Diversity in Defense Team

As part of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 2017, the employment equity team took advantage of the general mess meetings to present a series of conferences on the subject on April 21st with more than 458 people in attendance. Three military members generously agreed to tell their stories about their origins, their arrival in Canada and the various challenges they encountered during this major life change. Billy Sayumwe, a native of Burundi, Capt Anton Rios- Zimienko, a native of Peru, and Capt Khaled ElSeweify, a native of Egypt, all told their story to a captivated crowd. "I enjoyed telling my story about my integration into Canada, because many of the realities that immigrant military personnel go through are unknown. So it was a tremendous privilege to be able to contribute on a small scale to awareness and broadening horizons, "says Sayumwe about his experience as a speaker. Racial discrimination is still present in many families and society, even here in Saguenay. The presentations given on April 21st about racial discrimination are a step in the right direction to raise awareness amongst the military population.