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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday January 20, 2007 - 3 New Canadian struggled to find work in his field at home pleted his software engineering studies. From there, Niazi got involved He was born in Cyprus, lived in with the UN headquarters in Rome, Japan, went to high school in which needed someone with his skills Pakistan, studied engineering in and offered him work on various projBahrain, received his Masters from ects. Oxford, and has worked for the United Niazi said when he was 23, with Nations. leading edge computer skills, the He also found himself installing allure of working in an air condisecurity systems in high schools in tioned office was a prime motivator. recent years, while attempting to gain "I was 23 years old, that was the meaningful employment in his new only thing that mattered," he homeland, Canada. laughed. Asif Niazi, 43, lives in Oakville Niazi's father was a media analyst with his wife, Maryam, and their with the U.S. Embassy and spoke five three children -- Jamil, 14; Shahryar, languages. 9, and Shahroz, 7. Niazi himself The family "It's been extremely excels at three came to Canada in languages -- frustrating. I have advised 2000 and settled English, Urdu, governments in Asia and in Oakville. spoken on the "My cousin Africa on policy and Indian subcontilives here," said environmental matters nent, and Pashto, Niazi. which is spoken and the closest thing I've Having graduin part of ated from his gotten to the environment Pakistan and studies in soft- here was shoveling dirt Afghanistan. ware engineering at an Oakville golf course ." Of the latter, in 1995, Niazi proNiazi said the ceeded to earn his Asif Niazi ancient language Masters in enviis not as sophistironmental mancated as English, agement from Oxford University in but is rather more culturally-based. England and then began internation- With not a lot of mass media influal development consulting work for ence, it's learned primarily through the United Nations. interaction with people and must be Niazi said he has worked on proj- understood against the backdrop of ects in Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia, its cultural context. Pakistan, Somalia, Kenya, Sri Lanka, In many ways, it's been a small Bangladesh and Mozambique. world for Niazi, but perhaps never so "I was involved in the design and lonely as here. implementation of aid projects," said Niazi said he and his wife had Niazi. come to Canada as landed immiSo just how does one get to work grants and spent 25 days here to see with the UN? According to Niazi, you what it was like. can visit the UN's websites and begin They returned home and didn't applying. decide to return permanently until a "I tell younger people to go to one doctor advised them this would be an of the countries in which the UN ideal place to be, given they have an works and work from that end," he autistic child. said, explaining that working for The couple returned to Canada NGOs (non-governmental organiza- and settled in Oakville. The many diftions) are a good way to gain relevant ficulties Niazi has experienced in experience. finding meaningful employment, he For Niazi, he was living in says, have been more than offset by Pakistan when a U.S. aid organization the treatment his son has received hired him. He was involved in estab- and the progress he has made. lishing a computer centre for a gov"There has been a tremendous ernment department and his com- change in him. It has given our son puter skills were high tech at the back to us," said Niazi. time, the late 1980s, having just comNevertheless, it has been a roller OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF By Angela Blackburn coaster ride for the Cyprus native. "It's been extremely frustrating. I have advised governments in Asia and Africa on policy and environmental matters and the closest thing I've gotten to the environment here was shoveling dirt at an Oakville golf course," said Niazi. "I had a terrible time searching for employment in Canada," said Niazi. The newcomer couldn't work for the UN, outside the country, in order to fulfill residency criteria for his citizenship. Even when you live in an outstanding community, it's sometimes difficult if you don't have a job, he admitted. The Oakville man worked for a company installing security cameras and as a security guard, but was turned down for a data entry position. "They said they were looking for Canadian experience. A keyboard is a keyboard," said Niazi. The story of immigrants arriving only to find their credentials are not honoured here is not new. Many find themselves doing menial labour while they get Canadian certification. While Niazi understands, even agrees, when it comes to medical professionals, he thought credentials from Oxford were respected globally. Eventually, Niazi returned to his work as a consultant with the UN. He most recently spent eight months abroad working in Africa -- from June to October he was in Kenya working on a food security assessment that saw food aid targeted to 2.9 million people in Africa. Niazi then went to work in Jakarta, Indonesia. Niazi has been hired as a researcher by the Sierra Legal Fund, an organization that focuses on environmental law and has offices in Toronto and Vancouver. His new position, however, allowed him to finish his contract in Indonesia just before Christmas. A treasurer and active player of the Oakville Cricket Club and an avid squash player, Niazi said he is looking on the bright side these days and finds his days getting brighter. He recently attended a meeting of Oakvillegreen Conservation Association Inc. and found it to be right up his alley. LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER THINGS ARE LOOKING UP: After encountering early problems with finding employment in his chosen profession, Oakville resident Asif Niazi, a researcher with the Sierra Legal Fund, says life his looking brighter in his adopted country. It's on environmental fronts that Niazi said the Sierra Legal Fund "fills an important gap." The group is neither the government nor the private sector. It watchdogs environmental issues on behalf of the environment and the public. Niazi said his skills can bridge various sectors. He once was told he thought like a computer, so he studied environmental management, which he said is a field as broad as it gets. Now, he can apply science, management and technology lenses to environmental issues. "We don't think in silos. There are the three Es of the environment, economics, ecology and ethics. Niazi can put databases together and then analyze them to determine what is needed. "They actually complement each other. You marry the tool with the issue," said Niazi. Part of his work with the UN is to be on a team of sometimes up to 100 persons. The team meets with everyone involved from the top politicians or government officials to the people in villages to collect information. If a certain amount of aid is available or required, the team determines the need, based on speaking with the people and developing a database of relevant information to the issue, then makes recommendations on appropriate policies to assist in both the short and long terms, for aid. Recalling a village in which he met with residents who offered tea, but had no food, he said a drought had drastically affected their lives. While immediate food aid was a short-term answer, a means of surviving such conditions is the real answer. "Humans are always interacting with the environment," said Niazi, noting the degree of it and the manner of it changes. And sometimes, lots of what he called "noise" is made about the environment, which can lead to a lost focus. "The issues are not the real issues. It's clouding out what are the issues," he said. And in places like Canada, people's concern about environmental issues is measured against their unwillingness to compromise. · Wood & Vinyl Shutters, Supplied & Installed · High Quality at Affordable Prices · Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed · Serving Oakville with Shop at Home Service Authorized Vinylbilt Dealer www.shuttersetc.ca Shop at Home Service FREE