Kim Okran publishes autobiography. - Photo courtesy of Kim Okran

Vancouver business woman Kim Okran runs 20 International Student Centres. Her early years in Canada puts a human face to the obstacles some immigrants face upon arriving in Canada.

According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), new immigrants are categorized into three groups: permanent residents, temporary foreign workers, and temporary foreign students. As of December 2011, these three groups totaled 787,902, of which permanent residents comprised 32%, temporary foreign workers 38%, and temporary foreign students 30%. British Columbia generally trails Ontario as the province with the second highest percentage of new immigrants to Canada. At the end of 2011, BC was home to 14% of all permanent residents, 23 % of all temporary foreign workers, and 28% of all temporary foreign students.

Originally from Busan, Korea, Kim was raised by a single mother who sold fish to support a family of seven children. Having lost a teaching job in her 20s due to illness, and perceiving few prospects in Korea, Kim decided to move to Canada. With the encouragement of friends and a personal desire to travel, she came to Canada in 1991. Her short stay turned into a long and difficult journey of integration.

“My earliest years in Alberta were the most depressing,” says Kim. “I had little money, no friends, and only one chance to get a TOEFL [an English test] score of 600 in order to be admitted into a university program and get a student visa. And I had to do this in three months.”

CIC says that four years is the key period in which new immigrants integrate into Canadian society. During this period, immigrants engage in four “integrative activities”: finding employment, accessing education and training, accessing health care services, and finding housing. In general, any problems that immigrants have in these activities decline with time. However, three obstacles: language barriers, difficulties in accessing information and services, and financial constraint have been identified as problems that persisted beyond the key four-year period. Of these, financial constraint is the most prevalent and persistent. Problems that Kim herself faced and overcame with time.

Feeling unable to handle the pressures of studying and wanting to integrate into Canadian life, Kim decided to put her studies on hold. She took up a series of low-paying jobs such as working in coffee shops, cleaning, and care-giving – all with the hopes of getting a work visa instead. The process of getting a visa, which is required for staying in Canada and getting permanent residency in the long run, was a slow bureaucratic nightmare. This, along with persistent financial hardships, put her on an emotional rollercoaster and took a toll on her health as she skipped meals and became sleep-deprived.

But a strong determination to succeed and a talent in building a social network helped her overcome her challenges. As she became more accustomed to life in Canada, Kim began volunteering to help other new Korean immigrants get settled in their new country. She was so dedicated to providing information and advice, and offering all forms of assistance to international Korean students that her name began to spread in the Korean community. She started her own business, an International Student Centre (ISC), in 1997.

Kim’s friend, Ibrahim Khamis, also has a story that echoes that of Kim. A refugee from Sudan, he came to Canada in 2007 when he was 29 years old. Back in Sudan, Ibrahim worked in a computer shop repairing computers, which was his passion. But political instability caused the closure of his business and he decided to leave Sudan.

He was lucky to have a cousin who sponsored him to come to Canada. But like Kim, he also cited language barrier and money being the obstacles he encountered in his early years in Canada.

“When I first came to Canada,” says Khamis, “I had to go to school for ESL classes and work three different jobs, all the while sending money back home to support my family.”

Khamis’ passion for digital media gave him a sense of purpose and helped him stay focused. He completed his ESL studies and is now studying graphic design at the Art Institute of Vancouver.

Kim and Ibrahim’s stories, like those of countless other Canadian immigrants, are the stories of self-sacrifice and perseverance.
“Money is still a problem today,” he admits, “but at least I feel optimistic about the future.”

To learn more about Kim Okran and her self published autobiography, contact her at kimokran@shaw.ca.