Before packing and moving abroad, you’ve probably wondered at one point if you were going to miss relatives and friends, the old family pet and favourite local dishes. Or maybe you didn’t have this luxury because there was no choice but to leave a country in turmoil—still, you must have left something precious behind, if only a piece of your identity.

“But what if a major, global crisis hit?” ponders absolutely no one, except maybe NATO officials.

I vaguely remember wondering what I would do in case of a conflict between France and Canada when I applied for Canadian citizenship but it seemed very unlikely. It never occurred to me, for instance, that travel restrictions could be implemented, that borders could be closed for months or that both France and Canada could be facing the exact same crisis at the same time.

Enter 2020, the year that sucks for pretty much everyone around the globe. There’s no hierarchy of suffering but I think expats, immigrants and foreign workers are having a particularly hard time. Most of us really felt the need to call home this year. Maybe even fly home, depending on the shade of pandemic red here and over there.

It’s understandable. Newcomers or not, most of us still have ties to this place we used to call home. It takes years, maybe even generations to truly grow roots somewhere else—there’s no switch to flip to stop feeling “foreign,” it comes and goes depending on the situation. We care about what’s going on right here, right now, but also about what’s going on next door or halfway around the world.

I faced several minor crisis and life events over the years—health and relationship crisis with my French relatives, Mark’s birth, a tornado in Ottawa, a death in the family and other difficult times. Oh yeah, and the pandemic, like you guys.

So, what can help expats, newcomers and immigrants during a major crisis? I think I learned a thing or two over the years…

Know who you can count on for support

Most immigrants don’t have relatives nearby and newcomers may not have a strong network of friends yet.

Who would you turn to to look after your kids in case of emergency? Who can feed your pet and check on your house? Who could delivery groceries and make sure you’re okay? Who would lend you $100 in a pinch? Who could you help and how?

We need each other in times of crisis. It takes time to build strong relationships, so start today. At the very least, get to know your neighbours. You’ll be surprised how helpful people can be if you just ask.

Keep your IDs up to date

If I hadn’t taken my driving test last year, my licence would have expired in March 2020—dodged a bullet here. Next on my to-do list is applying for Mark’s French passport, a chore I’ve been postponing because it requires two trips to the Consulate in Toronto. It would have saved me some stress this summer when I wasn’t sure if children and spouse of French citizens would be allowed to enter France.

Lesson learned. Keep your passport, driver’s licence, health card and other important documents up to date because the application or renewal process could suddenly become long and difficult.

Know when and how to get help

Get familiar with your local healthcare system as well as ways to call first responders. Explore financial assistance and practical help typically available in times of crisis, from food banks to unemployment benefits.

Teach kids and older relatives (parents, for instance) to dial 911 in case of emergency. Make them memorize your own cellphone number as well as useful contact info. If English or French isn’t their first language, practice key sentences and expressions for different scenarios.

Side note, don’t get scammed. If you’re not super comfortable with the local language or ways things work in your new country, beware of helpful “government officials” calling you or too-good-to-be-true offers.

Understand your new country’s strengths and weaknesses

I’ve never been afraid of running out of toilet paper in Canada—seriously, half of the country if just trees…—but the current crisis is exposing familiar weaknesses in the healthcare system. Access to healthcare services is an ongoing issue in Canada. I’m not exactly shocked when I hear it’s long and difficult to get tested for COVID or that we ran out of flu vaccine.

It’s helpful to know what you can realistically count on. If nationwide food shortages are an issue in normal times, it’s probably worse during crises. If you live in a remote place, you may want to keep an eye on limited transportation options.

Get another perspective on the news

At one point in the spring, it sounded like everyone was pretty much either sick or dead in Europe according to North American media. While the situation was pretty bad, I found it helpful to read French news and talk to my relatives to get another perspective—crisis aren’t just numbers, there are regional disparities and millions of people doing their best to stay safe.

Generally speaking, I find media around the world tend to picture other countries as “doing much worse.” French news put Canada and the US in the same basket or only focus on Montreal while Canadian news take shortcuts when highlighting restrictions in place. I get it, it’s complicated. If you’re worried about your loved ones, talk to them directly.

Getting another perspective on crisis is also a great way to be better prepared. Early COVID-19 development caught my eye simply because we know Wuhan—we spent time here in 2014. I wasn’t surprised when Canada went into shutdown mode because a lockdown had started in most of Europe a week earlier. Same goes with face masks, mandatory in France before they were required Canada.

Anything to add? What helps you?