Multicultural Festival all the more relevant
KITCHENER — Rain did not dampen Dr. Mike Stephenson’s enthusiasm for the annual celebration of Canada’s cultural mosaic.
Stephenson was at the 51st K-W Multicultural Festival in Victoria Park on Saturday and Sunday, and greeted many of the people there by name. He is a family doctor who founded the Sanctuary Refugee Health Centre in downtown Kitchener about five years ago, and recently launched a fundraising campaign to expand it.
The festival was held as immigration, migrants and refugees are making international headlines.
U.S. first lady Melania Trump was criticized a few days ago for wearing a coat that said on the back “I really don’t care. Do u?” when she
visited a detention camp in Texas where children are separated from their parents before the parents are deported back to Mexico.
“I think there is so much discourse out there, so much negativity, particularly south of the border, absolutely terrible stories, it is heart breaking,” said Stephenson.
Compassion must be at the centre of all policies on immigration and refugees, he said, and it becomes scary when policy-makers lose sight of that.
“I think that the idea of compassion really gets lost along the way,” said Stephenson. “People talk about policy, but forget that we are all human, we all have the same hopes for a better future, the same need for security, the same desire to live together as family in peace.”
Kitchener-Waterloo is unique in Canada for the help it offers refugees and other new immigrants. There is the Mennonite Coalition for Refugee Support, there is Reception House on David Street where some new comers are first housed, and there is Stephenson’s medical clinic that specializes in helping refugees.
“These are services that you don’t find anywhere else in Canada and they are just terrific organizations,” said Stephenson.
Helping refugees get started on a new life in this city helps them integrate, find work and contribute.
“People feel welcome here so they give back to the community, that’s what makes our community stronger,” said Stephenson. “I think here in K-W we are a welcoming community.”
The medical clinic he founded has five doctors, and a sixth one will soon join the team. They treat 3,000 refugees from 40 different countries.
The largest single group, about 40 per cent of the patients, fled the civil war in Syria. Many are traumatized. There are hundreds of refugees on a waiting list for the clinic.
“Everyone is thankful to Canada, everyone is thankful to be here, and everyone is hopeful about their future, and that is very rewarding to see,” said Stephenson.
“The idea of citizenship feeds into a lot of what I am doing, to help people experience Canada the way I experience it, the freedoms, the opportunities, the benefits, the ability to contribute,” said Stephenson. “Those are all themes that are important to me and the work that I do.”
The turnout was down at this year’s Multicultural Festival because of the rain, but it was still a success and all of the stage shows performed as scheduled, said Lucia Harrison, the chief executive officer of Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Association.
By the time Alysha Brilla and the Brilltones performed Saturday night more than 3,000 people were there, she said.
“It was amazing,” said Harrison. “It was grey, but it wasn’t cold. People seemed to be having a good time, they were picnicking in the grass. It was good.”