RICHMOND – Suresh Kurl, a former social worker and community activist who occasionally contributes to, along with numerous South Asians, has been recognized for his contributions to Canada by being selected as this year’s top 25 Immigrants.
“Canada was never on my radar,” says Suresh Kurl of Richmond, B.C. He left India on a post-doctoral fellowship to the University of York in England. His next stop was the United States, where he was an assistant professor with the University of Michigan’s department of Indian studies.
“I actually wanted to go back to India eventually,” he says. But then a job in the Asian studies department at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver came up. “They interviewed me and I got the job, so I crossed the border for one year only,” says Kurl, noting it was 1970. “But I ended staying here forever.”
While he had trouble with hay fever down in Michigan, he says, “Here I could breathe! I was surprised to be able to breathe through my nose.”
Good respiration was not the only benefit of moving to Canada. “I liked everything. The university had very friendly people,” he says. “And my wife [Tripa] said it looks like a good place.”
Job success was also something he found easily in Canada. He spent four years at UBC, before landing a job with the B.C. Ministry of Social Development, starting off as a social worker, then district manager, then area manager, and finally a registrar of B.C. Benefits Appeal Board. He was employed by the provincial government for 27 years in total.
“My first job there was focused on connecting with immigrant communities, those having difficulty with integration,” he notes.
He noticed that many immigrants were critical of the Canadian experience, and he himself encountered moments of racism, but he chose to look at the positives instead.
“No country is perfect. We have drawbacks. But you have come here for reasons such as economic well-being. So you have to accept and learn to deal with [negative experiences]. Get to know people and let them get to know you … Don’t keep yourself inside your house,” says Kurl.
After he retired from the provincial government, Kurl was called on once again to perform public service, this time as a member of the National Parole Board of Canada from 2003 to 2008.
“I got appointed based on my experiences in social services as well as knowledge of languages and cultures. Prisons have all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds,” says Kurl.
Now officially retired, Kurl is still as active as ever. These days, you’ll find him writing elegant narratives in South Asian community newspapers on the similarities between religions, being involved in multicultural associations and encouraging people to get involved in the Canadian democratic process; he himself has gone knocking on doors for civic, provincial and federal election campaigns.
“I’m in Canada for 41 years now,” says Kurl. “I’m still closely connected with my place of birth, but my life and family is here. I enjoy being Canadian.”
