‘Pay the price’: Outspoken Pakistani scholar finds refuge in Calgary, hopes to inspire

A media personality and scholar who spoke out against the Pakistan government and oppression is now driving Calgary’s streets at night, delivering your takeout orders.

He hopes his story of standing up for human rights, which has cost him almost everything he loves, inspires others in his new country.

“I drive Uber right now and I’m a professor,” said Ommar Hayat Abbasi, who came to Canada as a refugee seeking safety, after appearing on panels and TV shows talking about political and religious exploitation in his home country.

“In a repressive regime, if you speak against repression, you have to pay the price,” he said. “I was attacked, I was beaten more than one time.”

Hayat Abbasi says he was locked out of his university and threatened before flying to the United States for a conference in 2020.

“I knew for a fact that if I go back, it’s going to be the end of the story.”

He had to leave his family behind.

“I pay the price every single day, being away from my family, working the kind of work that I’m doing.”

But he says he’d rather be driving for a ridehailing service than participating in an oppressive system, despite separate challenges Canada presents.

“There is racism that I face every day, which is unfortunate. But the good thing is I can talk about it,” Hayat Abbasi shared.

He values being able to use his voice and being in a progressive country, a place he feels better matches his views.

Hayat Abbasi wants Canadians to cherish their opportunities and–like him–not give up on their goals or what they feel is right.

“Even if it’s a challenging time, cherish it. It’s okay to go through a little bit of bad time. It’s just okay. You can’t expect life to be smooth as always. There is always going to some be ups and downs and I think ups and downs in life make life more beautiful and more colourful.”

He plans to be back in the classroom as a professor in the next couple of years and to reunite with his family.