difficult—you’re building your own barriers because you’re afraid of not fitting in. Once I had my kids, the school parenting community was great. Having other moms on the kindergarten playground, or other neighbourhood folks with small kids—making those connections really helped, and you do it for your kids, like all immigrants do.”

Another challenge for Dacosta has been to keep alive her family’s connection to its roots. “It was a really conscious effort of speaking at home with [my children] in Hungarian, and making a lot of trips home so they don’t see the family as strangers. They’re not in Hungary day-to-day, so it’s really difficult to make that connection. So, ensuring that they feel comfortable with family back home is important.”

                                                                       *

Katerina Belazelkoska lived in Macedonia until 2001, when the Yugoslav Wars reached the country. The decision to move was both sudden and inconvenient. “I was a principal of a secondary vocational school, my husband had his own business, we had two teenage daughters and aging parents,” she said in an interview with Ryerson Today. “But following the armed conflict that started in February of 2001, Macedonia found itself at the edge of a civil war.”

Belazelkoska applied for graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and was accepted, and within three-and-a-half months of deciding to leave the country, the family had a new home. She completed her master’s degree and PhD Educational Administration in the American Midwest, but decided that the United States was not the country for her and her family. “It was not that easy. It was tough to move once again. I left Macedonia at the age of 45, and then, six years later had to start from scratch.”

She arrived in Canada in 2007, and though starting from scratch, the second move was less of a culture shock than the first. “We were familiar with Canada, and we felt very much at home here. We were glad that our daughters felt the same way too. We made a lot of friends in the community. Both my husband, an electrical engineer, and I found jobs and started working in our fields in less than 4 months after landing.”

Since 2007, Belazelkoska worked in a range of roles at the Chang School’s Gateway for International Professionals. Currently, she is the program manager of the Workplace Communication in Canada (WCC) Program and teaches one of the interdisciplinary courses in the Immigration and Settlement Studies program.

“Employers tell us that international communication skills are needed for recent graduates, but especially for newcomers who may not understand the whys and hows of Canadian workplace culture,” said Belazelkoska.

“On a daily basis, I am in a position to help immigrants like me. I provide them with information about bridge training programs and advise them on the path to a regulated profession or an alternative career.  It is extremely rewarding and fulfilling  to see people these highly educated and experienced new Canadians bridge the gap,  get their credentials recognized and find gainful employment.”

                                                                       *

Both sides of Anver Saloojee’s family were involved in the struggle against South African apartheid, and his uncle, an ANC (African National Congress) combatant, was killed. Such activism made life difficult for Saloojee and his family in the mid 1960s. They moved to Zambia until the government effectively declared ANC members prohibited immigrants. “As South Africans we were along with many others, technically declared stateless”. In November 1967, Saloojee’s family attained visas to Canada, where there was high demand for nurses like Saloojee’s mother. “I think we were amongst the fortunate ones, thanks to what my mother did. But if it wasn’t for her nursing, I don’t think we’d be here”

By day, Saloojee attended school on a United Nations scholarship for refugees; by night, he worked in factories. Today, he is one of Ryerson’s greatest success stories: a respected scholar on equity and human rights, a professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration since 1987, a special advisor to the provost and vice-president, academic, and assistant vice-president, Ryerson International.

In 1996, his life came full circle when he returned to South Africa for a year to work with Nelson Mandela’s government on the amalgamation of a white and black city. From 2004 to 2008, he took a leave of absence from Ryerson to serve as an advisor to the Ministry of the Presidency of the Government of South Africa. “It was a unique and interesting time of transition to democracy,” he said.

Saloojee has lived around the world, and this informs his identity. When asked when he felt truly settled in Toronto, he replied, “You’re never quite settled anywhere. I see myself as an international citizen. I’m comfortable going where I need to go, and I’m always a little unsettled anywhere. … I would consider myself a transnational citizen.” When asked if there are any places he wouldn’t work, he said, “I wouldn’t work in the United States. I’d work in, maybe, communities there—but fundamentally, right now… I can’t see myself working in the U.S.”