Buddhana
“I just thought, oh yeah, it’d be like India... there’d be a lot of people for me to hang out with. But no, that was very wrong.”
Quality education is often one of the biggest drivers of upward social mobility. For many, it’s a tool for a better life—one that promises opportunity and a brighter future. Like many newcomers, Buddhana Amit, a grade 12 student at Charles P. Allen High School in Bedford, Nova Scotia, came to Canada for that very reason. But her story begins not here in Halifax, where she resides now, but more than 11,000 kilometres away in her hometown of Hyderabad, India.
“I didn’t really know much about Canada,” Buddhana admitted, reflecting on her first impressions of the country. “I just thought, oh yeah, it’d be like India, like there’d be a lot of people for me to hang out with. But no, that was very wrong.”
Buddhana moved to Halifax in July 2015, at the age of eight. Her memories of the transition are hazy, but she recalls the logistical challenges of her family’s first weeks. “When we first moved here, we lived in an accommodation that my dad's work gave us. So we lived there for a month, and I had nothing to do, but both my parents were like, looking for apartments. My dad was going to work. My mom was sitting at home with me, and then after we moved to the apartment, I started going to school.”
Adjusting to a new school came with its own set of challenges. Entering grade four in a foreign country, Buddhana felt nervous and out of place. “The first day, I was very nervous, not talking to anybody in the line. And then a teacher came, talked to us, took us upstairs. And yeah, two people turned around and started talking to me. We immediately became friends.”
However, making friends wasn’t always easy. Like many immigrants, Buddhana experienced judgment and bias during her first year. “A lot of people were judging me because of my skin, and yeah, it was really weird,” she said. “The way I talked and [how I didn’t have] a Canadian accent… I didn’t talk the way they talk, so I'd get judged a little bit. But yeah, sometimes I just didn’t care because I still had friends, but it was a little awkward.”
Her parents played an instrumental role in helping her navigate these challenges. “I told my mom, yeah, I made these friends, like, but there were a few people just, you know, judging me. And she was like, just don’t care about them. Look at your friends. Just hang out with them. And maybe just like, go and talk to the people who are judging you. And just like, make them soon they’ll stop judging you.” Following her mother’s advice, Buddhana reached out to her classmates and found herself forging connections. “I do talk to the whole class. The whole class [was] my friend.”
While her early experiences in Canada were shaped by moments of discomfort, Buddhana adapted quickly. “No, not really,” she said when asked if she felt she missed out on experiences as a newcomer. “It was all like the same, the usual. Got used to it pretty quickly.”
Yet, her story sheds light on broader issues of discrimination that persist within immigrant communities. “I’ve seen a lot of people I’ve become friends with now, a lot of Indians. They tell me that, you know, they get ignored a little bit, pushed off to the side a little bit, even in classrooms and, like, even in the grocery store. Like, I’ve noticed people like, every time somebody walks by, they look them up and down and just turn away or walk in the other direction. So yeah, that’s still happening a lot here.”
In recent years, Canada has experienced a significant increase in immigration, with individuals of Indian origin comprising nearly 30 percent of new permanent residents—the largest share among all immigrant groups. Unfortunately, this surge has been accompanied by a rise in anti-Indian sentiment, manifesting both online and in real-world interactions. Between 2019 and 2022, hate crimes against South Asians in Canada increased by 143 percent, highlighting the growing hostility toward this community. Online platforms have further exacerbated negative perceptions, with anti-immigrant rhetoric influencing public discourse and policy in counterproductive ways. These troubling trends underscore the need for greater awareness and proactive measures to combat racism and support newcomers like Buddhana in their pursuit of a better life in Canada.
Buddhana’s journey is a reminder of the resilience and determination that many immigrants embody. While her story highlights the challenges of adjusting to a new culture, it also underscores the importance of inclusion and support for newcomers. With the right environment, anyone can find their place in a new community—and thrive.
