After fleeing Uganda, Kateregga Raymond Calvin’s mind is more at ease than when he first arrived in Canada just over a year ago.
The refugee claimant was being harassed so he sought a new life in what he describes as a “peaceful” country. Calvin was able to find a place to call home in Montreal, but that’s when the problems started within his apartment building.
“My neighbours started bullying me. So I was literally kicked out of the house,” Calvin, 25, said in an interview Thursday.
The newcomer was the victim of racial taunts from other tenants, who he says targeted his dark skin and accent. At one point, Calvin claims he was told he was “not needed in this country.”
“Like, ‘You’re refugee, you’re an asylum seeker, you’re nothing in this country,'” Calvin said, describing the jeers.
Calvin began feeling isolated and unwanted. The racism became so untenable that he approached his landlord, who he says told him to move out.
“It’s very hard to live where you’re not wanted,” Calvin said.
With no other choice but to leave, he wound up out on the streets last January.
For more than a month, Calvin had no home. He warmed up inside day shelters before heading back outside to the cold winter elements.
“You have nothing to eat. You eat once a day — that’s your supper,” Calvin said.
The young refugee eventually found long-term help and now he has a new, safe home as he applies to universities in Montreal. But those working 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 his other clients have come to him with similar accounts since the summer. Those experiences are “very tough” for newcomers, he added, saying it makes them “feel like they don’t belong here.”
“I have to give them some hope, give them some trust again,” Edmond said. “Because some of them, their self-esteem becomes so low.”
Racism can sometimes escalate beyond taunts. Edmond recounted how one refugee claimant 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 was Black,” Edmond said.
Preparing for more asylum seekers under Trump
Frantz André, who advocates for refugee claimants, told Global News he gets calls about racism — such as immigrants who are fired for reasons that are murky and others who are facing deportation.
He says the racist acts are so frequent and horrific that they’re making even citizens like him question their place in Quebec.
“I’m starting to feel that way,” he said.
André blames the growing intolerance on political leaders, citing public debates on how asylum seekers are supposedly causing or worsening problems in the province. He sees newcomers as scapegoats for different issues, such as the housing crisis.
“Yes, there are issues. But they should not be pointing at asylum seekers to be the cause of all the problems in Quebec,” André said.
His comments come as the Quebec government has tightened controls on immigration in recent months for different kinds of newcomers, citing a lack of capacity. Last week, the province suspended two major programs that are pathways to citizenship and introduced legislation to give itself new powers to limit the number of international students in October.
On Wednesday, Quebec Premier François Legault also warned of a possible influx of asylum seekers as a result of Donald Trump winning the U.S. presidential election.
As Trump promises mass deportations, Legault said the province has “done its part” and simply cannot take on more new arrivals. The premier calling on the federal government to secure its borders with the U.S.
“The problem isn’t immigrants, it’s the number. We already have too many. So we shouldn’t add to the problem,” Legault said Wednesday.
But it isn’t just Quebec bracing for what could unfold with a new Trump presidency.
Edmond, the social worker, also believes Canada will see more asylum seekers when Trump takes office and “so we have to be ready.” Meanwhile, Frantz says he has been receiving daily calls since Election Day.
But advocates also want local political leaders to have a different vision of newcomers. They come here to build a life and contribute to society in Canada, Edmond explained.
“The way people see them has to stop,” Edmond said.
Despite the challenges that asylum seekers face, Calvin has few regrets about coming to Canada. He is grateful for the help he is getting, and he is moving forward from the racism he has experienced.
“You have to just live and move on with life, and just accept God to take you where you are,” Calvin said.
— with files from The Canadian Press