Who Says Immigrants Can’t Help Immigrants?

Mohamed Al-Amudi

To immigrate is to enter and settle in a country or region in which one is not native. That is exactly what Mohamed Alamudi a respected member of the Toronto’s Somali-Arab community did when news first arrived of a civil war that was to strike the very place he had come to know as his home. Originally of Yemeni decent, Mohamed Alamudi, a very young and ambitious boy growing up in Mogadishu, Somalia, had very big dreams. The second oldest of seven boys, he aspired to do things and go places many thought to be impractical. Being the second oldest, he often found himself taking multiple roles as a son, a brother and a friend. Mohamed was always there as a good friend, and always wanted to help people any way that he could. He regularly found himself after school in his parents, Bibi Shamo and Haji Alamudi’s store managing the family business. The store sold different merchandise such as perfume and traditional attire that his mother frequently brought back from her trips to the Middle East. His father, known to the people as a kind natured and warm man worked as a tailor in their store. His father and mother not having much of an educational background were often taken advantage of by the people because of their trusting personality, their generosity and their willingness to help anyone. Many of his parents’ qualities make up the core of who Mohamed is today, as a benevolent and helpful person.

From an early age he was placed with a lot of the responsibility of the store and regularly communicating with the people. He had business in his blood, but desired nothing more than wanting to help. His desire to make a difference and give back to his community came in the form of attaining an education, something which was overlooked by many in his family. He wanted to aim high and become a doctor. A doctor being considered by many immigrants to be the ultimate aid to human life was something of most interest to him. During his teenage years Mohamed worked hard to attend school at the same time juggled family tasks and every day life. He dreamed one day that he would travel to Canada, a country rarely heard of while in the Horn of Africa. All around him he was influenced by the world beyond his gates. Hearing stories of America and its wonders and possibilities, he was more intrigued by its neighbor to the North, Canada. Canada was a place that was special to him. It was right next to America, yet it amazed him to know that so few in his native land ever knew of it, and with that he decided he wanted to go there one day.

In his early twenties Mohamed married his sweetheart and had become a father instantly. With this new found path, he set out to make the best possible life for his wife and children by working and trying to chase a dream into the medical field in Somalia. However, this dream was inevitably lost due to the civil war that commenced within the next following years. With that he had to put his education on halt and worked now to save his family from the devastation that was to come to a once beautiful land.

With only about $150 in his pocket he endured the pain of leaving his wife, children and rest of his extended family in Somalia to set off for a better life and recovery from a once strong nation to now a bruised realm. In 1990 he arrived in Toronto, Canada having spent a year in the United States working mostly “immigrant-type” jobs for reasons that he “lacked” any sort of skill or credential. He was a man with no identity in a new land that was both daunting and mean. He felt astonished at how many immigrants, including himself who were perceived as people with no identity. These people seemed to have just disappeared in the eyes of the people of this new land. It wasn’t until shortly arriving in Toronto that he got his first break. He was able restart his life and return to school. He attended Western Tech, where he obtained his Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). From there he managed to go onto Post-Secondary school where he attended Ontario College of Business for Business Administration and Business Law.

His next break came when he was able to secure a job with the Bank of Montreal on St George and Bloor. This would have not been possible if it was not for his trusting character that the manager of this branch observed about Mohamed. Things in his life began to pick up and he no longer felt like the immigrant with no identity. He had made an imprint in a respectable job and was soon becoming successful in his new life. In 1994, he was able to reunite with his wife and children and bring them to Toronto in order to also obtain an identity and a status for them there.

Mohamed Alamudi, an owner of his business Baby Mother Care Inc. for over 10 years, now works to dedicate his time to helping people in his community to obtain citizenship and crucial identification through his work in the Ministry of Transportation. Mohamed has been able to obtain and work as a Translator for the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO).
The skill developed through translating has enabled him to give back to immigrants.

Helping and educating new immigrants has become a new vehicle and a way for Mohamed to provide fundamental support to his people. From dreaming of becoming a doctor to now becoming a successful business man instead, Mohamed has worked hard to become a friend to the immigrant families across Toronto. He mentions that it is important for us as immigrants to lend a hand, to recognize where we came from and the struggles we had to surpass in order for us to become successful people in this nation. “Who says immigrants can’t help other immigrants?”

Samira Mohamed
Contributor, Immigrant Post