Immigration to Canada

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Marion's aunt and uncle, Toby and Jacob, left for Canada in the summer of 1948. Marion and her father left on September 30th, 1948. They sailed over to Quebec City, Canada on October 10th, 1948 on the SS Scythia. Marion’s welcoming to Canada was very positive as she was welcomed with smiles, oranges, goodies and chocolate. Marion had never had chocolate before so she tried to hoard as much as she could. They got on a train to Toronto, Canada where they met up with their Canadian cousins. Even though Marian could not understand English she was still very happy to see them. The Canadian cousins decided to split everyone up and have Marion and her father live with them until they could find work and live on their own. Marion's birth name had been Mania Sztajman, but her cousins felt that it would be better for her if her name was shortened. Marion Staiman was born. This was meant to help Marion blend in with the country's citizens. Blending in was an overwhelming feeling since see never had a single day of schooling nor did she know how to speak English at just 8 1/2 years of age. Marion's father was always working and so was everyone else in her family. So, Marion was all alone with nothing to do. The question came up, “what to do with her?” Marion tried to go to foster homes but after multiple foster parents, Marion was not able to work with any of them. She had always had a hard time with her foster parents. Meyer, Marion’s father, ended up keeping her but had to work every single day. The moment Marion knew that her father was taking her back she jumped with joy as it was the only time since the war that she got to just live with her father. In 1950, Marion was nine years of age when she first started kindergarten and she felt completely alone. All the other kids would just stare at her for being the biggest one and she had a hard time understanding anything due to her lack of English-speaking skills. During lunch, kids would go home which was typical during this time period however Marion's father was always working so she would walk around the street always hungry. After school, she would always be home alone in her and her father's room waiting for him to come home for dinner. At this time, Marion and her father were living with a family member but instead of paying for room and board he was only paying for room. Marion would get home from school and wait till her father would come home from work for company and for food. While waiting she would always just sit in the room and be alone with herself and her thoughts. Her father kept canned food locked up in a suitcase because Marion would eat all the food if it was unlocked as it was easy for her to get in it. After a while, Marion's father decided they couldn't live like this anymore and Marion began to live with her aunt Toby and uncle Jacob. Marion did not want to live with them due to the fact that they were melancholy, joyless, and intimidating. She was too young to comprehend the horrors and travesty that her aunt and uncle experienced during the war.