This week, I watched the video “Everybody’s Children”. This Canadian documentary focused on the lives of two unaccompanied refugee minors seeking asylum. Sallieu is a young man who immigrated to Canada from Sierra Leone where his mother was killed. Joyce was a young woman who left the Congo after she was forced into prostitution by her parents in order to pay for living. As I write these two sentences as a short summary of the lives these two people had before moving to Canada, it is hard for me to understand how they are able to be so strong. As an adult who has had amazing opportunities throughout my life, I couldn’t imagine the struggles these two have been through. Furthermore, I couldn’t fathom what it must have been like to leave everything they knew to come here, alone, in search of a better life.
While hearing their stories, a major hardship that both people share is that of having to support themselves financially, while attending school with little help. In these situations, I wonder how these students are able to stay motivated to make school a priority in their lives. I know as a teenager with no major responsibilities, it was still difficult for me to see the necessity of school. And yet, these two seem to have an understanding well beyond their years. In a way, they have not been able to experience lives as teenagers. They have been thrown into a life of adulthood that is necessary but not desired. Their stories have also made me think about how I will interact with students who are in similar, extremely difficult situations. Will I remember to be understanding of people whose daily lives are much more difficult than mine? How will I balance maintaining high expectations with understanding that sometimes, school has to come second? I find that as with every student, a support system and relationship building will be the key to creating an understanding and motivating environment. Both people in this video demonstrated how much they relied on their support systems to make it through the tough process of integrating into Canadian life. Joyce has her church family, while Sallieu relies on the support provided by Matthew’s House. It is these important relationships that are critical to the success of these individuals. As mentioned in the film, many minors are refused refugee status or end up in the streets due to a lack of resources or an established processing system. As sad and horrible as it is, Joyce and Sallieu are the lucky ones. Even through all of their hardships, leaving home, living alone, and providing for themselves by working and going to school, many refugees still find themselves in less ideal situations. I think that this speaks not only to the lack of institutionalized support provided by the government, but also the importance and power a community can have in a person’s life.
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January 2017
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