MCM Presents!

Ricardo Lamour / Emrical, artiste hip-hop

« J'ai eu l'occasion de faire un stage au Projet Refuge - Maison Haidar. Je recommande à toute personne qui se dit être au service des citoyens, de prendre le temps d'aller visiter cette ressource. 

La seule façon d'arriver à favoriser un degré de conscience politique propice aux situations vécues par les réfugié-e-s se produira-t-elle seulement  lorsque des personnes canadiennes seront elles-mêmes prises dans des contextes où elles auront à quitter ce beau pays?

Peut-être que c'est à ce moment –là que nous aurons à puiser dans les racines d'altérité que nous avions il y a vingt ans, lorsque le peuple canadien recevait la Distinction Nansen*. C'est alors que nous serons, nous aussi, sur la piste des réfugié-e-s. Mon stage auprès du Projet Refuge a fait de moi un meilleur citoyen. »

Photo: www.moishistoiredesnoirs.com

* Distinction Nansen: Précédemment connu sous le nom de « Médaille Nansen », ce prix a été institué en hommage au célèbre explorateur polaire norvégien Fridtjof Nansen, qui a été nommé premier Haut Commissaire aux réfugiés en 1921 par la Société des Nations, l'ancêtre des Nations Unies. La distinction Nansen pour les réfugiés, dotée d'une médaille commémorative et d'une somme de 100 000 dollars, est remise chaque année à une personne ou une organisation en reconnaissance de services exceptionnels rendus à la cause des réfugiés.

Departures

I think it was Freud who said that the idea of our own death is so unbearable that we act as if it will never happen.  And so we need a poet like Félix Leclerc to help us appreciate the gift of our mortality: C’est grand la mort - c’est plein de vie dedans  (death is generous – full of the gift of life).

For an inspirational glimpse into that gift and the way death can rebirth new life, I highly recommend a beautifully moving film: Departures  

MCM Presents!

Over the next few months, we will be asking our staff, board and volunteers what inspires them about their work with MCM.  Today we launch this series with Just Solutions co-coordinator Andrea Dawes.

The dictionary defines inspiration as "stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity".  As co-coordinator of MCM's Just Solutions legal info clinic, I feel so fortunate to work in an environment where my mind and emotions are indeed in high gear on a daily basis!  

An important source of motivation is the incredible dedication and passion I witness in the work of my colleagues, and in that of the wider refugee advocacy community, both in Montreal and across the nation.  The people we assist tell us, time and time again, how important it has been for them to feel supported and accompanied through seemingly endless and extremely stressful immigration processes.  Providing individual support and collective advocacy has become all the more essential in an increasingly difficult administrative and political climate.

My primary source of inspiration is, of course, our clients.  In the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, they share difficult memories from the past and their hopes for their future; whenever possible, with a smile and a sense of humour!  I am an admiring witness to their courage in the face of adversity I will never know, as they confront what must feel like a million doors slamming shut.  Their hopes and dreams are centered on one goal: to provide a safe, secure and happy future for their family - something we should all have the chance to do.

Stopping Genocide

Don’t miss this important upcoming event at the Holocaust Museum…

À ne pas manquer…

Female Sexuality - A History of Control

We are all still reeling from the Shafia murder trial – horrified at the crime, saddened at the tragic loss of life. But western shock at honour killings is something relatively new according to author and Oxford Professor Faramerz Dabhoiwala, who just published The Origins of Sex: A History of the First Sexual Revolution, a fascinating glimpse into the history of western patriarchy that sheds new light on this debate. Professor Dabhoiwala was interviewed on CBC`s The Current this week.