Synil
Ramnarine:
"I'm happy doin' this"
Unable to make a breakthrough in the job market, Raja took up
a job at a gas station.
"I have gone from being unable to look
a fellow Indian in the eye to being defiant it's not
like I was asking for a handout. But deep within me I knew
this defiance, this I-couldn't-give-a-damn attitude, was a
facade. I have seen my wife cringe when acquaintances ask
her if I've found a job pumping gas was supposed to
be temporary and I feel rotten about putting her through
this.
"We have had our share of fights over
the decision to move here. Whose fault was it? Who agreed
to come? No, I can't say it has been easy."
The husband and wife took up a newspaper
delivery route to supplement their income. "Not the community
paper route that children do, but a regular newspaper. And
let me tell you that hard."
Raja points out that it's rare that a whole
street subscribes to a newspaper. So delivery involves driving
up to a house, walking up to the porch to deliver the paper,
walking back to the car and driving up to the next house on
the route.
"In winter, that's specially hard. You
deliver early in the morning, before most people are even
up, so you're talking unshovelled driveways here. I forget
the number of times I've slipped and lost my footing. I suppose
we have to be grateful I didn't break any bones."
Things, however, are looking up for the Rajas.
He says with the experience he has gained at the gas station,
he feels confi-dent he could run his own.
"A few friends will pool in their resources
to help me out and we will be partners in the business. We're
looking for a location, keep your fingers crossed for us."
* * *
Dr Ahmad (not his real name) has been
in Canada for three years.
He works as a security guard at a local mall.
"I used to work at a prestigious hospital
in Pakistan. Now, I wear this uniform every day and stand
here."
His children have adjusted well to the life here.
"They don't even seem to mind my job.
But then my son's best friend's father drives a truck for
a living and they have a great life. A house all paid for,
a cottage up north, two cars, a boat, holidays in the Caribbean...you
name it. And I feel happy for them. But it's frustrating to
be a qualified doctor and hassle with high school kids who
trouble shop owners in the mall. It's demeaning to be addressed
as 'Yo! Guy'."
Ahmad hasn't given up hope yet and is doing
a course in insurance selling. But catch him in a pensive
mood and he sighs and says, "This is not how life was
meant to be..."
* * *
A lady realtor, on a whim one summer, took
up a job as a courier.
"I felt like a break from dressing up
in suits and showing people around properties!"
That was a strange summer glorious,
sunny days during the week followed by pouring rain on weekends.
"So while my colleagues were sitting
in offices, I was out there, enjoying the sun on my motorbike!"
How she developed a fabulous tan that summer
was something people couldn't figure out.
But is a courier's life all that fun?
Synil Ramnarine thinks so...
He came to Canada in 1988, wanting to be
an auto mechanic.
Having worked for an auto manufacturer for
a few years and then for a trucking company in sales and service,
he decided to switch lanes and joined Millennium Express,
a courier company.
Why?
"I wanted to work in the service industry
I'd been told this was big business in Canada! I love
to drive and I'm very good at directions. Send me anywhere
and I can find my way. This was the perfect job for me!"
According to Synil, Millennium Express is
a very reliable company that stands behind its commitment
of getting packages to clients on time and working for them
boosts his self-confidence. "They are a professional,
committed group of people who treat you like family".
Which is great. But what happens when a package
is not delivered on time? Who pays the price for the
delay?
"Drivers are paid a 60 per cent commission
on each delivery they make. Let's say a delivery or pick-up
is delayed due to road conditions or something, we'll call
ahead and explain the reason. If we take a hit because of
the delay, both the company and the driver share it. That's
fair!"
Synil makes between $700-$900 a week and
says the best part of this job is that a bigger pay cheque
is in his control.
"I don't have to wait for a year to
get a paltry two per cent pay hike. Yes, I'm happy doin' this."
His 10 year-old daughter wants to become
a doctor and his eight-year-old son, a fireman.
"My five-year-old is more like me
he wants to be a race car driver!" Shagorika
Easwar
