"A" stands behind a single dahlia. To maintain a secret existence, undocumented youth often have to hide their immigration status even from their friends at school.
"YOU FEEL LIKE you're hiding in plain sight," Lisa said, on growing up undocumented in her case, without proof of residency or citizenship. She was five when she arrived in Canada from the Caribbean, but she didn't know she was undocumented until her teens. School became a game of avoidance. The government had already rejected her family's application for permanent residency and confiscated their papers. Since she'd been in the country so long, peers assumed she was a citizen. But, in secret, she was missing out. She'd skip sports tryouts: without Ontario health insurance, treatment for any injury would need to be paid for out of pocket. Since university wasn't an option, she avoided guidance counsellors. She chose friends carefully.
"G" stands behind her favourite pillow, which she taught herself to crochet. There are no specific immigration pathways for children like "G." These youth represent an invisible demographic, and their experiences rarely receive recognition in political and mainstream spaces.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة JanFeb 2024 من The Walrus.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة JanFeb 2024 من The Walrus.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
MY GUILTY PLEASURE
I WAS AS SURPRISED as anyone when I became obsessed with comics again last year, at the advanced age of forty-five. As a kid, I loved reading G.I. Joe and The Amazing Spider-Man.
The Upside-Down Book
In her new novel, Rachel Cusk makes the case for becoming a stranger to yourself
Pick a Colour
BACK HERE, I can hear a group of women trickle in. Filling the floor with giggles and voices.
Quebec's Crushing Immigration Policy
Familial separation can have devastating consequences on mental health and productivity
The Briefcase
What I learned about being a writer from trying to finish a dead man's book
In the Footsteps of Migrants Who Never Made It
Thousands have died trying to cross into the US from Mexico. Each year, activists follow their harrowing trek
Blood Language
Menstruation ties us to the land in ways we've all but forgotten
Dream Machines
The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype
Invisible Lives
Without immigration status, Canada's undocumented youth stay in the shadows
My Guilty Pleasure
"The late nights are mine alone, and I'll spend them however I damn well please"
