Aween Mohammed Snjawi

Just 10 Months of Happiness

We were waiting for our hearing after being in Canada for ten months as refugees. Then, in March 2020, an email changed everything. An email which informed us that our hearing day was cancelled because of COVID-19.

The hearing day is the day when our destiny would become clear. It is the day after you arrive here in Canada when your claim may be accepted or abandoned by the court. It was a fearful situation to think about.

This pandemic closed all the doors of our hope and happiness that we had built since we came here from far away Kurdistan, Northern Iraq. It turned into many questions about what was going to happen, and how we could survive. We were already isolated from the lives we had before and had just entered a new safe life here. My three-year-old child could not understand all these big changes in her young life. We are not just concerned about getting through this pandemic. We are uncertain about everything that could happen, and every day we check the mailbox hoping for another brown envelope from the government with news of our hearing.

But all these changes allow me to believe in the hidden power of God that can control the universe. And I attempt to stay positive by thinking of our tomorrow as a new journey.