Through her role as executive director of OCISO, Hamdi Mohamed strives to make Ottawa a more inclusive place for new immigrants.
When Hamdi Mohamed arrived in 1989 as a Somali refugee, she faced many of the challenges newcomers still face today. She struggled to find work in her field, and was unfamiliar with Canada’s institutions. But by helping others, she was able to overcome those barriers to become the executive director of the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization, and a renowned community leader.
In a cozy office adorned with posters that read “Nonconform freely,” and “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention,” Mohamed, 44, has been leading more than 100 staff since 2006 to transform Ottawa into a thriving, inclusive city. She says Canada has come a long way since she arrived 20 years ago, but there is still a lot of work to do.
“Our lenses through which we understand immigrants tend to focus on problems. We view them as people who have challenges,” she says. “True, many of them have extreme challenges when they come to Ottawa, but they do also contribute.”
She’s not only referring to the job market – newcomers contribute culturally, too, through the personal values they bring to the community. But she says underemployment is a major area where immigrants are left behind.
Many newcomers are hand-picked by the government to live in Canada because of their high education and skill levels, but the community isn’t using what they have to offer, she says.
“The brain drain in other countries is our brain gain, but we don’t really harness that,” she says. “We haven’t learned to tap into that potential.”
Mohamed faced similar issues when she arrived in Toronto and settled in Ottawa. Despite impressive English and teaching qualifications, she found it hard to integrate into her profession.
She began her graduate studies at the University of Ottawa, where she earned a master’s degree in international diplomacy and a PhD in women’s history. She also became active in the Somali student group on campus at Carleton University. They went to high schools and tutored refugee students, and reached out to those newcomers isolated by their communities.
She also began to lobby politicians to improve the immigration process. She says this was her first inkling that Canada was going to be a good home.
“I distinctly remember thinking that this is a wonderful place. Here I was at Parliament, a refugee still, questioning politicians and asking them to change laws. And I wasn’t ending up in jail. That was quite appealing to me,” she says with a smile.
In Somalia, Mohamed’s politically active family was willing to speak out about injustices, but they were often imprisoned or persecuted, she says. In Canada, she has the freedom to work for change.
She seems to be working for something all the time. Before becoming OCISO’s head, she taught human rights and social work at Carleton University. Her colleague Bill Skidmore says her enthusiasm for challenge is not only in her mind, but also her body language.
“When we walked to class, I was always struggling to keep up to her because she has these long, purposeful strides. I felt like a little kid tagging along,” he says. “That’s a representation of her personality more generally. She’ll get right in, she likes challenges, she sees possibilities and she goes after them.”
Mengis Tsegaye, another colleague, is the executive director of settlement agency LASI World Skills, where Mohamed is a board member. He says Mohamed is a strong voice for her community and a passionate advocate for change.
“She’s really a tireless leader,” he says. “She’s a rising star in the community, she brings everyone together.”
Her passion for the community comes from an inherent desire to serve. Although Mohamed admits she can’t – or won’t – predict where her career will take her, she’s sure her destiny will be in the name of serving others.
“Serving is a privilege, not a burden. For me, having the opportunity to actually make a change is something of a blessing. I can say to myself, ‘what can I change today? How can I help? What can we do to transform our community?’” she says. “It’s a responsibility, too, and I don’t take it lightly.”
Her intense work schedule proves this dedication. Many of her ‘eureka’ moments occur at three in the morning, she says. Her staff tease her and her family calls her crazy, but her passion to create a better community seems to persist even in her dreams.
“Transforming a community is a 24-hour job,” she laughs. This is especially true when she aspires to such lofty goals.
OCISO “envisions Ottawa as an inclusive city in which all immigrants contribute their gifts, skills, values and culture; strengthening and transforming our community life.” Mohamed says this vision of Ottawa and Canada motivates her to keep serving.
“The process of nation-building entices me, inspires me, motivates me,” she says. “I have grown to love Canada and to call it home. I’m committed to Canada.”
OCISO is, too.
“If you look at the numbers of people we have served, and the programs, I consider myself privileged to work with staff who are similarly committed to the work,” she says. “And they don’t just come to work with their heads. They come with their hearts.”
The organization helps newcomers find jobs, health care, and schools for their children. It also offers legal counselling, emotional support and access to language classes, among other things.
It has been serving the community for over 30 years, but it’s not just support services such as OCISO that need to work for change in the community.
“It’s a collective responsibility. It’s not OCISO’s responsibility alone. It’s not us versus them. We’re citizens in this world, in this country,” she says. “For Canada to be a better place we all have a role. And part of that role is to have a conversation in a respectful manner, instead of pointing fingers at certain communities. That does so much damage.”
She encourages everyone, newcomers included, to examine their own biases and fears before they judge someone for how they look, speak or act.
“It’s natural to be afraid of something you don’t know,” she explains. “We need to understand where that fear is coming from, why is it that we don’t know each other, and how we make sure people know so they’re not in a place of fear.”
She says fear has grown exponentially in Canada since Sept. 11 and government and community policies have moved to reflect those fears. This has led to stigmatization in Ottawa, reversing some of the progress that had already been made.
“We have a vision of Canada as the most wonderful place, the safest place, where people grow and are nurtured. Let’s work towards that,” she says. “Let’s come to that place from different angles, because if we all came from the same angle, it wouldn’t be fun and we would miss a whole lot.”