University of Saskatchewan and Zahra Darzi

Amirzadeh: She claimed refugee status once she arrived in Regina in1991, according to CTV. Amirzadeh is now a lawyer specializing in immigration and refugee law who teaches at the University of Saskatchewan. Zahra Darzi fled Iran with her two young daughters after her husband was executed. Darzi is an engineer working at Saskatchewan government-owned telephone utility. As Canada prepares to bring in at least 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year, the women say they want to remind people that, while many will come with little, it won't take long for them to get on their feet. "I think, especially when somebody has been in such a difficult situation for so long, when they arrive to an opportunity, they really grab onto it," says Amirzadeh. "Nobody really wants to be a burden." Amirzadeh left Iran and spent 18 months as a refugee in Turkey before settling in Canada. Both say they came to Canada looking for an opportunity to succeed and both seized it. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.