'You are not wanted': A newcomer to Canada says apartheid forced him onto the streets
After fleeing Uganda, Kateregga Raymond Calvin's mind is more relaxed than when he arrived in Canada a year ago.
The refugee was being tortured so he sought a new life in a country he described as a “peaceful” country. Calvin was able to find a place to call home in Montreal, but that's when the problems started in his house.
“My neighbors started harassing me. So I was really kicked out of the house,” said Calvin, 25, in an interview on Thursday.
The newcomer was the victim of teasing by other tenants, who said they were targeting his dark skin and the way he spoke. At one point, Calvin says he was told he was “not wanted in this world.”
“Like, 'You're a refugee, you're an asylum seeker, you're nothing in this country,'” Calvin said, describing the scoffers.
Calvin began to feel lonely and unwanted. Apartheid ended up not being accepted until he went to his employer who told him to leave.
“It is very difficult to live where you are not wanted,” said Calvin.
With no other option but to walk, he took to the streets last January.
Calvin was homeless for more than a month. He warmed the cabins for the day before heading back out into the cold winter quarters.
“You have no food. You eat once a day – that's your dinner,” Calvin said.
Kateregga Raymond Calvin fled Uganda and came to Canada, but was forced to leave his first home because of the taunts of his neighbors.
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The young refugee finally got long-term help and now has a new, safe home as he applies to universities in Montreal. But those who work with immigrants in Quebec are sounding the alarm, saying they are hearing more stories of racist acts.
Jesse Edmond, a social worker who supports Calvin, says some of his clients have come to him with similar accounts since the summer. Those experiences are “very difficult” for newcomers, he added, and make them “feel like they don't belong here.”
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“I have to give them hope, give them hope again,” Edmond said. “Because some of them, their self-esteem is very low.”
Discrimination can sometimes go beyond teasing. Edmond recounted how one of the refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo fled Quebec City after being attacked.
“I was talking to him and he told me that they almost killed him because he is black,” Edmond said.
Preparing for more asylum seekers under Trump
Frantz André, a refugee representative, told Global News that he receives calls about racism – such as immigrants being deported for wrong reasons and others facing deportation.
He says acts of racism are so common and frightening that even citizens like him question their place in Quebec.
“I'm starting to feel that way,” he said.
André blames growing intolerance on political leaders, citing public debates about how asylum seekers cause or exacerbate problems in the province. Newcomers are seen as scapegoats for various issues such as the housing crisis.
“Yes, there are problems. “But they should not show the asylum seekers that they are the cause of all the problems in Quebec,” said André.
His comments come as the Quebec government has tightened immigration controls in recent months on various types of arrivals, citing a lack of capacity. Last week, the province suspended two major programs that are a pathway to citizenship and introduced new self-governing legislation to reduce the number of international students in October.
On Wednesday, Quebec Premier François Legault also warned of the possibility of an influx of people seeking asylum due to Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.
With Trump promising more deportations, Legault said the state has “done its part” and cannot take in more arrivals. The Prime Minister is asking the federal government to secure its borders with the US
“The problem is not the immigrants, it's the number. We already have too many. So we don't have to add to the problem,” said Legault on Wednesday.
But it's not just Quebec that is looking at what might happen with Trump's new presidency.
Edmond, a social worker, believes Canada will see more asylum seekers when Trump takes office and “so we have to be ready.” Meanwhile, Frantz says he has been getting calls every day since Election Day.
Republican President and former presidential nominee Donald Trump raises his hand as he walks with his wife Melania Trump at an election night viewing party at the Palm Beach Convention Center, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, West Palm Beach, Fla.
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But advocates also want local political leaders to have a different view of the newcomers. They come here to build a life and contribute to Canadian society, Edmond explained.
“The way people see them, they have to stop,” said Edmond.
Despite the challenges asylum seekers face, Calvin has no regrets about coming to Canada. She is grateful for the help she receives, and moves forward in the face of discrimination.
“You just have to live and continue living, and accept God to take you to where you are,” said Calvin.
– via files from the Canadian Press
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
