Canada has a reputation for being a diverse and caring nation, and Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are renowned for taking that warmth and caring up a notch.
In recent years, the province has become a safe harbour for people from a host of cultures —people fleeing countries experiencing atrocities that make living and surviving at home next to impossible.
A multitude of cultures were on display at the Association for New Canadians Multicultural Day celebration at St. Pius X Church in St. John’s Wednesday.
“It’s pretty amazing. We have 27 nationalities represented here,’’ said Jim Murphy, the director of language services for the Association of New Canadians.
“This is a great annual celebration of culture and diversity, an opportunity for our students and clients to showcase their respective cultures.’’
Many participants were wearing colourful clothes representing their cultures, which lets them maintain ties with where they came from.
“You can see a lot of pride in their eyes. They are proud of where they came from and they want to showcase that,’’ Murphy said.
He said people have made their way to the province from the African nations of Congo, Sudan and Eritrea, as well as from Syria, Russia, India, Pakistan and South Korea, among others.
Many left their home countries due to political strife, ethnic issues and war. They arrived here looking for hope.
Murphy said the Association for New Canadians offers a great support network to help in any way they can to make adjusting to life here as seamless as possible.
“The majority of these people come here with a skill set. These new arrivals already are tradespeople, farmers, etc. We just have to teach them how to integrate into our culture,’’ he said.
“We work with them, get them retrained, and then align them with companies looking for workers. They need to improve their English language skills, so they can get jobs or go further into their education.”
He cited a recent story in The Telegram about an immigrant who opened their own barbershop, using skills they brought to with them.
“These people have a lot of skills, but they also bring a lot of diversity to our communities. It helps us to become a more diverse area,” Murphy said.
