The sun rose over the City of Ottawa, Ontario, bathing the Canadian landscape in its eerie light. The locals, whether decent and wholesome or passive aggressive and fake, awakened and got ready to face the day. Rafika Warsame is, according to her friends and neighbors, a fine example of a proper Somali Muslim woman. The six-foot-tall, curvy and dark-skinned, thirty-something African Muslim lady puts on her Hijab, Humber College cap and traditional Somali robe before heading to her job as a cleaner at Civic Hospital. Fortunately, it's a short ride from Rafika's neighborhood of Meadowlands Drive to the Civic Hospital campus.
Rafika Warsame stood at the bus stop located near the grocery store on Meadowlands Drive and patiently waited for the OC Transpo bus. Of course, true to form, the OC Transpo bus was late because the drivers simply don't give a fuck about their clientele. One of the many reasons why life sucks in Ottawa. It was early August, so the blazing heat choked the City of Ottawa in its not so pleasant embrace. The summer had been rough, with a thunder storm knocking down the power lines and leaving several neighborhoods without power for days, and then there was the crime wave gripping Ontario. Yeah, the Capital region of Canada has changed a lot since Rafika first moved there.
"It's my life," Rafika said to herself as she waited for the OC Transpo bus. Why is Rafika working as a cleaner when she's a Humber College graduate? Ottawa doesn't have a lot to offer to graphic design grads like Rafika here. An old White lady came along and flashed Rafika the fake smile that 'traditional' Canadians give to minority Canadians. The old White lady looked at Rafika, considering her Hijab and traditional robe, and of course inquired about her nationality. Rafika, who remembers studying for the Canadian citizenship test, and acing it, shook her head. Putting on her headphones, Rafika ignored the old White lady. After a while, the bus came and Rafika got on.
Rafika sat in the middle of the bus, and looked out the window while the bus pulled away. The old White lady sat at the front, in the seats reserved for old people and pregnant women and the like. At this hour, the bus was mostly empty. Soon, it would be filling up with commuters. The driver, a bearded Indian man with a turban, sang to himself in his native language as he drove through the streets of Ottawa's west end. Rafika has grown used to life in the City of Ottawa, but for some people, like the old White lady, she will never be Canadian enough. To hell with such haters...
Grabbing her cellphone, Rafika began playing one of her favorite songs, Let Me Out, by the band Hidden Citizens, and performed by an Arab female singer named Ranya. The haunting, soul-stirring song poured into Rafika's ears and she smiled. The OC Transpo bus barreled down Meadowlands, then Fysher Avenue, and finally, towards Carling Avenue and the Civic Hospital. Rafika could have walked that distance but she wasn't about to be hot and sweaty when she started her shift at the Civic Hospital, thank you very much. The OC Transpo bus pass costs over a hundred dollars every month, and Rafika expects to get her money's worth. Speaking of hot and sweaty...
Last night, Rafika had some fun when her good friend Bilal Hussein came along with his good friend Jacques Guerrier, a tall and handsome young Haitian man. Like Rafika, Bilal was born in the Puntland region of Somalia but has spent most of his life in Ontario, Canada. Bilal studied business at Algonquin College, and works as a security guard until he finds that wonderful job with the Government of Canada. Tens of thousands of recent college and university graduates in the Capital of Canada share the same dream.
