Newcomer is flying free in Canada
Credit to Author: Margaret Jetelina| Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2019 07:12:39 +0000
Young pilot Abdulrahman Alafghani is studying aviation in Vancouver
There is an old story that is part of Abdulrahman (Abood) Alafghani’s family lore about a forefather who emigrated from Afghanistan and found a new life in Syria. It’s a story that in recent years has taken on special meaning for Alafghani as he left Saudi Arabia himself for a new life in Canada, where he balances his studies in aviation with a full-time job as an operations manager at the Real Canadian Superstore.
In the story that Alafghani knows so well, his ancestor, a dry beans merchant, found himself stranded in Syria, where he had come to sell a large shipment of chickpeas. When he was robbed of his money and left with nothing, he was unable to send his ship and crew home. But through hard work and the kindness of a local family, he eventually earned the money to do so. He, however, found love and married the family’s daughter, and stayed.
Fast forward to 2018, and the younger Alafghani’s own story has some parallels to that of his ancestor, albeit his involved a little more planning.
Abdulrahman Alafghani in the air.
From Saudi Arabia to Canada
He came from Saudi Arabia to Vancouver on a student visa in July 2013 to study aviation, something he had dreamed of as a child. Five years since setting foot in Canada, he now has permanent resident status, and is anxiously waiting for his wife to arrive. He’s hoping that within the next few months, they will be reunited.
“It’s actually so hard … to wait [for] your future. Because for me, I have planned everything with her, and she does the same,” Alafghani says. “If I’m one day like desperate or so then she supports me and she tries to convince me that there’s a better day tomorrow and I do the same — this is basically every day.”
While his experience in Vancouver has brought some major adjustments to his lifestyle, it is one that Alafghani has taken head on — one that has seen him grow as a person.
“When I was back home in Saudi Arabia, I was rushing everything, wanting everything,” he reflects.
“Those days, I didn’t actually learn that much about life, but when I came here maybe I was trying to listen and then speak. So that actually gave me more power to survive, more passion to live here and face all the challenges that I had.”
If there was ever a chance that Alafghani was going to return to Saudi Arabia to settle, that plan evaporated following the passing of his father in 2015. In Vancouver at that difficult time, Alafghani, with his Saudi temporary resident card expired, applied for a visitor visa so that he could travel home to be with his family. But it was denied. It was the cruel culmination of a bureaucratic process that he knew all too well: despite having been born in Saudi Arabia, his — and his entire family’s — temporary resident permits had to be applied for and renewed on an annual basis.
“I don’t want to be sponsored by anyone because I’m a human, I deserve the right to be free. Not to be held by somebody,” says Alafghani, noting that changes in Saudi regulations meant that the family business his Syrian father had worked so hard to build over many decades in Saudi Arabia, was transferred into a sponsor’s trust. As an investor in Saudi Arabia, Alafghani’s father had been able to sponsor his family. But, when he passed away, they lost their status.
“Even the house he had to transfer to the new sponsor, so basically now in Saudi Arabia we don’t own anything. The thing we own is our trust to that sponsor.”
And that is why Alafghani chose to come to Canada, having frequently urged his family to start a new life elsewhere. Having received his permanent resident status in Canada, he now envisions a calmer, more stable future.
Future full of potential
“At the end of the day, I will sleep and I will not be thinking if tomorrow I am going to stay in the country or if the government will kick me out. So, I will have a future for the rest of my life and a future for my family, like for my kids in the future.”
These days, Alafghani is nearing the end of the Future Professional Pilots program at Douglas College, and is amassing flying hours as an instructor at the Professional Flight Centre, where he was also a student. It is his childhood dream come true.
“Flying is a word that describes my 30 years of life. My real deep breath I take is when I am inside the cockpit when I am between the clouds. My soul turned to be autopiloted and isolated from surroundings; to be free, as a bird has nothing to worry but fly. In a simple word, it’s my way to freedom,” he says, noting that he particularly enjoys flying over Pitt Lake.
Adding to this is his full-time job at Superstore, where he was promoted to his current position after just a few months in receiving.
Although his success has been forged by hard work and determination, Alafghani is quick to underscore the support he receives from his family overseas.
“When I fly, I achieve my family’s trust in myself. Because all of them, they believe in me, they were supporting me every single time. They were giving me everything just to be successful. So, every time I fly, I feel proud I’m making my family feel proud of me.”