From Scarcity to Abundance

 

Ahmed EL-Kheir

 

Ahmed EL-Kheir is a 71 year old Sudanese who immigrated to Canada in 2001 as a refugee. He was born in the capital city of Sudan, Khartoum and remembers the hot dry days of the Sudanese semi-desert climate the most. His childhood memories are very dear to him – his family, friends, and the sense of belonging to a community; however, they also include a sense of hardship, the most prominent of which was the constant scarcity of water. The Sudanese have close relationships with their animals since in many instances they rely on them for transportation and for their livelihood. Ahmed remembers sharing whatever little water he had with his animals. Sometimes the well from which his family obtained their water from would get dirty and polluted; however, they had no option but to drink from it. Some people would get sick, some would die, but most built immunity to the presence of so many germs, and the strong survived. The human body has an unbelievable capacity to adapt itself to scarcity, and in the scorching heat of the Sudan most Sudanese have adapted themselves to drinking only two cups of water a day. Because of the fact that it rains very little in the Sudan, and the soil is so dry, people had to dig 40-50 meters to get to an underground spring. Making water, the source of life, available was hard work in itself.

 

Ahmed married his wife 20 years ago in Sudan and he thinks very highly of her. He had to immigrate to Canada because of certain actions that the government undertook against him. He felt he could no longer be safe in Khartoum. When he arrived in Canada as a Refugee, he was overwhelmed by all the ethnic and religious diversity. He was also pleasantly surprised by the politeness and friendliness of Canadians. His knowledge of the English language was sufficient to make adjusting into the Canadian lifestyle much easier. He was able to make friends with Canadian families and he found them to be kind, considerate people whom he felt comfortable with. The fact that there already existed a Sudanese community which helped him get established made the whole experience that much easier.

 

Ahmed is comfortably settled in Canada, but he still has problems understanding the tax system. Compared to Sudan, where there are almost no taxes, the Canadian taxation system seems very complicated and tends to favor those who already have money.

 

Although Ahmed has lived here for 7 years, he does not consider Canada to be his primary home, but rather, his secondary home. His visit to Sudan last year reminded him of the rich Sudanese history and culture, of his roots, of his childhood. However, he really appreciates the health care system in Canada and the abundance of resources. It is a good country to live in, and especially, to grow old in. everything is so well-organized and people do their work in an efficient and organized manner.

 

Ahmed is very proud of being Sudanese and loves Sudan’s colorful and long history. He is very proud of the fact that Sudan at one point liberated itself from English Colonialism. He feels very strongly about the importance of reading, maintaining one's culture and language, and avoiding AIDS, a disease which afflicts many in Sudan. Ahmed stresses the fact that young people should concentrate on getting a good education, staying healthy, exercising, and above all, not forgetting their Arabic language and culture. Ahmed believes that reading and education open the doors of opportunity, especially in our fast-moving, technologically oriented world. Knowledge is a powerful tool which can be used to create an enlightened and successful individual.

 

Having been born in the Sudan, Ahmed has learnt to appreciate the little things in life and not to take everything for granted. Living with scarcity can teach you the value of abundance. In his heart of hearts, Ahmed is and will always be Sudanese, however, in his mind’s eye Canada is his home away from home.