Each year in November, Centennial College dedicates a week to Holocaust and Genocide Education, which includes an integral special event. This year’s presentation took place on November 7, at our Progress Campus Event Centre and was hosted by Centennial Libraries in partnership with the School of English and Liberal Studies. The program was called Stories of Refuge, because it focused on refugees telling their stories, which featured historic personal recollections and perspectives, as well as a present-day experience. Each interview was moderated by veteran broadcaster Ellin Bessner, the granddaughter of Jewish refugees, former Centennial Journalism professor, and current host of the Canadian Jewish News Daily podcast.
“It is essential that we approach this subject with respect, sensitivity and commitment to truth,” said Jane Burpee, Director if Library and Learning Services, at the start of the event. “We are also acutely aware of what is happening in Palestine and Israel, most notably, and that the effects of war on its people, both immediately and long term, are deep seated and continually unfolding. It is crucial to mention that this is happening right now.”
“Our primary goal today is remembrance,” she continued. “And by recalling the horrors of the past, we recommit ourselves to preventing them from happening again.”
Stories of the Past
The event began with an excerpt from A Place to Save Your Life, a documentary by Centennial faculty Karen Shopsowitz. The documentary tells the story of the 17,000 Jewish refugees from Europe who found refuge in Shanghai, China during the Holocaust, and is available to view through the College’s library, here.
A Story of Today
Next, the audience heard the story of Razhan Alhabi, a Syrian refuge currently enrolled at Centennial College.
“We are, as Syrians, as a salmon fish,” Razhan said. “We swim against the water to arrive to a safer place.” Razhan would come to Canada in 2014, when she was 24, fleeing the destruction of her village by ISIS, who persecuted her family because of their Christianity.
“I miss my sun there. I miss my sky there. I miss my childhood there,” she’d tell the audience. After arriving in Canada, she’d take English courses at Centennial College’s School of English and Liberal Studies, and is now enrolled in the Registered Practical Nursing Program. She currently works to help fellow refugees, including her family members, come to Canada as well, and would even revisit her home village in 2019.
“Centennial made me the person sitting here right now,” she said.
A Story of Healing, and of the Future.
Finally, the audience heard from Dr. Meera Mather, Dean of the School of English and Liberal Studies, who presented her personal journey as a refugee from Sri Lanka in the 80s.
“I'm grateful that my family is here,” she said. “This is probably the first time that they will be hearing these stories openly. We hardly talk about these things.” Dr. Mather then read from a journal she’d written in the 1990s, and talked about the day her life changed forever, June 22, 1983.
“I started journaling because when I came to Canada, I suppressed a lot of my memories,” she said. “And this happens to people fleeing from trauma. And then as I became an adult, it was time for me to face my fears.”
While she told a harrowing story of fleeing from Sinhalese rebels, she also talked about the kindness of strangers after arriving to Canada, including her family’s encounter with a French gentleman who provided them with clothes and transportation. “This is the main reason I do the Holiday Drive at the College during the holidays, because I will never forget that experience,” she said. Like Razhan, she’d also find the courage to visit her home country again, in 2016.
Dr. Mather would also make an appeal to the government, private sectors, academic institutions and accrediting bodies to continue to aid more immigrants in their transition to Canada, and to help them find success in their education and careers, to help them become productive citizens as they start over.
“I think, for me, it's about advocacy and awareness,” Dr. Mather said. “It's also a path to integration, to stand here and to recount my narrative about what happened, what is happening, and what shouldn't happen.”
“I think it's so important to keep that open, where we tell each other our stories,” Karen Shopsowitz also said, conversation with Ellin Bessner. “Once we listen to everybody, and we understand everybody's journey, it can only help in the future.”
Written By: Anthony Geremia