Dear non Inuk health care workers and teachers of the north:

You, like me, are here in the Arctic to work. You have traveled from another part of Canada to experience life here. Just like me you are a small fish in a big sea. You are a minority here. You are not native to this part of your country. And just like me you will at some point be the victim of some sort of discrimination for being from the southern part of Canada.

But I have a news flash for you. You are NOT better than me. Please stop treating the people that work in retail like they are second class citizens. If I smile at you don't ignore me. I have no motive for being friendly to you. I work here, I put up with the same crap that you do.
Unlike you I get to leave the north only once a year. I don't get to see my friends and family at Christmas because of the job that I have. I don't get months off in the summer, I get one month a year. I don't get to travel and most of the time I feel trapped here.
Unlike you I have no other job to go back to. I am here because it was a way to make things better for my husband and I. Life here is no cake walk, we miss the little things that we had in the south. Yes we will eventually go back to that lifestyle. but for now we are here. And we try to make the best of the situation.

Remember that the next time I go out of my way to help you find something for your supper. Or when I have to stop doing my job as a supervisor to be your cashier so that you don't have to wait in a line.




Thank you, Megan