Before finally making his way to Canada, Hozifa was no stranger to instability: at 18 years old, Hozifa — a Syrian national born and raised in Iraq — was forcibly displaced due to the Iraq War. Since then, he’s been in constant search of a home where he would have the security to build his life. 

“When the war started, it was not safe to stay in Iraq,” he says. “I left Iraq for Syria and lived there for two years, and then I moved to Jordan.”

Despite the fact that his mother was from Jordan, Hozifa did not have Jordanian citizenship. As a refugee without legal status, it was difficult for him to find work commensurate with his skills as a maintenance technician, and his wife, Yasemin, could not study to find alternative opportunities for their family. 

“I lived in Jordan for 13 years, and I worked as a mechanic or maintenance technician there for 10 years. I did other things, but my speciality was in these things. In Jordan, everything was expensive, and we didn’t have any money.” 

In 2016, 10 years after Hozifa had first left Iraq, he stumbled upon a post about Talent Beyond Boundaries on Facebook and registered himself on the Talent Catalog. Sometime later, he received a call from TBB about a potential interview for a job in Canada. 

He immediately jumped at the chance to change his life. 

A New Start in Canada

TBB first reached out to Hozifa to assess whether he would be a good fit for a maintenance technician position in Canada. From there, they helped him prepare for job interviews and provided him access to online and in-person courses in Jordan to increase his competitiveness and improve his English skills. 

Following a series of remote interviews, Hozifa was offered a role with Ice River Springs, an eco-friendly beverage company based in Shelburne, Ontario. 

Once he began his next chapter in Canada, he was pleasantly surprised by the kindness he received from his employers. 

“When I started work here, it was clear that [my boss] cared,” Hozifa says. “He gave me training and helped me to get started. When I got here, my home was even furnished by them. I start work at 3:00am because I like my work now. In Jordan, I didn’t feel like this.” 

Moving to Shelburne also opened doors for his wife and two children, though it took some time for all of them to adjust to a new country. The nearest grocery store that offers Arab staples is in Mississauga, over an hour away. Hozifa, along with other TBB candidates employed by Ice River Springs, occasionally travel together to get Middle Eastern groceries — usually once a month. 

Hozifa’s family is excited for Yasemin to study and for their children to receive access to great schools in their neighbourhood, which had previously felt elusive when they were living in displacement in Jordan. 

Since moving to Canada, Yasemin has started volunteering at their daughter’s school and has taken online courses for English, which she is now able to speak conversationally — a major feat considering that she did not speak English before they had moved to Shelburne.

Reflecting on how their hard work and perseverance led to the opportunity to rebuild their lives, Hozifa is grateful to be sharing his talent with his employer in Canada.

“I’m not thinking about changing jobs anytime soon,” Hozifa says. “To come here, to get paid well, everything is good in life. There’s school for my kids and my wife can study and go to university now. Everything is easier here.” 

With files from Yusuf Roumeliotis, TBB Volunteer