This July 1 will be more than just a Canada Day holiday for Richmond's Maricel Cabral. It will mark a new beginning in her adopted country as she joins 40 or so others at Steveston Park to be sworn in as new Canadian citizens.
While she arrived here in late 2005 from the Philippines on a working visa as a care aid, the opportunity to officially affirm her allegiance to Canada will be an emotional one, replete with gratitude for the chance at a better life.
"Coming from the Philippines, it's like a Third World country in many ways," Cabral said. "Life can be very hard there with not as much opportunity as you have in Canada. That's something I am very grateful for here. If you're a hard worker, you can get somewhere, for sure."
Cabral added that Canada's cultural diversity was a characteristic which also drew her to make a life here.
"Back in the Philippines you don't see many foreigners," she said. "And when you do, they get so much attention. People just want to get closer and see them.
"Here, there are people from so many different places in the world who are living together."
Before she came to Canada, Cabral said she had studied the country in her six-month, live-in caregiver program training courses in the Philippines.
"We learned about the types of food, the culture, and even basic French - we learned to say hi and hello," she said laughing. "They also told us about the places we should go see. Stanley Park was one. Niagra Falls was another. And when I saw the pictures, I thought it was a beautiful place to call home."
Cabral is now busy helping prepare applications for her mother and two siblings - a brother and sister - so they can all reunite in Canada.
Cabral will be sworn in on July 1, during the Steveston Salmon Festival's first-ever citizenship ceremony. The event takes place on the Main Stage at 8:30 a.m. in Steveston Park.
Canada's progressive nature appreciated
Also looking forward to the ceremony is Vancouver resident Terri-Anne Eeles who is originally from Melbourne, Australia.
A permanent resident since 2005, Eeles said she fell in love with Canada the moment she arrived here.
"I loved Vancouver. It's really unique and come summer, it's one of the most beautiful places to be," said Eeles who works as a web developer. "As long as I can escape the rain for a few weeks each year during the winter, it's survivable."
While she made the country switch for a relationship that has since fallen by the wayside, Eeles said she could not see herself leaving her new home and feels becoming a Canadian as the logical progression for herself and her new partner - a Canadian.
"I also wanted to feel like I had a say here, in terms of the ability to vote. Without that it seemed like something was missing for me," Eeles said, adding it's still compulsory for Australians to vote. "Canada has become a part of me now. It's gotten into my blood."
While there are many similarities between Australia and Canada, one difference that stands out for Eeles, and is important to her, is the progressive nature of Canadian society.
"There's a lot of countries in the world I'd have a hard time being a citizen of," Eeles said. "Being a lesbian, it was important for me that Canada recognizes my rights even more than Australia does; gay marriage is still not legal there."
Relieved that the citizenship process is near the finish line, Eeles said she feels a special sense of pride and purpose.
"I will now be part of this country and can have an impact and a say on how Canada can move forward. And that means a lot to me."
Women's rights applauded
Also in search of a sense of freedom for her family was Rosamma Saji, who along with her husband, Saji Pullanjevil Gee Varghese, her eight-year-old daughter, Aleena, and her three-year-old son, Asher, will celebrate on July 1. A native of Kerala, India, Saji's family moved to Saudi Arabia 12 years ago where her husband was employed with an architectural firm.
They came to Canada in 2008, where Saji had secured a job as a nurse at Lion's Gate Hospital in North Vancouver.
"Women don't have any freedom in Saudi Arabia," she said. "They can't even drive. So, I wanted to move to a place where I could raise my family without those restrictions."
While women are permitted to work, it's mostly immigrants, and they are obliged to wear the traditional abaya, a flowing, robelike dress worn in the Muslim world. "While we didn't have to wear a veil, it was restrictive and I didn't want that for my daughter," Saji said.
But starting anew in Canada, where she had no family support, was a daunting task.
"It has been hard, sometimes, but as a Canadian, I know I have responsibilities. And for me that means volunteering," she said. "And the community, I found, is in real need of that. And hopefully I can be of help."
