This group of international students is seeking out the 'untold' history of Nova Scotia
CBC
A group of young people who immigrated to Halifax from around the world are joining together to find out for themselves about the "untold" history of the province, starting with Africville.
Elissama Menezes emigrated from Brazil in 2018 to do her master's degree at Dalhousie University. She said a group of former international students from places like Japan, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and Chile saw a gap in programming and education for newcomers, and wanted to fill it.
"We came here to study and then we had some experience with programs that target immigrants, but they are more focused on work and they don't really engage with the untold history of the land," said Menezes.
"So we got together to kind of understand how we as a community can make sure that we don't repeat the past and we build the present and the future in a way that's just," Menezes said.
They started the group Ripples 2 Waves as a way to "build a community of international students and immigrants that are aware of the past to transform the present and build a better future."
Their goal is to create change and equip other immigrant youth to "stay, transform and thrive" in Nova Scotia.
The group's first three-day event included a tour of the Africville Museum on Saturday, and a talk with a former resident of the community on Sunday. Since Ripples 2 Waves got funding from the Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group, the programming is free for newcomers over age 18.
Until the 1960s, Africville was one of Canada's oldest Black communities.
Established in the 1800s, the community had stores, a school, a post office and a beloved church. People paid taxes, but didn't get municipal services like running water, indoor plumbing or paved roads.
An example of environmental racism in the province, the city of Halifax placed an open-pit garbage dump, an infectious diseases hospital, and slaughterhouses near the community.
In 1964, the city voted to remove the residents and their homes in the name of "urban renewal." Over the next six years, the community was demolished and its residents were displaced.
Menezes said said immigrants often learn history from the colonial perspective, so the goal of hearing from a former resident of Africville is to show people the history of the area through the lens of someone who lived it.
"I only first learned about the pre-Canada history of this land after my third year here," said Hasan Sinan, another of the organizers, who emigrated from the Palestinian territories in 2013. "And it was very shocking because, you know, the stereotype is that everyone here is polite and it's a nice country."
Referring to the history of Indigenous peoples and colonization, Sinan said it showed him a different side of Canada.
Experts are constantly warning the public to be on guard for new and increasingly convincing scams, but police say the holiday shopping season is especially fraught with risk.
A surgeon who used to work at Flin Flon's hospital says residents in the northwestern Manitoba city have been left in a precarious situation after more than five years without general surgery services.
Moubarak Bokhit Ali's memories of his home country of Sudan are punctuated by flashes of violence.
The man behind the Moose Jaw health centre that has claimed “a 100 per cent success rate in stopping the progression and in restoring function of people with ALS” says a recent CBC story about his company is evidence that he is seen as “a direct threat to the ALS drug industry.”
The Neighbour to Neighbour Centre’s trans and non-binary grocery program, which offers free food and household products to community members once a month, began with a simple question: how do we get free menstrual products to trans people without being awkward?
Bill Van Vugt is living a life that's unlike most other people his age, and one which has seen him turn a longtime hobby into championship gold.
The provincial government is taking steps toward improving Alberta's lucrative sand and gravel industry.
As medical labs across Ontario remain understaffed, one medical association is calling on the province to expand labs’ capacity for student placements by funding positions to train them.
The year wrapping up means it's getting closer to tax season, and the federal Community Volunteer Income Tax Program will once again be offering free filing services for Islanders with modest incomes.
It's not so easy to remove a politician from office between elections in Canada.
Natasha Martin-Mitchell says creating art gives her a sense of calmness that acts as a medicine during stressful times.
Gabriel Vilardi scored twice and star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 24 saves in his first game back from injury to power the Jets to a 5-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday that snapped Winnipeg's three-game losing skid.
Alberta’s auditor general Doug Wylie says his office's budget will be $1.5 million short next fiscal year.