So what do I do when I’m not writing? I work with other people in my community to sponsor refugees to resettle here.
Canada has a unique system of private refugee sponsorship that allows Canadians citizens and permanent residents to form groups to help bring more refugees to our country. Of course, sponsoring one refugee doesn’t address the systemic problems that displace so many millions of people around the world– but for the refugee being sponsored, it can mean the difference between hope and desperation. It can mean a chance at a future in a safer place. For some, it can mean the difference between life and death. Only a very small percentage of refugees are ever able to access resettlement, and sponsorship at least allows us to create pathways to safety for a few more.
I got involved in 2015, when I joined a group sponsoring a Syrian family of six– they arrived in Canada in the summer of 2016. It was a great experience and brought many wonderful people into my life. So I started another group–and another, and another. We have had lots of great people involved as sponsors, from kids and teens to grandparents– and all the young newcomers who’ve arrived here since 2016 are making this community a better place. In fact, some are now sponsoring others! I am currently working on two private sponsorships, sponsoring a young woman from sub-Saharan Africa and a man from Afghanistan. You can read more about this here, and if you’d like to share the link or donate to help us, you can do that too–we are grateful for any support.
You can start your own sponsorship group if you are a permanent resident or Canadian citizen living in Canada. There is lots of information and support available to help you here. You can also help by speaking up in support of refugees, by writing letters to your member of parliament to let them know you want the government to welcome more refugees, or by volunteering to support newcomers in your own community. Another thing you can do to help is to challenge racism, xenophobia, and anti-immigrant, anti-refugee rhetoric whenever you hear it. There is a lot of misinformation out there and it is so important to counter it with facts.
I wrote the picture book, Ghost’s Journey: A Refugee Story to help raise awareness and funds for LGBTQ+ refugees. Ghost’s Journey is inspired by the true story of two gay refugees, Rainer and Eka, and their cat, and is illustrated with art created from their photographs. All my royalties from this book go to support LGBTQ+ refugees, either through private sponsorship or through the organizations Rainbow Railroad and Rainbow Refugee.
