Growing up as an immigrant child was hard. The first question I was often asked was “where are you from?” The easy answer was Pakistan. It was a part of me. Bukod sa, I thought living in Canada was difficult. I was bullied for being a “Paki”, my protective parents didn’t allow me to go to sleepovers and movies and my clothes smelled like the Pakistani spices my mom used in our traditional food. I was caught between two worlds and didn’t know how to reconcile them.

I am not sure when it happened but sometime during my elementary school years, saying that I was from Pakistan was no longer the easy answer to give. My memories and life in Canada became more familiar.  My parents encouraged me to celebrate and contribute to my new home and remember the one I left. I remember attending my Citizenship Ceremony and excitedly telling my 5^th grade teacher Mrs. Burnett that I was now a Canadian.

I volunteered at an MPP’s office and had my first trip to Ottawa where I called my mom from the Peace Tower at the Parliament of Canada in awe of where I was standing.

During my undergraduate years at the University of Toronto, I began to travel during the summers. Working abroad in various communities, I was asked the same question I had been asked in Canada “Where are you from?” I answered, “from Canada”

The next question was “Where are you really from?” In frustration, sometimes dismay, I would answer, “I was born in Pakistan but I grew up in Canada”. I was very proud of my Pakistani birth and early years but I was also very sure that my home was now Canada.

In 2009, my family decided to go back to Pakistan. I was excited and nervous. Before we left Canada, I remember thinking no one will ask me where I was from – I speak fluent Urdu, wear the traditional shalwar kameez and will not stand out in a crowd.

When we arrived in Lahore, I went out with my family and ordered a chana dish from a street vendor. I just started to eat it when a woman’s voice behind me quietly asked “App kahan se hain?” meaning “WherWhere are you from221;

I couldn’t believe it. Not here!

I was born only a few hours drive from Lahore in a town called Sargodha. I told her I was from Pakistan. She wasn’t convinced and asked again.

I said, “I was born in Pakistan but grew up in Canada.” We struck up a conversation and talked about our lives in different parts of world. I couldn’t help but think of the person I would be if my family had never left Pakistan. When I arrived back in Canada, I was overwhelmed by that unexplainable feeling of “home” when I saw Toronto.

Ngayon, I still get asked where I am from. To say that I am Pakistani-Canadian is the easy and the right answer to give. I may have been born in one part of the world and relish in the few memories I have but Canada is my home. Together, the two places have made me who I am and for that, I am grateful.

-Sadia in Mississauga

Ako may-asawa ng isang babae na 1/4 henerasyon ng Canadian Irish-panlahat pinaggalingan. Bilang isang bata, kanyang ama ay i-drag ang pamilya sa simbahan tuwing Linggo. Ngunit pagkatapos ay siya ay nagkaroon ng isang seglar pista ng tatlong hari – maglaro ng golp – at paglalagay pinalitan panalangin. Ngayon, ang pinagsama-samang kabuuan ng relihiyon sa pamilya ng aking asawa ni ay binubuo ng isang mabilis, halos hindi madalumat, grace before meals.

Ang aking asawa at ako ay atheists. Walang pahiwatig ng relihiyon sa aming tahanan. . Tingnan namin ito bilang mga cultural, hindi relihiyoso, icons.

May ay hindi kailanman naging anumang relihiyon o kultura salungatan sa aming bahay bago ang mga bata ay ipinanganak o dahil. . They couldn’t be more dissimilar from one another. Ang mas bata ay ang malakas na pagkakaparis ng kanyang ina. Kapag siya ay bata pa gusto niya magsalita non-stop na tulad ng kanyang ina ginawa bilang isang anak (o kaya ako sinabi at wala akong problema sa paniniwalang ito). Ang aking pamilya asawa ng kanyang tinatawag “Masalita”. At 30 o kaya taon mamaya sila na tinatawag na ang aming mga anak na babae, “maliit masalita”.

Ang aking anak na babae nakatatanda, sa kanya Semitiko mga tampok, Mukhang sa akin. Siya ay self-kinikilala bilang isang Hudyo. Marami sa kanyang mga kaibigan ay mga Hudyo, siya manlalakbay sa Israel sa kanyang Jewish kasintahan, falafels at matzoh bola sopas ay sa gitna ng kanyang mga paboritong pagkain. Ilang taon na ang nakakaraan niya dinaluhan ng isang sabbath hapunan sa isa sa kanyang bahay Jewish kaibigan. Siya ay mahal sa mga relihiyosong mga bahagi: ang mga kanta, panalangin at bendisyon. Siya ay dumating sa bahay na gabi na may isang pakiramdam ng pag-agaw – she had been denied exposure to the religious side of being a Jew.

Aking mga mas batang anak na babae nagpunta sa parehong daycares at mga paaralan sa parehong kapitbahayan bilang kanyang mga mas lumang kapatid na babae. Siya ay self-kinikilala bilang isang Canadian ng Jewish at Irish-panlahat pinaggalingan. Siya ay isang nakatuon ateista. Right now she’s traveling through Southeast Asia and is far more interested in the history and politics of the region than the religious shrines.

Parehong bahay, parehong pagpapalaki, parehong kapaligiran. How to explain the differences in my daughters’ self-identifications? Wala akong palagay. Ko alam gayunpaman, that I feel extremely fortunate that I live in a community - and in a country – kung saan kultural na pakikiisa ay isang personal choice na walang mga kahihinatnan. Hindi lamang ito ay pinapayagan, it’s encouraged.

- Carl sa Winnipeg