Making multi-cultural connections

Ottawa basketball team’s diversity creates lifelong friendships

NEW WATERFORD — Armand Malumalu had never seen basketball before moving to Canada as a refugee in 2012.

Now it’s given him a second family after losing contact with his own because of war.

One of the players with the St. Patrick’s Catholic High School basketball team (The Irish) from Ottawa, Ont., that’s competing in this year’s Coal Bowl Classic, Malumalu was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa.

When he was five, his oldest sister Mamy Malumalu fled with him to Uganda during the aftermath of the Second Congo War, also called the Great War of Africa.

Five years later, in 2012, the siblings received refugee status with help from one of their brothers, Papy Malumalu, who was already living in Canada and could do the application from within the country. They moved to Moncton, N.B., but after six months his sister wanted to live in a larger city and they moved to Ottawa.

Malumalu said he doesn’t know if his parents are dead or alive and he has lost contact with most of his other siblings. There isn’t a lot about life in the Congo he remembers because he was so young when he left. But he does remember his friends in Uganda who taught him how to do backflips and play soccer.

Those soccer skills are what caught the eye of the junior high basketball team coach at St. Patrick’s. Patrick MacKinnon encouraged Malumalu to try out for basketball in Grade 7 because of the teen’s strong defence skills.

“My coach (MacKinnon) started talking to my sister and saying ‘he’s really good and he learns quick,’” said Malumalu sitting in the cafeteria at Breton Education Centre during the Coal Bowl Classic on Wednesday.

“And then my sister, who also loves basketball, just told me to stay there and to stick to it.”

Now in Grade 12, Malumalu is no longer coached by MacKinnon, but he is still helping Malumalu with the process of getting his Canadian citizenship. Malumalu said when he first applied, the process was taking “too long” so MacKinnon started helping and now Malumalu is finished his tests.

“He’s really helpful in situations where if you need something, he’s there for you,” Malumalu said.

Malumalu said the whole team, many of whom have played together for the past five years, are like coach MacKinnon.

“It’s like a second family … Considering I don’t have as much friends, I think it’s very important to have some people that you can count on,” he said.

“Some people that can be there for you. Some people that you can ask for help when you are in need.”

This sentiment of family is felt by all The Irish teammates and head coach Matthew Koeslag thinks this connection is partly due to the multi-cultural diversity of the team and its accepting nature.

Most of the players are firstgeneration Canadians. Some are first-generation Americans whose families later immigrated to Canada. A few are like Malumalu and are new to the country. There are three players from the Congo, four from Haiti, three from the Philippines, one from Jamaica, one from Vietnam, one from Rwanda and one from Nambia. Two players are Canadians whose parents didn’t immigrate here.

“We recognize our United Nations representation (in the team),” said Koeslag who has been head coach of the St. Patrick’s High School basketball team for 15 years.

The players said their school is very multi-cultural so it makes sense their basketball team is. Sharing a love and respect for the court, they also share their different cultures.

One of their favourite ways is through food. During study hall, players bring food from home and share the different cultural dishes buffet style and one player, Precieux King, keeps forks for everyone in his locker.

“We are so close to each other. We are always together. If we go somewhere we are always at least three guys deep,” said King who came to Canada from the Congo with his parents and five siblings.

“We learn so much from each other and we try stuff from different culture, like eat their food. The Haitians eat the Congolese food. And then we learn some words and stuff.”

Chrys Kazadi is first-generation Canadian, born in Montreal. His parents moved to Canada from the Congo in 1998 and his family has lived in a few cities before settling in Ottawa three years ago.

“When I first came, basketball was the key thing that make me have more friends,” he said. “Without basketball, I don’t know what I would have done.”

NIKKI SULLIVAN/CAPE BRETON POST St. Patrick’s High School basketball team (The Irish) pose for a photo near the “BEC” graffiti tag inside the Breton Education Centre cafeteria on Feb. 6. The team from Ottawa, Ont., came down to compete in the Coal Bowl Classic 2019 after having hosted the BEC boys basketball team for a tournament in Ottawa in the fall. The players have a close connection that can be seen on and off the court and it might be due to how multi-cultural the team is. Shown here are, front row from left, Ricardo Sylvestre, Ben Garcia, Josh Rutarindwa, Armand Malumalu, Patrick Johnson, Frantzini Cambronne, Andrew Bui, back row from left, Ed MacPherson (coach), Matt Koeslag (coach), Precieux King, Ngatangwe Katijaani, Matthew Kendall, Chrys Kazadi, Albert Openia, James Merina, Adam Eslava and Sam Saint-Val.

NIKKI SULLIVAN/CAPE BRETON POST Armand Malumalu gets ready to make his move against David Waller from Halifax Grammar School during their Coal Bowl game on Wednesday. Malumalu is from the Congo in Africa and came to Canada in 2012 as a refugee with his sister. The St. Patrick’s basketball team is like a “second family” to the 17-year-old who hopes to study to be a pilot after graduation from high school.