After fleeing Uganda, Katereja Raymond Calvin’s mind is more at ease than it was when he first arrived in Canada just over a year ago.
The asylum seeker was subjected to harassment, so he sought a new life in what he described as a “peaceful” country. Calvin was able to find a place to call home in Montreal, but that’s when problems started inside his apartment building.
“My neighbors started bullying me. I was literally kicked out of the house,” Calvin, 25, said in an interview Thursday.
The newcomer was the victim of racist taunts from other tenants, who he said targeted his dark skin and accent. At one point, Calvin claims he was told he was “not needed in this country.”
“Like, ‘You’re a refugee, you’re an asylum seeker, you’re nothing in this country,'” Calvin said, describing the sarcasm.
Calvin began to feel isolated and unwanted. The racism became so unacceptable that he approached his landlord, who he said asked him to leave.
“It’s very hard to live in a place you don’t want to be,” Calvin said.
With no other choice but to leave, he ended up on the streets last January.
For more than a month, Calvin had no home. He warmed up inside the day shelters before heading back outside to face the cold winter elements.
“You have nothing to eat. You eat once a day, and this is your dinner,” Calvin said.
Katriga Raymond Calvin fled Uganda and came to Canada, but was forced from his first home because of racist taunts from his neighbours.
Global news
Ultimately, the young refugee found long-term assistance and now has a new, safe home while he applies to universities in Montreal. But those who work with immigrants in Quebec are sounding the alarm, saying they’re hearing more stories of racist acts.
Jesse Edmund, the social worker who supports Calvin, says his other clients have been coming to him with similar accounts since the summer. He added that these experiences are “very difficult” for new arrivals, because they make them “feel like they don’t belong here.”
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“I have to give them some hope, give them some confidence again,” Edmund said. “Because for some of them, their self-esteem becomes very low.”
Racism can sometimes escalate beyond sarcasm. Edmond told how an asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo fled Quebec City after being attacked.
“I was talking to him and he told me they almost killed him because he was black,” Edmund said.
Preparing to receive more asylum seekers during the Trump era
Frantz Andre, who advocates for asylum seekers, told Global News that he receives phone calls about racism — such as immigrants who have been expelled for mysterious reasons and others facing deportation.
He says acts of racism are so frequent and horrific that they make citizens like him question their place in Quebec.
“I’m starting to feel this way,” he said.
Andre blames the growing intolerance on political leaders, citing public debates about how asylum seekers are supposedly causing or exacerbating problems in the province. He sees new arrivals as scapegoats for various issues, such as the housing crisis.
“Yes, there are issues. But they should not point to asylum seekers as the cause of all the problems in Quebec,” Andre said.
His comments come as the Quebec government has tightened immigration controls in recent months for different types of newcomers, citing a lack of capacity. Last week, the province suspended two key programs that were pathways to citizenship and introduced legislation to give itself new powers to limit the number of international students in October.
Quebec Prime Minister François Legault warned on Wednesday of a possible influx of asylum seekers as a result of Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections.
While Trump is promising mass deportations, Legault said the county has “done its part” and simply cannot absorb more new arrivals. The Prime Minister called on the federal government to secure its borders with the United States
“The problem is not the migrants, but the number. We already have too many. So we should not add to the problem,” Legault said on Wednesday.
But it’s not just Quebec that is bracing for what could unfold with a new Trump presidency.
Edmund, the social worker, also believes Canada will see more asylum seekers when Trump takes office and “so we have to be prepared.” Meanwhile, Frantz says he’s been receiving calls daily since Election Day.
Republican President and former candidate Donald Trump waves as he walks with his wife, Melania Trump, at an Election Night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida.
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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 society in Canada,” Edmund explained.
“The way people look at them has to stop,” Edmund said.
Despite the challenges asylum seekers face, Calvin has no regrets about coming to Canada. He is grateful for the help he receives, and is moving forward from the racism he experienced.
“You have to live and move forward in life, and accept that God will take you where you are,” Calvin said.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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