Again, thank you for that important question.
My experience in Canada has been extremely positive. Again, I made mention of how I consider myself to be very lucky, because when I enrolled as an undergraduate student at Concordia, I received a lot of support from my community at the university. When I began taking classes in international human rights, that was actually the first time that I spoke publicly about my own experiences. The more I spoke about them, the more I felt that I was releasing a load that had been with me, and the more I do it, the less severe it becomes.
It's been enriching from an academic perspective as well to be able to be involved in the community in different ways. I think that community engagements, giving back to the community that gave to you, is a very important civic duty. Concordia, I think, emphasized that.
Then one thing led to another. When you're involved in one capacity, it leads to another capacity, and you end up actually forgetting that you're a refugee and a Rwandan genocide survivor. You become a Canadian citizen. It has been quite a positive experience. I would hope that the same journey I went through.... I would say that it's because I had support, and of course financial support I think is the most important aspect of that. My father passed away two years ago, so the support I had from my father is no longer there.
Being able to be here today and serve as the president of the Black Law Students' Association of Canada for me is the continuation of giving back to that community in Montreal, Quebec, and the rest of Canada that has supported me. It feels good, and you actually receive more than you're giving.
For the same opportunities that I had, I believe that with more post-secondary educational opportunities being given, and also with the possibility to be involved in the community, it would create many young people who are going to become great Canadian citizens, Rwandan citizens, and citizens of other countries. Because it's not limited just to Rwanda; we have problems in Syria and many other places, and we have refugees coming to Canada. The way we welcome them, the way we treat them, and the way we provide them with support absolutely speaks a lot to what kind of citizens they're going to become. I think it's important to do that.