"It’s no longer liveable or a desirable place to be, at least not like it used to be," the popular Salehs of YouTube say.
Sadaf Ahsan
·Contributor, Yahoo News Canada
Fri, May 10, 2024
Sana and Will Saleh are planning to move their family from Canada to Malaysia in the fall, citing rising Islamophobia.
For Toronto couple Sana and Will Saleh, the itch to move out of Canada with their three young children somewhere all the way across the world has been growing over the years. But it's become impossible to ignore since the latest Israel-Palestine conflict began in October 2023.
The couple, who are Muslim, have been victims of Islamophobia before, but they say it has only gotten worse in the past seven months. Explaining the moment they knew they had to leave, Sana recalls a November incident: “We were on the way with our young children to a Palestine protest, and an older white woman walked past us and said, ‘You are all terrorists!’ Our kids took notice and we had to explain to them that she did not know any better, and we were simply protesting for human rights, [which] is something they should take pride in.”
“Canada has a serious underlying racism problem,” says Will, adding that they officially decided to make the move in November, just after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reaffirmed Canada's longstanding support for Israel. “That is when we looked at each other and said, ‘We need to go.’ Within a few months, we were all booked and ready to leave. It was the last straw for us.”
Canadian family has eyes of Malaysia. Here's why
In hopes of finding a more welcoming new home, in February, the Salehs embarked on what they call a “mini hijrah” (an Arabic word for migration, often for one’s faith) to Malaysia for several months after brainstorming different options. They connected with the Southeast Asian country for several reasons: the beautiful weather, its hybrid of cultures, and the simple fact that Malaysia’s official religion is Islam, and a majority 60 per cent of its population is Muslim.
While that certainly doesn’t mean the country is devoid of Islamophobia or racism, and the Salehs don’t have family there, they know their odds of a warm welcome are better. They plan to make their big move to Kuala Lumpur this fall.
“We also love the fact that living there is affordable and there is so much, including water parks, theme parks, stunning beaches, pristine malls,” Sana says. “We love the fact that there is always something to do."
It's also "very pro-Palestine," they add, saying it's important for them to be around other people who share their politics.
In November, Malaysia’s prime minister Anwar Ibrahim spoke out in favour of Palestine, announcing that all Malaysians should “unanimously back” the country. He’s been a staunch supporter going back to his 20s. Historically, Malaysia’s support for Palestine has been bipartisan.
The Salehs' hope, they say, is to raise their children — Aaminah, nine; Zaynab, seven; and Yusuf, one — and watch them grow up in a more compassionate community, where they aren’t a minority. Experiencing hate at some point in their life won’t just be a given, they hope.
Sana and Will Saleh, of Toronto, plan to move their family to Malaysia in the fall.
The Saleh family on YouTube: 1.3M subscribers, nearly 1B views
The Salehs are well-known YouTubers, amassing 1.3 million subscribers, who frequently vlog about their day-to-day lives. When, in December, they published a video sharing their decision to move and why, the post quickly accumulated thousands of comments and views. Four months in, that video has 771,000 views and 12,400 comments. Their 414 videos on the platform have garnered more than 920 million views cumulatively.
While many were in support and understanding of their choice, there was – and still is – an incredible number of abusive comments telling the family to “never come back,” “good riddance,” and “take your people with you!” While some might say that’s just a few bad apples, if you ask the Salehs, it’s par for the course living in Canada. Those claims of Canadians being the nicest people in the world? That’s not the reception everyone is privileged enough to experience.
Sana and Will Saleh were born and raised in Okanagan, British Columbia, and moved to Toronto in 2019. Will had a gig as an engineer in the aviation industry, but was let go, along with many colleagues, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. That's when the pair decided to give content creation a go, quickly becoming popular YouTubers — a rare feat for a Muslim family on the platform.
It helped, too, that they felt more “at home” in Ontario than in B.C., particularly with more ethnic and halal food options, more people who looked like Sana and their children, (Will, a Canadian with a European background, converted to Islam) and who shared their culture. But eventually, they felt out of place and more like strangers.
Islamophobia on the rise in Canada: 1,300% more hate incidents
According to the National Council of Canadian Muslims, there has been a staggering 1,300-per-cent rise in hate incidents since October 7, when the conflict began, with most happening in densely populated areas in Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec. A Senate report released in November (the first of its kind) found that Muslim women have become the “primary targets when it comes to violence and intimidation” because they are easy to recognize thanks to their traditional clothing, which might include a hijab, for example. Many have been scared to leave their homes, go to work, school, or the grocery store.
According to the 2023 Senate report, “Muslims in Canada feel like they are under attack. The psychological impact of constant fear and vigilance is a heavy burden. Survivors of violent Islamophobia live with the trauma of their direct experience, while countless others live with vicarious trauma brought on by justified fear that their communities are not safe.” It goes on to call for “urgent action to reverse the alarming trajectory of Islamophobia in Canada.”
Sana and Will Saleh, of Toronto, plan to move their family to Malaysia in the fall.
The Salehs: Is it goodbye forever?
Still, the Salehs' advice to future immigrants intent on building a life in Canada is to try before you buy. Will explains: “We would say to give it a shot before committing to it. We know many people are moving to Canada and regretting it because the cost of living has skyrocketed and it’s no longer liveable or a desirable place to be, at least not like it used to be.”
"When we moved to Ontario we did not know a single person in the province," Sana recalls. "We had to start from scratch, making friends and colleagues."
As for whether they’d ever come back? The Salehs keep it simple: “We personally do not see ourselves having a future in Canada anymore.”
Onto greener pastures.
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