{"id":169,"date":"2017-11-02T09:30:41","date_gmt":"2017-11-02T13:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/manitoba-migration\/?p=169"},"modified":"2018-03-12T17:22:44","modified_gmt":"2018-03-12T21:22:44","slug":"small-town-big-welcome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/manitoba-migration\/2017\/11\/02\/small-town-big-welcome\/","title":{"rendered":"Small town, big welcome"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Tobias Stoner<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pedro Lopez’s face lights up when he sees Walter Heibert. He immediately jumps out of his chair for an enthusiastic hug, and Mr. Heibert seems no less excited to see him. \u201cI cannot pass without saying hello,\u201d he explains. For his part, Mr. Lopez declares, \u201cI love him,\u201d growing emotional as he explains their relationship.<\/p>\n

Five years ago, Mr. Lopez left his home in Venezuela. He came to this town of 4500 in the flat, open expanse of Manitoba\u2019s plains. Since his arrival, he has built deep relationships in this town, and has helped sponsor 16 family members who have also moved to Canada.<\/p>\n

In Venezuela, says Mr. Lopez, \u201clife is politics.\u201d Until 2007, he worked for an international oil company until the government took over all oil production \u2013 an \u201cappropriation of property, not a nationalization,\u201d he says, because \u201cthe government did not pay.\u201d After a dispute over back pay \u2013 the government told him to ask his company for wages leading up to the transition \u2013 Mr. Lopez had to find other work.<\/p>\n

Eventually, he started a small business making and selling gelato, but things were difficult. He was forced to buy his ingredients \u201cunder the table, for ten times the price,\u201d he says, and government officials collecting taxes and fees for the health department took much of his profits. Mr. Lopez disputes the government\u2019s claim to provide free services to its people, saying people paid through fees, taxes, and bribes \u2013 \u201cthey always take the amount the law says, and a little more.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2012, he moved to Canada, where he found work at a printing company, Friesen\u2019s, in Altona. He obtained permanent resident status through the provincial nominating process for immigrants to fill economic needs, and began to build a new life. \u201cWork is the force which achieves your goals,\u201d he says. Initially, he worked a night shift, going to bed at 6:00 AM. Twice a week, though, he was up again for English classes at 8:30, with Walter Hiebert, the man he\u2019s now become close with. The classes were organized by Friesen\u2019s, which also helped bring several of his relatives to Canada as a sponsoring employer through the provincial nominating process. They know that \u201cI\u2019m not going to bring anyone crazy,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Mr. Lopez has also built relationships with local Mennonite churches and a group they support, \u201cBuild a Village\u201d, which sponsors refugees through Canada\u2019s private resettlement program. \u201cEverybody that has contact with us here in town helped us,\u201d he says. He also welcomes new Syrian families in town. He has gotten to know them, he says, through the churches and Mennonite Central Committee, a relief and development organization which also helps resettle refugees in Canada. \u201cThey connect us,\u201d he says, especially through an \u201cEnglish caf\u00e9\u201d on Mondays, where everyone can gather to practice their new language, and some native Altonans show up to practice their Spanish.<\/p>\n

Despite his warm welcome, Mr. Lopez\u2019s transition to life in Canada has been difficult. \u201cTo be an immigrant, you need a big heart to take it,\u201d he says. His first winter, he explains, he was very afraid of the cold weather, though now he likes it, because no matter the temperature outside, it is always warm in his house or car. More wrenchingly, his mother passed away in Venezuela last December, and he was unable to attend her funeral, because his Venezuelan passport had expired and he does not yet have a Canadian one. \u201cI did cry many times,\u201d he says, dabbing his eyes at some of the memories.<\/p>\n

Today, with much of his extended family here in Canada, Mr. Lopez has restarted his gelato business and looks toward the future. Ultimately, he says, \u201cyo busco tranquilidad\u201d \u2013 \u201cI seek peace.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Tobias Stoner   Pedro Lopez’s face lights up when he sees Walter Heibert. He immediately jumps out of his chair for an enthusiastic hug, and Mr. Heibert seems no less excited to see him. \u201cI cannot pass without saying hello,\u201d he explains. For his part, Mr. Lopez declares, \u201cI love him,\u201d growing emotional as<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":422,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/manitoba-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/manitoba-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/manitoba-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/manitoba-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/422"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/manitoba-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/manitoba-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":231,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/manitoba-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions\/231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/manitoba-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/manitoba-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/manitoba-migration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}