Carribbean-born writer Veersen Bhoolai draws on personal experiences
Credit to Author: Ramya Ramanathan| Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2022 01:16:06 +0000
Veersen Bhoolai is a Canadian journalist who has worked in Print and Television. Coming from a family of lawyers, he calls himself the ‘lone wolf’ journalist in the pack. He has published two books in 2021. The first, No, I don’t work in the kitchen, Surviving war-torn Afghanistan for three years is his memoir as a journalist in that country and the second, Trials & Tribulations is about a young boy’s struggle while growing up in Trinidad and Tobago.
Tell us about yourself
I am originally from Trinidad and Tobago. I am journalist and also a teacher of English as a Second Language (ESL). I first came here in 1985 as a student. I lived in Guelph for the first 16 months for Grade 12 and 13. My family followed in 1988 as Trinidad and Tobago was going through an economic recession.
How has coming to Canada as a teenager impact your life?
It was a big change for me. A different culture, all of a sudden the food I was used to eating was not available and, at the time, I had a limited cooking repertoire. In addition, I had to get used to my first winter. I will never forget the first day I saw snow. It was just floating down from the sky like some sort of magic. However, minus 25 and 30 was normal in those days and it certainly took some getting used to.
You have had a truly global life – you’ve lived and worked in 6 countries . How does Canada compare?
I have also lived in Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Turkey, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan. You truly do get a better appreciation of being a Canadian citizen, the freedom of speech, access to education and the public health care. The reality is that a country like Canada offers immigrants from developing countries and their children many more more opportunities in their life. You can even work in blue-collar jobs here and live a very comfortable life.
You have worked as a journalist, and a teacher and now have published two books – what inspired you to become an author?
During the mid nineties a book began to percolate in my head, it was based on my time in Trinidad and Tobago. When author V.S. Naipaul, who is also from Trinidad & Tobago, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2021, it stimulated me to sit down and start writing. But I wasn’t impressed with the first page and decided to abandon the idea.
Fast forward to 2009, I was working as a United Nations journalist in Afghanistan. Realizing that I was literally in the middle of history, I decided to keep a journal. I shared it with a few friends and family. Some of them were thrilled by it. As they put it, they felt as if they were right there with me and could witness what was happening.
I was surprised by their reaction as I had made no real attempt to write well, just factual accounts of my experiences. I realized that the key was not to try too hard to paint a picture with every sentence. Just communicate naturally.
When I left Afghanistan in 2012, I started the original book from 2001: Trials and Tribulations: A Young Boy’s Coming of Age. It took eight and a half years to finish as my time management was not the best. I then edited my Afghan journal and released it first in early 2021. Trials and Tribulations followed in late September of that year. The book which is a coming of age experience in the Caribbean has so far received Honorable Mention at the New England, London and San Francisco Book Festivals. Both books have done well on Amazon.
What are your future plans?
I was abroad for basically 20 years. I am home for good now and just want to work hard, maintain my journalism website and do the groundwork for my future books. I plan to write another memoir in the future, based on my 10 years living in Istanbul. I have also interviewed some of the finest athletes in the Caribbean, e.g., Brian Lara and Gary Sobers. I plan to take some of my best interviews and compile them into a book.
When you do what you love it really isn’t work. I have a small fantasy of going back to Trinidad and having a gentleman’s farm. Perhaps that will happen but in the meantime, just work hard and enjoy the wonderful benefits of being a Canadian citizen. I always appreciated that status but after having seen the lives of people in other countries, I appreciate it even more now.
What is your advice for newcomers and immigrants?
This is a great country where opportunity abounds, you simply have to make an effort and work hard. I look at plumbers, electricians, carpenters, teachers, etc. in developing countries and then look at the salaries for the same occupations here in Canada and the pay is so much more – it is mind boggling!
The post Carribbean-born writer Veersen Bhoolai draws on personal experiences first appeared on Canadian Immigrant.
http://canadianimmigrant.ca/feed