By Lawrence Belanger
Local Journalism Initiative
Migrante Quebec, a migrants’ rights organization made up of Filipino migrant workers and their advocates, held an exhibition of poetry and photography by Filipino migrant workers at La Basilique-Cathédrale Saint-Michel de Sherbrooke last Friday, to celebrate International Migrant Worker’s Day.
Created in 2000 by the United Nations General Assembly to recognize migrant workers and draw attention to the issues faced by immigrants around the world, the day is observed on Dec. 18.
Joey Calugay, one of Migrante Quebec’s organizers, said that for the exhibit, “we asked them to…provide us with a slice of their life, work, rest, play,” with the goal to be showcasing “what their lives are in Canada.”
Deann Louise C. Nardo, one of the exhibit contributors, had two photos and a poem on display. Speaking about her poem, entitled “Holy Eye Rolls”, Nardo said “I wrote that a while ago when I was working, like as a teenager working at malls and like, Christmas time and being really tedious.” Her poem captured her perspective on the experience of working as a teenage immigrant, juxtaposing her shiny, warm, work environment with their poor living conditions.
