Sumit Ahmed went to Toronto, Canada, from Sylhet five months ago. Despite his relentless job hunt, success remains elusive.
Twice daily, he traverses Danforth Avenue, a hub known as a "Bangladeshi area," hoping for opportunities through any of his Bangladeshi brethren. When asked how he was coping with the difficult situation, Sumit said for the time being he was getting by on the money the government provided (around CA$700 per person for political asylum seekers).
Hasmat Shikder is in the same boat. Formerly an expatriate living in Qatar, Hasmat hails from Biyanibazar, Sylhet. Like Sumit, he moved to Toronto on a tourist visa three months ago for a better life. However, he now aspires to settle as a refugee in Canada.
He has not gotten a work permit and cannot find a job legally.
Hasmat has been desperately looking for work through other means but that is not getting him anywhere either. In such circumstances, he is distraught at the thought of rent and food expenses, with the funds he brought with him almost drained.
Many Bangladeshis like Sumit and Hasmat walk around the Danforth neighbourhood every day. From morning till late at night, the main topic of many of their discussion is always this: how and where to get a job.
Many of them arrived in Canada on tourist visas but now want to become permanent residents of the country.
Danforth provides a glimpse of how Bangladeshis who recently came to Canada are doing. While the visa categories vary, the problem for all is one and the same – getting a job.
Leaving good jobs in Bangladesh for a better life abroad
Sulaiman Shaheed, a Bangladeshi who moved to Canada as an immigrant, and his wife both worked at private organizations in Dhaka making fairly good money.
The couple arrived in Toronto in October last year through the Express Entry program.
Although his wife has started working at an NGO, Sulaiman has yet to find a job to his liking.
He said Canada was certainly good for immigrants, but it was not for everyone. “It is not as easy as just coming here and getting a job. One has to wait at least six months to a year to land a decent job. In the meantime, one must have enough cash to survive here because it will be an arduous journey otherwise.
“I have applied to various organizations in the last few months, but I am not getting positive responses from anywhere. The Canadian government has many good programs for newcomers like me, but they all take up a great deal of time to utilize.”
Lack of strong community
Sulaiman said he believed the lack of a strong community of Bangladeshis was another reason for newcomers not getting jobs quickly, adding that Bangladeshis did not get the kind of support that Indians or Pakistanis got from their communities as newcomers.
He also blamed a lack of skills. “Many lack even the basic proficiency in English required for employment in this environment.”
Meanwhile, journalist Gazi Salauddin Mahmud said there was no scarcity of work in Canada's mainstream job market because the government controlled it. “That is to say that Canada brings in the number of immigrants it needs every year.”
The scenario was different outside the mainstream job market, he said, adding that two things had to be considered for that: skills and the type of visa obtained to enter the country.
“In the last two years, many Bangladeshis have come [to Canada] on tourist visas."
One cannot get a job legally with this kind of visa. However, there are other ways of earning money, such as working for cash remuneration. These cash-in-hand jobs are usually community-based: a Bangladeshi helps out another Bangladeshi by providing cash in exchange for work and gets cheap labour in return.
Since the number of Bangladeshis who can provide employment is not that high, such opportunities are hard to come by compared to the increase in the number of Bangladeshis who have gone to Canada on tourist visas in the last two years.
Skill issue
Salahuddin is of the opinion that some of those who are coming to Canada on student visas lack skills.
“Indian boys and girls can adapt themselves to any situation quickly; Bangladeshi boys and girls cannot do that. As a result, those offering jobs are choosing relatively qualified people. That is where the Bangladeshis are falling behind.”
Working on travel visas
Most of the migrations of Bangladeshis to Canada in the past few months have been on tourist visas. Many want to settle there, but the process of their becoming permanent residents is not easy.
Firstly, it is impossible to get a job legally on a tourist visa. They have to get “job offers” to get work, and that too must be from an institution registered with the Canadian government. Organizations generally do not consider someone on a tourist visa for employment unless they have particular skills.
As a result, most of the people coming from Bangladesh on tourist visas seek political asylum later. However, this process is expensive as well as time-consuming. Anyone who applies for asylum through a good lawyer has to fork up CA$10,000 to CA$12,000 (approximately Tk9-Tk10 lakh) in legal fees. Moreover, the entire process takes at least five years.
Despite these issues, many Bangladeshis are choosing this option to settle in Canada.
Two such individuals are Shah Farhad and Abul Ahsan, currently living in Scarborough, originating from Sylhet and previously engaged in business ventures in Bangladesh.
Abul has applied to become a refugee through a lawyer, while Shah Farhad will observe the situation for a few days before deciding whether to settle in Canada or return home.
These two and others like them quickly come to understand within a few days of their arrival that there is a lot of disparity between their aspirations and the harsh realities of their situation. On the one hand, they do not get work because they do not have a work permit; on the other hand, they have to shell out huge sums of money for rent and food every month, along with legal fees.
Abul said he would not return home as he had spent a lot of money to come to Canada. “I have to stay here come hell or high water.''
Certain organizations extend assistance to jobless immigrants by offering free food three days a week. One notable example is Feed Scarborough. Individuals from diverse backgrounds, including Bangladesh, queue up in freezing temperatures to receive meals, dreaming of better days.
