Before a tragic event changed her life forever, Angeletta McKenzie felt that everything was finally falling into place. In Jamaica, the country where she grew up, she had built a comfortable life. She and her family owned a restaurant, and after many years of hard work, they believed they had achieved many of the goals they had once dreamed about. Then one ordinary Wednesday changed everything. 

It was one of the busiest days at the restaurant. Angeletta was working during the rush when she received a phone call that no one would ever want to receive, the kind of call that changes your life forever. It was her aunt. She heard something about someone being dead, but at first the words did not register. Her mind could not process what she was hearing. She told her cousin, who was working with her, that her aunt had said something about her brother Dan being killed, but even hearing the name did not feel real. 

Then her father called. He had gone to the morgue and told her that he recognized her brother by his feet. At that moment, the truth finally sank in. Her brother had been murdered. “That was the worst day of my life,” she recalls. 

Angeletta had grown up in a community where violence was often present, but this was the first time something so devastating had happened so close to her. This time, everything was different. Her brother had been in a safe place since childhood. They leaned on each other for emotional support and stability. 

“Even though I grew up around violence, that was the first time reality truly hit me,” she says. “You think that if you live the right way and do the right things everything will be okay. But sometimes bad things still happen even when you walk the straightest path.” 

Her brother had been building a wall in a community when men from a nearby gang-controlled   area approached him asking for work. He did not have any work to offer them at the time. Tragically they believed he was taking opportunities away from them and they killed him. Some of the perpetrators were later sentenced, but the loss left a permanent scar. 

What hurt even more was the feeling that the system had failed. On that day so many violent deaths occurred that her brother’s murder did not even make the evening news. “That’s when everything changed for me,” she says. 

After his death Angeletta began thinking about leaving Jamaica forever. Something inside her told her that her life needed to change. She had previously travelled frequently to the United States because of work, but she did not want to go there. Instead, she decided to move somewhere completely new. She chose Canada. 

“I had heard Canada was safer,” says Angeletta McKenzie. “At that point, safety became the most important thing for me. 

She eventually moved to Newfoundland, Canada. However, starting over in a new country was not easy and came with many challenges. When she first arrived, she found the environment unfamiliar and sometimes isolated. The community was not very diverse, and she often felt like she stood out. McKenzie says she felt she was treated differently because of her race. However, today Angeletta McKenzie believes some of it also came from a lack of knowledge about different cultures. “People didn’t always know how to interact with someone who was different from them,” she says. Surprisingly some of the harshest treatment she experienced came from other immigrants. She had expected solidarity from people who had also left their home countries, but that was not always the case. 

Moving to Canada also meant leaving her children and husband behind in Jamaica. At the time she believed the separation would last only three months. Instead of delays, missing paperwork and miscommunication with immigration authorities stretched that period into almost two years. Being separated from her children was one of the most painful experiences of her life. 

During those early years in Canada Angeletta lived quietly. She rarely socialized, went to restaurants, or attended gatherings. She kept her head down and focused on work while grieving her brother’s death. Cooking became her way of coping. The kitchen offered both distraction from her pain and a sense of purpose. Long shifts allowed her to concentrate on her work and temporarily escape the weight of grief. 

Eventually she took another major step and started her own catering company. Her cooking reflects her journey. It is a fusion of Jamaican flavors, Newfoundland influences and culinary ideas from around the world. 

Today Angeletta dedicates a significant part of her time to helping other immigrants navigate the challenges she once faced alone. She is currently writing books about her immigration experience in Canada and will soon launch a podcast called Immigrant Smarter, Not Harder. 

Her main message to newcomers is simple: information is power. 

She says, “The biggest asset you can have when you come to a new country is information. Understand the system, learn your rights and build networks beyond your own community.” 

She encourages immigrants to learn about financial systems, credit, workplace rights and legal protections. Without that knowledge many newcomers struggle unnecessarily. Despite the difficulties she experienced, Angeletta believes resilience can grow out of loss. “I want people to know that there is hope after the tragedy,” she says. “You can rebuild your life.” 

Today when asked what home means to her answer is clear. “Home is Canada,” she says. Although Jamaica will always be part of her identity, Canada is where her family is safe and where she has built her life. In Newfoundland, she found a community that supported her, influenced her, and became part of her story. 

“That’s home now,” she says quietly 

Written by Donjeta Elshani Hetemi

All Images © Angeletta McKenzie.