Miguel A.

Miguel is the directing soul and a founder of the Scalabrini Centre for Refugees and Immigrants. As people using it today, he arrived in the mid-80s in Québec City, in the St. Sacrement district, as a refugee. This was not however his first contact with Canada. He had participated in a student exchange program sponsored by Canada World Youth in 1975. In his six-month visit, he got to stay in Ottawa, Toronto and Drummondville.

He arrived with his wife, pregnant with a boy later born in Quebec, and his two older sons. The first thing he did upon his arrival was to learn French at the local COFI. As he had served as a social worker in El Salvador, he was then able to act as an interpreter from Spanish to French for the benefit of newcomers. Well integrated in the community, he became director of the Centre Multiethnique de Québec, then known as the Fraternité Multiculturelle de Québec.

Meanwhile, other members of his and his wife’s families joined them in Quebec, settling, however, in Montreal. Miguel and his family eventually followed them here. Native from the main port city of Salvador, Acajutla, he had experience with trade and customs matters. This allowed him to find work in Montréal as director of imports for an organization that wanted to develop a fair trade coffee business with Haitians. The company unfortunately did not survive long. After studying at HEC, he worked at Desjardins Group in accounting for some years.

The family made a detour by Vancouver after a restructuration that cost him his job. He worked there as director of the Hispanic Community Center. The call of the family, however, brought them all back to Montreal in the early 2000s.

Upon his return, he worked as a volunteer at the church of Our Lady of Pompeii on Sauvé Street at the corner of St-Michel. Initially, he received two days a week refugees and immigrants of Hispanic, Haitian and African origins who were asking for help from the parish to get through the immigration process. The Scalabrini Missionaries, a religious order founded by Giovanni Baptista Scalabrini, father of migrants, realized that the needs were growing quickly. They consequently bought St-Rita church to turn it into a secular and independent help center. The first months were devoted to refreshing this unused church that was in great need of care.

Miguel then became director of a small but determined team that animated, with a group of volunteers, this non-profit organization. He is currently helped by two full-time staff members, Mélissa and Edilse. At first, the center offered accommodation to men in four rooms. However, it was quickly apparent that there was a greater lack of resources for women. Today, the center has ten rooms reserved for women. Offering legal services, translation services and a small thrift store to newcomers, the center has also opened its doors to the surrounding community. It’s computer room is open to the public and language courses are offered to all adults. Recreational activities are also given there in collaboration with the Loisirs Sophie-Barat. This fall, there are English classes for children under 5 years, ballet classes and theater for school kids and Zumba for teens. The old parish hall can be rented. The Fernand-Seguin school is using these premises for after school homework assistance.

The Scalabrini Centre for Immigrant and Refugee is among the partners who are preparing to host Syrian refugees in Montreal. At the time of our meeting, Miguel had just participated in meetings on the subject, involving the concerned Minister, social organizations and religious communities.

Although there are no more Masses, except for some special occasions, the church is open to all for prayer. A small chapel, in which a group of Syrians already meets weekly, is dedicated to the cult of St. Rita, Saint of the Impossible and patron of desperate causes.

Most of Miguel’s family is now Quebec and becoming increasingly multicultural with of his son’s life partners. When I asked him if he sometimes thought of returning to Salvador, he replied “No I would feel as an immigrant in my own country. I prefer to stay at home in Québec”.

Miguel in the St-Rita Scalabrini church, 655 Sauriol Street East

Miguel in the St-Rita Scalabrini church, 655 Sauriol Street East

Philippe R. & Christiane D.

If you have already read some texts on this blog, you will have noticed that I often approach strangers in public places. In the case of Philippe and Christiane however, I contacted them directly. I wanted to meet this couple which carries on its shoulders a community newspaper named journaldesvoisins.com with a team composed of neighborhood residents. This newspaper became in no time an essential media given the wealth of information it offers on everything that happens in Ahuntsic-Cartierville. They graciously agreed to meet me, simply asking that Juanito, their Golden Retriever and the mascot of the Journal, be included in the photos. The meeting took place in their backyard, with a few interruptions during the passage of airplanes. The nuisance caused by the noise and night traffic of aircrafts over the borough is a cause that they particularly take to heart.

Philippe and Christiane have met at Collège André-Grasset, where he studied in Administrative Sciences and she, in Literature. Both spouses were born in Montreal. Members of their families had already been living in Ahuntsic for several years. In university, Christiane chose political science, while dreaming of becoming a journalist. For his part, Philippe did his Bachelor of Commerce at Concordia University, where he was photo editor of the student newspaper "The Georgian".

Philippe has long worked in banking institutions, mostly holding positions related to information technologies. In addition to his job, he has created a company that buys and sells stamps. He is proud to offer, out of its profits, a significant discount on several charitable organizations’ postage fees.

Christiane experienced more detours in her professional route. Rather than undertaking a journalism career upon graduating from university, she chose to take jobs offering a better work-family balance. Although the couple has four children - and now a granddaughter - it must be said that Christiane did not have the profile of a housewife.

While the children were young, one of her first jobs in a school board in Sorel made the family decide to reside in St-Bruno. As Philippe worked in Montreal and as the kids were very active, they constantly had to drive the kids around, on top of commuting to work. It is probably at this time that Philippe became an ardent supporter of cycling and active transportation! When Christiane was able to find a job in town, the family settled for good in Ahuntsic.

While she was employed in communications in the health network, Christiane was offered a severance package because of the elimination of her position. This trick of fate fortunately turned into an opportunity for her. It allowed her to spend a few months on personal projects and gave her the boost needed to become an independent journalist.

At first, editing and writing tasks for a large bank paid the bread and butter, but she was spending much more time working in journalism. She has written on a variety of subjects, ranging from neighborhood information to major social issues. She was also a pioneer of the Association des journalistes indépendants du Québec (AJIQ), of which she was vice-president at some point. Given Christiane’s busy schedule, Philip, for his part, was a pioneer of parental leave, taking advantage of every progress in work-family reconciliation measures.

Ahuntsic residents for more than twenty-five years, the couple has devoted much energy to their passions and to several community organizations. For example, Philippe has been a Scoutmaster for at least twenty years. It was also he who called me back one day in response to a request for information to the local birding club about a public group outing.

Their Journal des voisins, a non-profit organization (NPO), meets a real need in the community. Both are involved full time today in the organization, Christiane as chief editor and Philippe as publisher, webmaster and photographer, in addition to supporting the media advisor and treasurer. In all, nearly 20 people contribute regularly or occasionally to this independent media published in two formats. The first, a webpage of local news, is posted on-line every Friday. The second, a paper version published every two months, is now delivered free of charge to nearly 35,000 doors.

The team has also received recognition from its peers by winning several awards from the Association des médias écrits communautaires du Québec (AMECQ). However, the greatest compliment comes from their media competitor, which had to improve the content of its local edition since their arrival!

Want to know more? Go to http://www.journaldesvoisins.com/

Philippe & Christiane


Ricardo U.

On a beautiful Friday, I approached a group of friends who fraternized around a barbecue in the Henri-Julien Park curious to know what united them. They said speak to Ricardo. He animates an association of Salvadorians that regroups natives from the town of San Vicente and their friends. On this occasion, they were receiving visitors from Boston also linked to San Vicente. For many years these people have been meeting for a friendly game of football. This year, a first one took place in Boston early in the summer. The second was to take place the next day at Jarry Park. This is a tradition that goes back to a game played in 1997. For the last ten years it has become initially an annual meeting, and, in recent years a Montreal-Boston round trip.

Much of the Montrealers in this group also meet other Latin American Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Henri-Julien Park to play soccer on a friendly basis. These fraternal meetings have been happening for over three decades in this park.

Ricardo left Salvador alone in his early twenties. After arriving in Québec in the early 80s, he was granted a refugee status. He had fled the civil war between the extreme right forces and the rebel guerrilla as nearly a million displaced citizens did over that decade. The assassination of Archbishop Óscar Romero has shown the world no one was safe between these two camps. The mere fact of being in your twenties could associate you with the rebels.

He had learned the trade of electrician in El Salvador. His background served him well. After he was refused access to examinations for a permit to pratice this profession here, he completed technical courses at CEGEP level and labored many years as a technician in controls and instrumentation. He also completed a certificate in English.

Ricardo has two children who were born here and are now in their early twenties. One of his brothers also joined in Montreal in the late 80s.

Seeing he still has strong ties to El Salvador I asked him if today the country is pacified enough for him to consider going back to his roots. He said he also likes Quebec and explained that despite the return of a certain level of democracy, the country remains one of the most dangerous in the Americas. The homicide rate is very high. Violent criminal gangs, the Maras Salvatruchas (MS-13) in particular, dictate their rules. There are unwritten laws that must be followed to ensure one’s survival.

Aware of his roots and the precariousness of the lives of refugees, he has been offering for a dozen years, on private terms, assistance and translation services to newcomers. He rents for a small fee a modest office at the Scalabrini Centre for refugees and immigrants. He also finds time to volunteer for this organization located on Sauriol street East. Scalabrini Missionaries have bought the Sainte-Rita church in order to house the Scalabrini Centre in its presbytery, basement and parish hall. Ten rooms are home to the poorest immigrants. Although the church hall no longer serves a parish, it remains open as a temple for prayer.

We briefly discussed the wave of immigrants seeking to leave the Middle East to reach Europe. Ricardo points that many of the people seeking refuge have paid significant sums to organized criminal smugglers would have happily paid those amounts to legally emigrate to the West had its doors been open. Those arriving by the thousands at this time in Europe are not all destitute. The poorest unfortunately remain forgotten in their country and suffer of the shooting and bombing without recourse. In the master plans of the warmongers, there are always harmful consequences that have not been foreseen at all.

Ricardo in his office