1 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:14,970 My name is Hone Mandrefo Belaye, I am a PhD 2 00:00:14,970 --> 00:00:17,730 student at Concordia in the Department of 3 00:00:17,730 --> 00:00:20,100 Sociology and Anthropology. I mean, we're 4 00:00:20,100 --> 00:00:22,860 doing the program called Social and 5 00:00:22,860 --> 00:00:25,320 cultural analysis. I'm an international 6 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:27,900 student from Ethiopia, and I'm 7 00:00:27,900 --> 00:00:30,870 international student at Concordia. And of 8 00:00:30,870 --> 00:00:33,420 course, I'm a Black immigrant, 9 00:00:33,450 --> 00:00:37,080 international student. And there's three 10 00:00:37,110 --> 00:00:41,760 identities are very much intertwined. To 11 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:46,950 make me kind of forever to rescind my 12 00:00:46,950 --> 00:00:51,480 offers and I not only, you know, sort of 13 00:00:51,510 --> 00:00:53,670 a vulnerable tourist. And as a man and 14 00:00:54,060 --> 00:00:58,440 someone who came here at Concordia 15 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:00,240 as an international student with 16 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:05,220 scholarships may also have also kind of 17 00:01:05,220 --> 00:01:07,410 privileges. But I think, the overall 18 00:01:07,410 --> 00:01:09,570 experience within the product one it off, 19 00:01:09,570 --> 00:01:13,680 you know, racism. I'm still, you know, 1% 20 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:16,440 of all can be vulnerable to racism and 21 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:19,590 have been vulnerable to racist action is 22 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:24,600 not only Canada but from my experience in 23 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:26,580 the past, studying abroad in Europe 24 00:01:27,060 --> 00:01:30,270 and so on. But beyond that, I'm a 25 00:01:30,270 --> 00:01:33,150 social worker, by training. I did a 26 00:01:34,350 --> 00:01:36,270 bachelor degree in Psychology and then a 27 00:01:36,270 --> 00:01:39,090 master's in Social Work before I came to 28 00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:44,820 Concordia for my PhD. And the anti-racist 29 00:01:44,820 --> 00:01:48,960 project is very meaningful, and in my 30 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:52,110 professional endeavor, I stand for justice 31 00:01:52,140 --> 00:01:54,960 as social worker and that's something I 32 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:58,650 would like to sign on and, and contribute 33 00:01:58,650 --> 00:02:02,580 to. So, the anti-racism project or anti- 34 00:02:02,580 --> 00:02:06,330 racist actions are very much meaningful 35 00:02:06,330 --> 00:02:08,640 for me as a person, as a Black person, but 36 00:02:08,640 --> 00:02:17,280 also as a social worker. I think COVID has 37 00:02:17,310 --> 00:02:19,200 affected both my experience as 38 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:21,630 international student and as human rights 39 00:02:21,630 --> 00:02:26,520 defender in a negative sort of way. And I 40 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:28,980 would like to highlight that, that 41 00:02:28,980 --> 00:02:32,730 experience. And of course, then this is 42 00:02:32,730 --> 00:02:35,130 because as an international student, I 43 00:02:35,130 --> 00:02:39,510 have limited local entitlements here in 44 00:02:39,510 --> 00:02:42,840 Canada, and limited support network, 45 00:02:43,980 --> 00:02:46,470 outside the university. Which means 46 00:02:46,470 --> 00:02:48,120 that the university system is 47 00:02:49,139 --> 00:02:50,069 the main source 48 00:02:50,070 --> 00:02:55,050 of support for me and people like me. So, I 49 00:02:55,050 --> 00:02:59,250 would like to talk about what does it mean 50 00:02:59,250 --> 00:03:01,560 to be an international student and doing 51 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:05,970 human rights advocacy, back home and I 52 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,120 would like to bring those two into one and 53 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:12,390 see what in what ways they two are 54 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:15,660 intertwined, and also how that might 55 00:03:15,660 --> 00:03:19,380 affect my experience as an immigrant 56 00:03:19,410 --> 00:03:25,770 here. So, I think most international 57 00:03:25,770 --> 00:03:29,580 students, perhaps international students, 58 00:03:29,580 --> 00:03:32,190 would be an accurate description here, but 59 00:03:32,190 --> 00:03:33,720 I think many international students are 60 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:37,470 very active and in politics their interest in their 61 00:03:37,470 --> 00:03:40,290 politicsin the country's politics back 62 00:03:40,290 --> 00:03:44,400 on for a number of reasons. Number one, by 63 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,250 virtue of being, you know, an 64 00:03:47,250 --> 00:03:48,900 international student, whenever there's a 65 00:03:48,900 --> 00:03:51,720 discussion in a classroom, or in a 66 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:54,390 university system, in a university setting 67 00:03:54,420 --> 00:03:58,230 about your country. You are considered to 68 00:03:58,230 --> 00:04:02,400 be, you know, an expert just by virtue of 69 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:06,900 being from your country. So for my case, 70 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:08,730 there are discussions about you know, 71 00:04:08,730 --> 00:04:11,940 Ethiopia, oftentimes people look up to me 72 00:04:11,940 --> 00:04:14,460 to comment on those issues, and that 73 00:04:14,790 --> 00:04:18,300 often, you know,increase 74 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:20,610 your desire to know about what's happening 75 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:24,030 in Ethiopia. And a big 76 00:04:24,030 --> 00:04:26,220 aspect of that, at least in my own context 77 00:04:26,220 --> 00:04:31,620 is the politics. So, one thing why many 78 00:04:31,620 --> 00:04:34,140 international students are very involved 79 00:04:34,140 --> 00:04:36,930 in you know, politics and human is 80 00:04:36,930 --> 00:04:39,870 because, you know, this is more tied to 81 00:04:40,230 --> 00:04:43,320 or more expectation for them to comment on 82 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:47,070 those issues because just they are from that 83 00:04:47,070 --> 00:04:50,580 country. But also I think, as from 84 00:04:50,580 --> 00:04:53,190 many students, international students who 85 00:04:53,190 --> 00:04:57,000 came from countries like Ethiopia, coming 86 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:01,050 to Canada means you know, more exposure to 87 00:05:01,050 --> 00:05:03,450 democratic values and principles. And that 88 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:06,780 kind of leads us into an implicit and 89 00:05:06,780 --> 00:05:09,510 explicit comparison between your country's 90 00:05:09,510 --> 00:05:11,340 situation when it comes to human rights 91 00:05:11,370 --> 00:05:14,520 and Canada and that often encourages you 92 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:17,760 to speak out about human rights issues in 93 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:21,120 your country, using your experience here 94 00:05:21,180 --> 00:05:24,990 as a reference point. And that makes 95 00:05:24,990 --> 00:05:27,930 you to be more active in human rights 96 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:32,700 defending. And I think compared to all the 97 00:05:32,700 --> 00:05:35,700 risks of you know, being a defender in 98 00:05:35,700 --> 00:05:38,580 Ethiopia, and being a human right 99 00:05:38,580 --> 00:05:40,620 advocate here in Canada. There's obviously 100 00:05:40,620 --> 00:05:44,490 less risk here. So, that means there's a 101 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:45,840 high probability of, you know, 102 00:05:45,900 --> 00:05:48,480 internationalist students, like myself, 103 00:05:48,750 --> 00:05:51,480 spending more time commenting on human rights 104 00:05:51,510 --> 00:05:55,200 issues, using the relatively less risky 105 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:59,490 environment. So that, you know, encourage 106 00:05:59,490 --> 00:06:02,610 students to be, you know, more active and 107 00:06:02,610 --> 00:06:05,910 vocal on human rights issues. Another 108 00:06:05,970 --> 00:06:11,580 reason is, I think, with being in Canada is 109 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:14,460 more access to human rights organizations, 110 00:06:14,730 --> 00:06:17,280 like, you know, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty, 111 00:06:17,700 --> 00:06:19,680 most of his organizations are 112 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:22,440 headquartered in Western countries. And 113 00:06:22,470 --> 00:06:25,170 that means that you have a chance to meet 114 00:06:25,170 --> 00:06:28,290 with them to firsthand report what your 115 00:06:28,290 --> 00:06:30,210 observation is when it comes to human 116 00:06:30,210 --> 00:06:33,390 rights. And do you have more access 117 00:06:33,390 --> 00:06:37,380 to network in a human rights set. So 118 00:06:37,410 --> 00:06:39,420 all in all, I think combined for this 119 00:06:39,450 --> 00:06:41,910 and many other more settings, 120 00:06:42,300 --> 00:06:45,030 International students tend to be more 121 00:06:45,030 --> 00:06:46,950 active in the area of human rights 122 00:06:46,950 --> 00:06:49,770 activism. And that's why I think it's 123 00:06:49,770 --> 00:06:54,450 important to talk about what does it mean, 124 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:57,060 to be an international student and yet 125 00:06:57,060 --> 00:06:59,730 advocate and be very active in the human 126 00:06:59,730 --> 00:07:02,640 rights advocacy, particularly and when it 127 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:05,370 comes human rights issues back home. 128 00:07:05,430 --> 00:07:08,940 in Ethiopia in my case. And of 129 00:07:08,940 --> 00:07:10,800 course, this does not mean like my 130 00:07:10,890 --> 00:07:13,170 students, you know, international students 131 00:07:13,170 --> 00:07:15,510 start to talk about human rights when they 132 00:07:15,510 --> 00:07:19,440 become international students. In my case, 133 00:07:19,500 --> 00:07:22,950 my experience in human rights activism 134 00:07:23,010 --> 00:07:24,750 predates my international student 135 00:07:24,750 --> 00:07:29,280 experience. In fact, it started when I was 136 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:33,210 a kid, I remember as a kid, my dad kind 137 00:07:33,210 --> 00:07:37,590 of asking me to write letters, about you 138 00:07:37,590 --> 00:07:38,910 know, rights violations in his 139 00:07:38,910 --> 00:07:42,210 community, in his family, to you know, 140 00:07:42,930 --> 00:07:45,870 government officials. I spend, usually, 141 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:49,980 early morning with he,he and I will sit down, 142 00:07:51,540 --> 00:07:53,370 talk about, you know, what has happened in 143 00:07:53,370 --> 00:07:57,660 a community. And he asked me to write a 144 00:07:57,660 --> 00:08:00,570 letter summarizing what he and I discuss 145 00:08:00,570 --> 00:08:03,300 about, you know, different kinds of rights 146 00:08:03,300 --> 00:08:06,360 violations. So, it started as a kid 147 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:08,940 for me. And then when I went to a social 148 00:08:08,940 --> 00:08:12,780 worker, and not really professional, but 149 00:08:12,810 --> 00:08:17,160 you know, kind of columnist for a 150 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:20,730 magazine, Metatron, I start to write about 151 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:23,700 human rights issues and advocate for, you 152 00:08:23,700 --> 00:08:26,280 know, more open and transparent governance 153 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:30,720 in Ethiopia. So, it's not new to me. 154 00:08:31,410 --> 00:08:37,290 But I think my engagement as an 155 00:08:38,070 --> 00:08:40,410 international student engagement in human 156 00:08:41,460 --> 00:08:45,540 rights advocacy has expanded or grown up 157 00:08:45,540 --> 00:08:50,370 over the last one, two years. And and even 158 00:08:50,370 --> 00:08:51,720 before that three years, I would say, 159 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:53,760 because the first time I came to Canada is 160 00:08:54,570 --> 00:08:57,240 an a leadership program called, you know, 161 00:08:57,270 --> 00:08:59,280 "World Youth" leadership program. And it 162 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:02,370 brings, you know, young leaders from all 163 00:09:02,370 --> 00:09:06,750 over the world to talk about public 164 00:09:06,750 --> 00:09:09,120 leadership, human rights advocacy, and all 165 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:14,910 that. Over the last few months is 166 00:09:15,570 --> 00:09:20,070 particularly in relation to COVID. I think, 167 00:09:20,100 --> 00:09:24,420 I become very active in human rights 168 00:09:24,420 --> 00:09:26,700 issues and this is because the human 169 00:09:26,700 --> 00:09:29,640 rights situation in Ethiopia has 170 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:34,920 deteriorated because of COVID. And, 171 00:09:36,390 --> 00:09:40,440 that's because, you know, the election has 172 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:43,710 been postponed because of the corporate 173 00:09:43,710 --> 00:09:46,650 emergency or public communications crisis. 174 00:09:47,100 --> 00:09:50,640 And as a result of that, there is rising 175 00:09:50,790 --> 00:09:53,400 political tension and friction within the 176 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:57,390 country because some groups believe that 177 00:09:57,390 --> 00:10:00,540 the government is using the COVID crisis 178 00:10:00,540 --> 00:10:03,840 as a way of, you know, postponing its 179 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:06,960 power. And, you know, it's using it 180 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:09,420 as a pretext to kind of, you know, push 181 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:12,480 the election and stay on power. There's 182 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:16,080 also, you know, election. In addition to 183 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:18,570 the cost of election, I think there's 184 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:23,520 concrete related state of emergency. And, 185 00:10:23,820 --> 00:10:26,940 as part of COVID response. So, because of 186 00:10:26,940 --> 00:10:28,980 that, you know, there is restrictions on 187 00:10:29,010 --> 00:10:32,610 what you can do, and what you cannot do 188 00:10:32,970 --> 00:10:33,210 this is 189 00:10:33,270 --> 00:10:33,870 sort of, 190 00:10:34,470 --> 00:10:36,810 you know, regulation that was introduced 191 00:10:36,810 --> 00:10:38,730 i the federal government 192 00:10:39,150 --> 00:10:42,630 and that has led to, you know, obviously, 193 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:46,230 restrictions, some of them justified, 194 00:10:46,230 --> 00:10:48,240 because, obviously the government would 195 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:50,790 like to contain the pandemic, and that's 196 00:10:50,790 --> 00:10:53,010 understandable. And that's not unique to 197 00:10:53,010 --> 00:10:55,260 Ethiopia. But also, in addition to that, I 198 00:10:55,260 --> 00:10:58,530 think there was attempts by, you know, 199 00:10:58,590 --> 00:11:02,940 police forces to unjustifiably kind, of 200 00:11:03,420 --> 00:11:06,270 coarse and restrict citizens, rights. 201 00:11:06,300 --> 00:11:09,990 like, you know, the police beating people 202 00:11:09,990 --> 00:11:13,140 and arresting people for 203 00:11:13,830 --> 00:11:17,790 violating, allegedly violating this state 204 00:11:17,790 --> 00:11:20,100 of emergency that was declared following 205 00:11:20,130 --> 00:11:24,120 the COVID crisis. So, some of them, some of 206 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:26,310 it is obviously some of these restrictions 207 00:11:26,310 --> 00:11:28,950 are understandable. But what happened was 208 00:11:29,010 --> 00:11:31,830 a government and some institutions have 209 00:11:31,830 --> 00:11:35,340 used this COVID crisis to intensify 210 00:11:35,340 --> 00:11:38,850 their suppression of citizens. Right? 211 00:11:38,850 --> 00:11:41,970 and that has resulted in the 212 00:11:41,970 --> 00:11:44,820 need for more activism, and more 213 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:48,930 mobilization of people around, you know, 214 00:11:48,990 --> 00:11:51,660 human righters. So because of that, over 215 00:11:51,660 --> 00:11:55,320 the last, you know, half of over the last 216 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:59,670 six months.I think, there is not only me, 217 00:11:59,670 --> 00:12:01,500 but many other international students, 218 00:12:01,500 --> 00:12:03,660 Ethiopian origin international student is 219 00:12:04,860 --> 00:12:07,560 doing a lot of activism on human rights. 220 00:12:10,530 --> 00:12:12,330 And, of course, the COVID has also 221 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:14,700 impacted us as international students, 222 00:12:14,700 --> 00:12:17,130 there's a lot of anxiety. I mean, if all 223 00:12:17,130 --> 00:12:20,010 of them, all of us are far away from our 224 00:12:20,010 --> 00:12:21,810 families, we don't know what's happening and 225 00:12:21,810 --> 00:12:24,480 when.We're very worried about, you know, 226 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:29,220 family members getting the COVID. And what 227 00:12:29,220 --> 00:12:31,830 would happen if one or more of our 228 00:12:31,830 --> 00:12:36,210 family members, even here are ill. The limited 229 00:12:36,210 --> 00:12:39,000 access to information, obviously, because 230 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:42,870 of language barrier, a barrier here, in 231 00:12:42,870 --> 00:12:44,640 particularly, in my case in Quebec, 232 00:12:45,090 --> 00:12:49,980 because I don't speak French. And there's, 233 00:12:50,010 --> 00:12:53,400 I think, it's fair to say that the Quebec 234 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:55,830 government has done a fair job in terms 235 00:12:55,830 --> 00:12:58,200 of, you know, providing information in 236 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:03,090 English. But that's not always the case. 237 00:13:03,090 --> 00:13:06,000 Like, for instance, I received the COVID 238 00:13:06,060 --> 00:13:10,500 booklet produced by the government in 239 00:13:10,500 --> 00:13:15,300 English like way months later 240 00:13:15,300 --> 00:13:17,820 into the pandemic, I think it was in May, 241 00:13:18,180 --> 00:13:20,280 or June. While the French version was 242 00:13:20,310 --> 00:13:25,560 released earlier. So, it is also, you know, 243 00:13:26,100 --> 00:13:30,600 not only anxiety of getting the disease, 244 00:13:30,630 --> 00:13:33,540 but also I think, an important aspect of 245 00:13:33,540 --> 00:13:37,230 that is the feeling that I'm not, I don't 246 00:13:37,230 --> 00:13:39,150 have the prone information about, 247 00:13:39,270 --> 00:13:42,030 about what's happening in terms of, you 248 00:13:42,030 --> 00:13:44,580 know, how they this virus transmits and 249 00:13:44,580 --> 00:13:48,300 what kind of measures I should take to 250 00:13:48,750 --> 00:13:51,330 make sure that I'm safe from 251 00:13:51,330 --> 00:13:53,910 the virus. So, there's a lot of uncertainty 252 00:13:53,910 --> 00:13:56,340 of course there that comes with, you know, 253 00:13:56,370 --> 00:13:58,500 what's going to happen if I catch the 254 00:13:58,500 --> 00:14:00,600 virus, but also what's going to happen to 255 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,210 my immigration status, since travel 256 00:14:03,210 --> 00:14:05,670 restrictions are in place and I cannot 257 00:14:05,670 --> 00:14:11,100 travel to Ethipia or it's very 258 00:14:11,100 --> 00:14:14,850 difficult to travel to Ethipia right now. And 259 00:14:14,940 --> 00:14:19,140 so, overall, there is lack of you know, or 260 00:14:19,140 --> 00:14:21,480 challenge to focus on school and be 261 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,960 productive. So, the combined impact of 262 00:14:24,990 --> 00:14:27,870 this is I think, I would say an emotional 263 00:14:27,870 --> 00:14:32,550 toll kind of, you know, pressure and, 264 00:14:32,970 --> 00:14:36,300 and having pressure on top of, you know, 265 00:14:37,650 --> 00:14:40,890 being an international students and a different 266 00:14:40,890 --> 00:14:44,550 country. But also very much involved in 267 00:14:45,750 --> 00:14:48,360 and for speaking up against some of the 268 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:50,940 human rights violations that are on Ethiopia as a 269 00:14:50,940 --> 00:14:56,460 result of COVID. The combine effect is 270 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:01,200 something that is, I would say 271 00:15:01,230 --> 00:15:04,380 not discussed that much. There is there is 272 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:06,900 considerable discussion about 273 00:15:08,730 --> 00:15:10,770 international students, particularly when 274 00:15:10,770 --> 00:15:14,160 it comes to legal aspect, but not so much 275 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:18,000 when it comes to international students 276 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,670 that are also, you know, very much 277 00:15:20,670 --> 00:15:22,740 involved in human rights activists and 278 00:15:22,740 --> 00:15:24,660 human rights activism in their home 279 00:15:24,660 --> 00:15:26,970 country. And that's why I think I want, I 280 00:15:26,970 --> 00:15:30,900 would like to bring this to the attention 281 00:15:30,900 --> 00:15:33,150 of more people, you know, to talk about, 282 00:15:33,180 --> 00:15:34,920 yes, we're primarily international 283 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:37,410 students, and there's a need to support 284 00:15:37,410 --> 00:15:39,570 us. But also, we're not just students, 285 00:15:39,570 --> 00:15:42,270 some of that some of us are very active in 286 00:15:42,300 --> 00:15:44,370 human rights issues. I've been 287 00:15:44,370 --> 00:15:47,460 going on on media to talk about this human 288 00:15:47,460 --> 00:15:49,500 rights atrocities, violations and 289 00:15:50,130 --> 00:15:52,500 different kinds attrocities that Ethipia has committed 290 00:15:52,500 --> 00:15:55,140 against, you know, minorities in Ethiopia. 291 00:15:55,650 --> 00:16:00,060 I volunteer leadership and community 292 00:16:00,090 --> 00:16:03,720 organizations here in the diaspora. I am 293 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:06,870 also involved within documenting this 294 00:16:06,870 --> 00:16:09,690 human rights violations and sharing them to 295 00:16:10,410 --> 00:16:12,510 international human rights organization. 296 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:15,930 And all this is, you know, very important 297 00:16:15,930 --> 00:16:19,860 to me, and what I stand for, and, and my 298 00:16:19,860 --> 00:16:22,950 professional identity and my, you know, 299 00:16:24,030 --> 00:16:27,030 personal identity as a Black immigrant 300 00:16:27,030 --> 00:16:30,030 here. So I cannot just focus on this code, 301 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:33,660 even if I want to, and I think there is a 302 00:16:33,660 --> 00:16:36,750 need to recognize this multiple levels of 303 00:16:36,750 --> 00:16:40,380 engagement for international students and 304 00:16:40,410 --> 00:16:43,680 there is a need to give more attention to 305 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:46,110 the way, the different ways they're 306 00:16:46,170 --> 00:16:49,530 engaging to events unfolding back home, 307 00:16:49,860 --> 00:16:52,890 and not just, you know, in school or in 308 00:16:52,890 --> 00:16:55,200 their in the country that 309 00:16:55,350 --> 00:17:03,120 currently is. One of the challenges for 310 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,120 international students is particularly now 311 00:17:06,120 --> 00:17:10,020 because of the pandemic related, you know, 312 00:17:10,050 --> 00:17:13,320 development is they're not, 313 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:15,870 they're very concerned about their 314 00:17:16,590 --> 00:17:21,090 immigration status, I know, students 315 00:17:21,090 --> 00:17:25,290 whom their study permits is expiring soon and 316 00:17:25,290 --> 00:17:29,310 they cannot travel back home to renew 317 00:17:29,310 --> 00:17:31,800 their passport, to apply for a new study 318 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:35,400 permit, or, you know, applied from their 319 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,910 country of origin. These a lot of anxiety 320 00:17:38,940 --> 00:17:43,530 about, you know, being in Canada, without 321 00:17:43,590 --> 00:17:46,320 proper legal documents and that's 322 00:17:46,350 --> 00:17:49,350 primarily because there are restrictions 323 00:17:49,860 --> 00:17:51,780 due to the pandemic, and they cannot 324 00:17:51,780 --> 00:17:54,900 travel. I think, lest speak it from there. 325 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:57,090 Like I think there's a need for 326 00:17:57,090 --> 00:17:59,940 universities to be more attentive in terms 327 00:17:59,940 --> 00:18:02,970 of, you know, the immigration status of 328 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:07,290 students as I know we receive.Even, myself 329 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:10,170 and others, you know, my friends, in other 330 00:18:10,170 --> 00:18:13,740 universities receive messages urging us to 331 00:18:13,740 --> 00:18:16,830 make sure that we are legally in Canada 332 00:18:16,830 --> 00:18:19,650 and all our immigration documents are up 333 00:18:19,650 --> 00:18:21,840 to date and all that. But I think there's 334 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:25,110 limited, there's, there's only, you know, 335 00:18:25,140 --> 00:18:28,920 things international students can do when 336 00:18:29,490 --> 00:18:34,590 international travel is not as, 337 00:18:34,590 --> 00:18:37,350 we knew it before COVID. And I think the 338 00:18:37,350 --> 00:18:40,740 first thing I would say is more need 339 00:18:40,740 --> 00:18:43,770 from administration side to support 340 00:18:43,770 --> 00:18:48,180 international students in helping them to 341 00:18:48,420 --> 00:18:51,780 resolve these challenges, immigration 342 00:18:51,780 --> 00:18:54,150 related challenges, because that's 343 00:18:54,150 --> 00:18:56,160 a very basic one. But the most important 344 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:59,850 one, and I know, from many international 345 00:18:59,850 --> 00:19:02,250 students, there's anxiety around that. 346 00:19:02,310 --> 00:19:04,470 Like what would happen if I cannot renew 347 00:19:04,470 --> 00:19:07,290 my study permit because my passport has 348 00:19:07,290 --> 00:19:09,330 expired, and I cannot go back to my 349 00:19:09,330 --> 00:19:12,810 country to renew my passport. I don't 350 00:19:12,810 --> 00:19:15,120 think it requires, you know, 351 00:19:15,150 --> 00:19:18,690 more attention from the administration 352 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:22,530 side. And of course, I think there's a 353 00:19:22,530 --> 00:19:26,430 need to recognize that international 354 00:19:26,430 --> 00:19:28,170 students are not just the students as they 355 00:19:28,170 --> 00:19:31,080 have families that they have them not only here but also 356 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:33,990 back home. There's a need for support in 357 00:19:33,990 --> 00:19:37,260 terms of you know, recognizing that 358 00:19:37,260 --> 00:19:39,690 multiple roles that international students 359 00:19:39,690 --> 00:19:44,700 display and step up to check on them and 360 00:19:44,730 --> 00:19:49,800 provide space, you know, to catter for 361 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:52,350 this kind of different matters. Students 362 00:19:52,350 --> 00:19:56,130 might have because of the multiple roles, 363 00:19:56,310 --> 00:19:59,190 they have a student as far as, as 364 00:19:59,190 --> 00:20:02,700 families. Family headers and all 365 00:20:02,700 --> 00:20:06,630 that. So I would say there's a need for to 366 00:20:06,630 --> 00:20:09,210 take a holistic approach in terms of 367 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:13,590 understanding what are international students 368 00:20:13,620 --> 00:20:14,280 needs, 369 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:17,610 it's one thing to address a needed 370 00:20:17,610 --> 00:20:19,680 in particular and set students aside, but I 371 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:22,140 think, particularly in this concrete 372 00:20:22,260 --> 00:20:24,960 situation.I think most students are 373 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:29,040 struggling, in other words, as well, like, 374 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:32,490 you know, to, to meet, you know, 375 00:20:32,610 --> 00:20:34,890 expectations of being a family head or, 376 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:39,300 or an immigrant and as in a particular 377 00:20:39,300 --> 00:20:42,150 role setting, taking a holistic need 378 00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:44,970 holistic approach to what international 379 00:20:44,970 --> 00:20:49,890 students need. Would be very 380 00:20:49,890 --> 00:20:54,420 helpful. For faculty, I would say, 381 00:20:54,420 --> 00:20:56,850 particularly for graduate students, I 382 00:20:56,850 --> 00:20:59,520 think there's a need to understand that, 383 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:04,230 as everybody else, international students 384 00:21:04,290 --> 00:21:08,070 are struggling to be productive in this 385 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:10,830 period, and therefore there's going 386 00:21:10,830 --> 00:21:13,230 to be, you know, delay in terms of their 387 00:21:13,230 --> 00:21:16,170 timeline or their progress towards 388 00:21:16,170 --> 00:21:18,540 completing their degrees, their degree 389 00:21:18,540 --> 00:21:22,500 programs. So, that might mean that 390 00:21:22,500 --> 00:21:26,100 extending certain deadline or 391 00:21:26,100 --> 00:21:28,800 scholarships and all that. I think there 392 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:32,610 is a need to recognize that as everybody 393 00:21:32,610 --> 00:21:36,420 else, international students need to pause 394 00:21:36,420 --> 00:21:40,050 and take good care of themselves, and try 395 00:21:40,050 --> 00:21:42,510 to be productive as much as they can. But 396 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:46,290 if we kind of, you know, they need not to 397 00:21:47,250 --> 00:21:51,000 push them to still deliver on, you know, 398 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,540 this deadlines. Because just this 399 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:56,670 extra mile extra level of, you know, 400 00:21:56,700 --> 00:21:59,370 pressure on international students being 401 00:21:59,370 --> 00:22:02,160 away from their parents, being away from 402 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:05,640 their home country. And, and many of them, 403 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:08,580 you know, and not even getting the support 404 00:22:08,580 --> 00:22:11,370 system, at the school environment, because 405 00:22:11,370 --> 00:22:13,410 for most of international students, this 406 00:22:13,410 --> 00:22:17,040 course, is the prime source of support and 407 00:22:18,570 --> 00:22:21,990 classes being online. You know, the 408 00:22:22,020 --> 00:22:24,750 chances of a meeting with classmates 409 00:22:24,750 --> 00:22:27,840 chatting about this challenges is 410 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:30,360 limited, and therefore, they're struggling 411 00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:33,210 So, that there's a need to, for 412 00:22:33,210 --> 00:22:35,790 supervisors, for graduate program 413 00:22:35,790 --> 00:22:39,630 directors, that kind of special 414 00:22:39,930 --> 00:22:43,050 challenge of international students. And 415 00:22:43,050 --> 00:22:45,990 to kind of be accommodating of that, 416 00:22:46,140 --> 00:22:49,200 especially that difficulty of our challenge 417 00:22:49,230 --> 00:22:51,360 and understanding and a better 418 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:54,060 understanding of that challenge, overall, 419 00:22:54,690 --> 00:22:57,870 is emotional and emotional turmoil and 420 00:22:57,870 --> 00:23:00,870 mental health issues for international 421 00:23:00,870 --> 00:23:04,200 students. So, both universities and 422 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:08,580 students groups and faculty, I 423 00:23:08,580 --> 00:23:11,160 think there's a need to invest more on 424 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:13,680 mental illness. It is not just for 425 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:15,660 international students from abroad or in 426 00:23:15,660 --> 00:23:18,870 our student body. But I think since we're 427 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:20,310 talking about the particular 428 00:23:20,310 --> 00:23:22,560 vulnerabilities of international students, 429 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:25,200 because of their unique situation of being 430 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:27,420 away from family and being away from their 431 00:23:27,420 --> 00:23:30,360 classmates and all that. There's a need to 432 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:35,130 invest more on mental health support for 433 00:23:35,130 --> 00:23:38,220 international students. And and also 434 00:23:38,250 --> 00:23:41,250 practice, I would say, special projectors 435 00:23:41,250 --> 00:23:45,270 for them to respond to unique needs. For 436 00:23:45,300 --> 00:23:50,640 for, events or to send a letter to their own 437 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:52,560 country. I would say for me, for instance, 438 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:54,990 I'm very much involved in human rights 439 00:23:54,990 --> 00:23:59,670 advocacy at Ethiopia. And I think finding 440 00:23:59,670 --> 00:24:03,450 a way to integrate that into the support 441 00:24:03,450 --> 00:24:06,090 system for students would be very helpful. 442 00:24:06,090 --> 00:24:09,660 So, I guess it could be part of that, you 443 00:24:09,660 --> 00:24:12,420 know, taking a holistic approach to 444 00:24:12,420 --> 00:24:15,720 Westernized needs, it would be would be very 445 00:24:17,310 --> 00:24:20,310 helpful. These are unusual times, and I 446 00:24:20,310 --> 00:24:25,020 think it requires stepping up from 447 00:24:25,290 --> 00:24:27,960 everybody, including faculty, students and 448 00:24:28,230 --> 00:24:31,410 university administrators to check on 449 00:24:31,470 --> 00:24:33,990 international students who reflect and 450 00:24:33,990 --> 00:24:37,230 learn and revise or their approach to 451 00:24:37,230 --> 00:24:43,830 international students. Crisis can be an 452 00:24:43,830 --> 00:24:48,930 opportunity for rethinking the way to 453 00:24:49,170 --> 00:24:51,900 citizenship relates to states and I 454 00:24:51,900 --> 00:24:54,870 think as much as COVID has resulted in 455 00:24:54,930 --> 00:24:57,930 unfortunately, more incidents of human 456 00:24:57,930 --> 00:25:02,220 rights violation and actually has also 457 00:25:02,220 --> 00:25:05,190 provided a space for discussion around 458 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:09,030 what should be the relationship between 459 00:25:09,060 --> 00:25:11,340 citizen and independant states. There is a 460 00:25:11,340 --> 00:25:15,570 lot of citizens are, or Ethiopians are 461 00:25:15,810 --> 00:25:18,420 very much active in politics right now. 462 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,740 Because of, you know, the some of these 463 00:25:22,770 --> 00:25:26,010 atrocities that happened following the 464 00:25:26,010 --> 00:25:28,740 state of emergency and the postponement 465 00:25:28,740 --> 00:25:31,230 of election. I think there's an active 466 00:25:32,550 --> 00:25:34,590 reconsideration of like the relationship 467 00:25:34,590 --> 00:25:37,590 between the Ethiopian state and Ethiopians 468 00:25:37,950 --> 00:25:42,120 and that is, that's very good. I think if 469 00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:43,800 we take that, if we take it as an 470 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:46,740 advantage and build on it. I think I'm 471 00:25:46,740 --> 00:25:48,900 very much excited about some of the 472 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,620 writings coming out of, you know, how we 473 00:25:52,620 --> 00:25:54,960 should structure it again, the future how, 474 00:25:55,230 --> 00:25:57,060 when it has to happen for you to get to 475 00:25:57,060 --> 00:25:59,880 be, you know, an inclusive democratic 476 00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:03,360 state and what should be done from the 477 00:26:03,360 --> 00:26:05,190 government side, but also from the civil 478 00:26:05,190 --> 00:26:07,260 society side. So, there's a lot of, you 479 00:26:07,260 --> 00:26:10,530 know, discussion happening, and, you know, 480 00:26:10,530 --> 00:26:12,480 around the idea of, you know, 481 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:14,940 reconsidering, you know, the way a citizen 482 00:26:14,940 --> 00:26:17,580 is submitted to Ethipia and the the 483 00:26:17,580 --> 00:26:23,310 government relationship. And with not only 484 00:26:23,340 --> 00:26:26,040 Europeans processing society, and even 485 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:30,390 foreign actors. So, I think one thing I've 486 00:26:30,390 --> 00:26:34,830 learned from these experiences, crisis 487 00:26:34,830 --> 00:26:38,790 situations are also opportunities to 488 00:26:38,790 --> 00:26:42,810 influence the future. Because when this 489 00:26:42,810 --> 00:26:46,380 kind of things happen, citizens are way 490 00:26:46,770 --> 00:26:48,750 much more active than they typically 491 00:26:48,750 --> 00:26:51,390 wouldn't be. And there's a lot of, you 492 00:26:51,390 --> 00:26:54,810 know, interest that we can channel towards 493 00:26:54,810 --> 00:26:58,710 this positive change. Another thing is 494 00:26:58,710 --> 00:27:01,650 envisionating and I think crisis is could also 495 00:27:01,650 --> 00:27:04,530 be a weak, weakest point for the 496 00:27:04,530 --> 00:27:07,860 government. So government that's typically 497 00:27:07,860 --> 00:27:12,300 would dismiss concerns. I think it's now 498 00:27:12,360 --> 00:27:14,700 kind of responsiveness in a certain way, 499 00:27:15,120 --> 00:27:17,910 because of the the rising, the mounting 500 00:27:17,910 --> 00:27:21,450 pressure. So yeah, I think there's 501 00:27:21,450 --> 00:27:24,450 increase engagement 502 00:27:24,450 --> 00:27:27,720 from citizens, but also was, I would say, 503 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:31,380 because of this crisis more data is a bit 504 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:33,930 improving interest from the government 505 00:27:33,930 --> 00:27:37,830 side to listen to citizen so the combined 506 00:27:37,830 --> 00:27:42,540 effect is that I see a possibility for 507 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:46,140 shaping the way the country is moving 508 00:27:46,140 --> 00:27:48,210 forward in the future. So, I would say 509 00:27:48,210 --> 00:27:52,980 yeah, crisis can be porpuse. A moment of 510 00:27:52,980 --> 00:27:57,090 rethinking and reflecting and chanting a 511 00:27:57,090 --> 00:27:57,810 new pass.