To be honest, Mr. Regan, thank you so much for the kind remarks, but when I came to Canada, I didn't know anything about Canada other than what was called “the MTV”, which was Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. There's a huge lack of awareness in the immigrant community about rural cities and rural towns and the quality of life that these spaces can offer.
I also have to mention that rural places in Canada have the same services that big cities can offer. I was so surprised. Compared to other countries like those in the Middle East, and in Syria, where I come from, if you are in a rural place, your chances to get health care, to get to a hospital, to get medication, to get to school and to get to university are very rare, while in Canada all of those services are the same. This is what immigrants don't know.
At the end of the day, I think most immigrants will tend to go to regions and small towns when they feel that they are welcome, that they are home, and that's what Antigonish has offered to me. I really hope that big and small Canadian towns can work together to advance these amazing initiatives by the federal, provincial and municipal governments to make sure that immigrants have the resources they need and are aware that they exist already. I think more immigrants will be willing to stay in rural areas, compared to big cities, if they already know about the services.