Posted at 5:00 am.
His name is Ndejuru
Émilie Ndejuru, 43, was born in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade to Rwandan parents. She is a second generation immigrant.
Does she define herself as Quebecois?
It doesn't matter how I define myself because ultimately it is others who define us. And others define me as an immigrant. People don't know I was born here. My name is Ndejuru.
Émilie Ndejuru, 43 years old
Émilie spent the first five years of her life in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade. From the ages of 7 to 15, she then lived with her family in Niger and Burkina Faso, where her father had accepted international cooperation contracts.
“Then it was like I immigrated to Quebec again,” she explains. I graduated from Saint Luc School. I had an accent, a bit West African, and other expressions. I didn't have the same cultural connections. I really stood out! It was extremely difficult. »
Restarted in 2004, this time alone. She spent almost three years in Rwanda. “I came back in 2007,” she explains. I decided to put down roots because I feel comfortable here. It's at my house. It's too strange to say, but when I'm in Montreal, I know what I have to do. I can do it alone. I know how to navigate. »
An idea to promote integration
“People learn much faster when they feel safe. If you make the language too political, people will be afraid. Learning French should be fun. »
Simplicity of identity
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Akos Verboczy came to Quebec as a child.
48-year-old author Akos Verboczy is a child of Law 101. His first book, Rhapsodie québécoise, was published in 2016 and tells the story of how he became Quebecois. And his first novel, “My Father's House,” published this year, shows how he remained Hungarian despite everything.
For me it was never a conflict. I don't see it that way, that is, I am a Quebecer of Hungarian origin. I'm a fan of simplicity of identity.
Akos Verboczy, 48 years old
Akos was 11 years old when he arrived in Quebec. “I grew up in an immigrant environment where there were not many, if any, original Quebecers and where Quebec culture in general was looked down upon, if not despised,” he says. So it took me a while to discover and appreciate the culture here. »
The turning point came at CEGEP: “I decided to take CEGEP in French against the advice of my mother and against the advice of some of my classmates because at the time I spoke French a little better than English.” I realized that I had a better chance of getting my degree Successfully complete your French studies. At CEGEP I discovered literature, sociology and history courses. I met a lot more people from Quebec there. In the end I found them to be very friendly and I even made friends! »
An idea to promote integration
“A reading list of Quebecois works should accompany every student throughout their primary and secondary school years in order to provide Quebecers with a common foundation of literary culture. »
Especially French
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Author Philippe Yong teaches at Stanislas College.
Philippe Yong was born in Montreal to Korean parents in France for about ten years. He is a “second generation Korean immigrant, French immigrant to Quebec”! He became a Quebec author with the publication of his first novel, Hors-sol, last year. But he describes himself as “first and foremost French.”
“The book is a kind of roots because it grew out of my experience as an immigrant,” he says. I felt a very, very strong sense of identity insecurity that came from the fact that I had settled here. »
The book was a kind of magical item and allowed me to meet a wide variety of authors, attend conferences, attend lectures and travel all over Quebec. So it's very strange, because writing a novel with a Quebec publisher anchors me in a real Quebec identity.
Philippe Yong, 50 years old
He adds, somewhat disappointedly: “I live in the Plateau and work in teaching. But I sometimes have the impression that Quebecers' gaze is hung up on my ethnic origins. If you see me on the street, I'm Asian. I was no longer used to people reducing my identity to my origins. I rediscovered it in a relatively unpleasant way, let's say, with small manifestations of ordinary racism here. »
An idea to promote integration
“We have to make francization attractive and give people time to francize themselves. This should not be perceived as an additional burden in impossible times. »
heart pain
PHOTO SIMON SÉGUIN-BERTRAND, THE LAW
Mensah Hemedzo works in Ontario.
Mensah Hemedzo, 46, was “madly in love with Quebec” when he settled in Gatineau in 2009 to pursue a bachelor's degree in teaching at the University of Quebec in Outaouais, after studying literature in Togo and earning a doctorate in France.
“I had no problem starting over in Quebec,” he assures. I like learning. Studying at the University of Quebec in Outaouais was a way for me to integrate into the system. So build relationships, a good network, do my internships in Gatineau to get to know the area. »
I really wanted to stay here, live here, work here. But the education system in Gatineau did not welcome me. I searched for three years. Eventually I found a job in Ontario.
Mensah Hemedzo, 46 years old
“Despite my disappointment, I still call myself Quebecois, even though I am indebted to Franco-Ontarians. I always say it: The Franco-Ontarians saved my life because at one point I had dark thoughts. So the feeling of being Quebecois is there, but I no longer have the pride that I had. For me, being Quebecois is a fact. So. »
An idea to promote integration
“We must offer everyone equal opportunities on the job market. »
Be neither
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Diana Chumbe and her partner Leylo Herrera
Nurse Diana Chumbe, 29, was born in Quebec of Peruvian descent and grew up with her mother, a “nanny,” in a very wealthy family in Montreal.
“My mother came alone with a work permit when she was 24,” she says. Today she is 70 years old. She was the first of our family to leave Peru. She sent all the money she raised to Peru to feed her brothers and sisters and to pay college tuition for all my aunts and uncles. »
Does she identify as Quebecois, Peruvian, or both?
My mother is pure Peruvian. But I am neither one nor the other. And that's the difficulty, because when I go back to Peru I feel good, I feel at home, but I feel Quebecois. I come here, I feel good, I know I'm home, but I'm Peruvian.
Diana Chumbe, 29 years old
“Sometimes I feel like a foreigner,” adds Diana, whose partner Leylo Herrera is also a second-generation immigrant. “For example, if someone asks me what I do for a living and I answer 'nurse,' people say, 'Oh yeah, Latinas are nurses or housekeepers, they're someone who takes care of someone else.' Because that's what it is the stereotype of a Latina woman. »
An idea to promote integration
“In order to integrate well, I think it is important to know where you come from. As children of immigrants, we are searching for our identity. »