Of all the immigrant communities I've encountered in the Battlefords, the Serbian immigrant community is among the most fascinating.
Unlike other immigrants, their reason for coming to Canada is relatively uninteresting. Like so many othes, Serbians, by and large, came to Canada to find a better life for themselves. It's how they came to Canada that sets them apart.
Few Serbians in North Battleford are ethnically Serbian - they are Ruthenian, an ethnic minority estimated to number only 20,000. Secondly, almost the entire immigrant community comes from a village with a population of 5,500.
This has understandably led to some strange situations. Sasha, the Serbian immigrant whom I interviewed, explained almost all Serbians in the Battlefords know each other. They might not necessarily be friends, but the Serbian community is connected enough that Sasha knew half of the people in his ESL class. And everyone who has been in North Battleford long enough was helped to come the country and helped more Serbians in turn. Sasha described the process as being "like a fusion bomb."
The Serbian immigrant community has also been incredibly financially successful in its time here. Sasha has started his own contracting company after being in the country for only seven months, and he said most members of the Serbian community who have been here for longer than four or five years have since bought their own houses. While I cannot speculate on why the community, as a whole, has been as successful as it has, I think the interview gives a few hints.
If you are a new immigrant and would like to be contacted for an interview, send me an email at amcphail@newsoptimist.ca.
Alex: What can you tell me about yourself?
Sasha: I am 40, never married, no kids, I came here alone, I have a sister and mother in Serbia, I finished high school. After high school I was a shoemaker, but I hated the job. I worked for a year as a shoemaker before my mandatory military service, and when the military service was completed I went into stone masonry.
A: What have you been doing since you've been in Canada?
S: I'm a stone mason and tile setter. I'd done both in Serbia before I came here for 16 years. I've started my own business here but it's not too easy, especially now that winter's come. I worked at a hardware store for three months, but I was doing all kinds of work, so I quit and started doing stonemasonry. I liked working at the hardware store, but I really like to make things, which is what I'm trying to do now.
A: What brought you to Canada?
S: In Serbia, if you want to live a fairly good life, you have to work 15, 16 hours a day. I did that, and didn't live too well or too badly. But sometimes you just have to say enough - you're working every day, Sunday too, for 15 hours.
Another reason is that I like a challenge, to start from zero. When I came to Canada I had $500 in my pocket. When I was in the army I knew I had to go somewhere, but I didn't know where to go. Something told me I had to go somewhere.
A cousin who lived here asked me if I wanted to go to Canada. He told me that there were plenty of stonecutting and tile setting jobs here, so I agreed to come. I came to North Battleford because that cousin lives here and found me a job here.
As for why there are so many Serbians in Saskatchewan, every province has different rules for immigrants, and Saskatchewan's rules are easier. It's not easy, but it's easier than the other provinces. I applied to come to Canada and waited three years.
A: Why the delay?
S: I'm actually born in Croatia, but I lost my house in the war and moved to Serbia. The Canadian government had to check my background thoroughly to make sure I wasn't a war criminal. I didn't even fight in the war, I was just alive while it was happening.
A: What idea did you have about Canada before you came here?
S: I knew that North Battleford was small. I knew that Canada was a big place with lots of space, but other than that, nothing at all.
A: Did you know anything about the culture at all?
S: No. Usually I don't imagine much before I see something. I just have dreams of what I want to see. I still don't know much about Canada now!
I think you must look at food and at buildings to understand a culture. At my ESL class, I ask not only about Canada, but also about all of the cultures in the college. We say that if you want to know about Serbia, just eat everything, the culture is reflected in the food. And if you go to Vienna, you see buildings a few centuries old - this can tell you about the strength and hardworking nature of the people. It's not easy making a building out of stone.
A: What do the buildings that you see here tell you about the culture?
S: I'm not sure about buildings here. But I do think that Canadian people are very practical, very pragmatic. It doesn't matter if buildings are big, or incredibly strong, they just have to be warm and that's enough. It's OK! People in Serbia, if they saw your buildings, would say, "What is this! Just planks and drywall!" But it's a good building, it's perfectly warm and safe. If you see Serbian buildings, they're almost overbuilt, with high, thick walls made of rock, brick, concrete.
I want to say that people here are pragmatic. They're just interested in good, warm, inexpensive buildings that don't have to be around for hundreds of years. But I haven't seen the old buildings in Canada yet. And I also can't say much about the First Nations culture.
A: And what can you tell about Canadian culture form the kitchens?
B: Canadian people, I think, don't enjoy the kitchen very much. They just go to eat because they're hungry. Lots of people eat fast food. I worked at a renovation project in a fast food place and I was surprised - people just kept on coming and coming. When I went outside, I saw that the neighbourhood had four or five fast food restaurants. I was surprised to see that people didn't cook at home. This is different. In Serbia, people always cook. Since I've been here, I've cooked every day. I'm not sure what that says about the culture itself though.
The remainder of the interview will be published in the Dec. 14 News-Optimist.
