Eman is in her final year at 91社区 as an Honours Political Science student with a minor concentration in Social Entrepreneurship. She has been interning as a Social Development intern at the Refugee Centre since May. She is a lifelong advocate for equitable, safe and quality education and is particularly passionate about making it accessible to marginalized groups around the world.
Eman is an advocate for refugees鈥� rights, driven to meet their needs through tangible programs and services, built to empower. As the president of Opportutoring and a refugee, she brings first-hand experience to her role. Consequently, she is drawn to migration and diaspora studies and hopes to utilize her educational and cultural background to bring awareness to issues in the Middle East and work with organizations to create sustainable and effective programs for resettlement.
Eman was drawn to the Refugee Centre for their comprehensive and innovative approach in assisting refugees based in Montreal and therefore was certain to gain valuable knowledge on the Canadian refugee system. Furthermore, Eman seeks to use her experience as a research study to receive credit for her Social Entrepreneurship minor (SENT 499) under the supervision of Professor Carmichael to analyze how social and economic provisions have helped refugees, with a focus on policy gaps that have inhibited the integration of refugees.
The Refugee Centre aims to provide a sustainable structure of integration for refugees and immigrants in Canada by providing a wide variety of services. Their structure is based on the three-branched approach that encompasses the obstacles refugees and immigrants face today. Their branches are Educational, Social and Economical. These branches when fully implemented together, have proved to be the most successful when integrating individuals into Canadian society today.
As an intern, she supports the Refugee Centre in compiling resources for an online chatbot, connecting refugees in Canada鈥檚 major cities to essential services. Furthermore, she is working collaboratively with a team to develop and implement a nation-wide three-day conference. The national conference will welcome a variety of multidisciplinary individuals and organizations from across Canada to address mutual challenges and share best practices.
The highlight of her internship was during the Black Lives Matter Movement and World Refugee Day where Eman researched about the connection between the civil rights movement and immigration. She gained valuable information and was able to assist in the creation of infographics for the Centre鈥檚 Instagram page. This experience showcased how the fight for immigration and civil rights have long been interconnected. Another highlight of her internship was helping with the #Essential2Canada campaign where the Centre began an online campaign to showcase the essential contributions of asylum seekers, refugees, migrant workers and immigrants, specifically during COVID-19. They sought to demonstrate how the pandemic has not only exacerbated existing injustices but raised multiple warnings on the current system and therefore they united with other organizations to call for change.
Although adapting to remote work was challenging at first, Eman managed to overcome these barriers and immerse herself in her work. Eman finds it important to maintain a daily routine and to stick with it. She starts off her mornings with a cup of coffee and takes 15 minutes to do some yoga. She finds it immensely helpful to create clear guidelines to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Furthermore, she finds it essential to get out of the house, provided she maintains safe social distancing. During her time home, she picked up on gardening and found it to be a rewarding hobby that allowed her to move and take in fresh air and natural light.
This internship experience has positively shaped Eman鈥檚 future educational and professional endeavours as she hopes to do a Master鈥檚 in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action. Eman would like to thank the family of Mr. David Roland for their generous support as without them, Eman would not have had the opportunity to transform her curiosity into a career path that she is incredibly passionate about! Their support has enabled Eman to work from home by helping her cover essential living costs, alleviating great financial burden especially during a global pandemic.
Thank you Arts Internship Office and the family of Mr. David Roland!
