Motherhood in the diaspora often means living in two worlds at once. Growing up in Canada as the eldest child of an Indian immigrant mother meant balancing tradition and Canadian culture daily. I was born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Canada; at home, I was surrounded by language, food, and values from “back home.” Outside, I learned to navigate Canadian society, a world that often felt completely different from what my mother knew.
For her, it meant raising her firstborn child in a country far from home, then doing it all over again thousands of miles away. For me, it meant learning to live between languages, values, and ways of life.
A Mother’s Journey
My mom was born in Saudi Arabia and raised in India, where she attended a strict girls’ boarding school. When the Gulf War began, her parents moved her back to India, where she adjusted to a life steeped in community traditions. After finishing high school, she married and returned to Saudi Arabia — a country with its own rigid norms and rules, especially for women. A year later, I was born.
A New Beginning in Canada
Eventually, my parents made the bold decision to migrate to Canada. For my mom, motherhood in the diaspora now meant raising four children in a land where she didn’t speak the language and had no extended family support. But she brought her identity, her courage, and her intention to pass on her culture.
Our Canadian home became a blend of Saudi and Indian traditions: the smell of curries in the kitchen, broken English mixed with Arabic and Urdu, evenings at the Islamic Centre, and weekends with English movies and Tim Hortons hot chocolate. Canada offered waterfalls, forests, and a new way of life — but inside our home, my mother made sure our roots stayed alive.
A Quiet Kind of Strength
My mother rarely showed the pressures she carried: learning a new language, raising kids without her community, holding onto her identity. Her resilience showed in everyday acts — fasting during Ramadan, celebrating Eid, correcting our mother tongue, and reminding us who we were. She let me embrace Canadian life while keeping me grounded in our heritage.
A Mother’s Gift
As the eldest, I saw her balancing act up close. She built a bridge between cultures with quiet grace, showing me that motherhood in the diaspora is an act of courage — full of contradictions, silent sacrifices, and love.
Now, I see it as a gift. My mother’s journey gave me a blueprint for resilience and identity. One day, when I have my own children, I hope to carry those lessons forward.