On June 13, 2025, the JRS Canada outreach team traveled to Sorel-Tracy to offer our simulation exercise A Journey into Exile for the employees of L’Orienthèque.

L’Orienthèque is an organization whose mission is to accompany and support:

1. the population in their search for sustainable employment;
2. employers with their labor needs;
3. newcomers with their social inclusion.

Its vision is to be the go-to resource for employment, diversity, and immigration through its ongoing commitment to the community. The organization also offers several integration support programs for immigrants.

Tevfik Karatop, Project Manager, Jean-Gardy Joseph, Community Worker, and Merveille Mufula, a new volunteer for JRS Canada, facilitated a session of A Journey into Exile for 34 employees of L’Orienthèque as part of their team day.

“Our workshop aimed to raise awareness among L’Orienthèque`s team about the history of refugees arriving in Canada. Following this successful event, we will be organizing two more sessions in September for the general public in Sorel-Tracy and Contrecœur,” shared Tevfik Karatop.

This trip also helped build a bond with JRS Canada’s new volunteer, Merveille Mufula, who co-facilitated the simulation exercise for the first time.

“It was moving to see the participants’ interest and attentiveness, and to realize that, thanks to my experience, I was able to sow a seed of understanding and empathy,” said Merveille Mufula after the simulation.

“After her successful facilitation, we hope to work with her to raise awareness about the refugee issue in the coming months,” added Tevfik Karatop.

For our community worker, Jean Gardy, this was the fourth simulation session he has facilitated.

In his sharing, he also tells us about a question that comes up frequently during our simulation exercise through our awareness-raising efforts in Quebec: “Why are so many refugees traumatized?”

Jean Gardy Joseph invites anyone who asks this question to imagine someone who has lived in a refugee camp for ten years and to think about whether that person would still be smiling. “They end up losing it completely. Why? Because in a refugee camp, people don’t live—they survive,” he said.

During the simulation in Sorel-Tracy, Merveille chose to share part of her personal story to break down certain prejudices that people may have about refugees. In her experience, refugees are sometimes perceived as “broken” individuals, mentally unstable or constantly in precarious situations, as if that were their identity. Through her testimony, she wanted to show that they are, above all, people like everyone else, who had stable, sometimes even comfortable lives before being forced to abandon everything.

“My father was a medical director, and we led a peaceful life before the situation forced us to leave everything behind. It’s never easy to abandon your bearings, your dreams, your dignity, and find yourself in a refugee camp where everything becomes uncertain. By sharing this, I simply wanted to make employees understand that behind each journey lie deep, often invisible wounds. Many of us learn to hide this pain in order to move forward, integrate, and survive,” said Merveille Mufula.

We also asked L’Orienthèque how their employees experienced this simulation. In a survey conducted by their team after the activity, their overall impression was described as an enriching, immersive, and deeply relevant experience, both professionally and personally.

Several participants emphasized how experiencing the stages of the migration journey allowed them to better understand, see, and feel the reality of refugees.

The activity was also perceived as emotional, concrete, and memorable, while being accessible and well-structured, despite the weighty subject matter.

“In the face of so much injustice and suffering, in the face of so much inhumanity, this workshop packs a punch,” said Josée Lafrenière, graphic designer.

For many, this workshop raised real awareness about the hardships and difficult decisions faced by people in exile.

“We can’t even begin to imagine what some of the people we know have had to survive, and even though they often prefer to remain silent, I believe it is important for them to be able to share their experiences so that they are better understood and respected, but also so that others can realize and appreciate the privilege they have of living in Quebec in peace and security,” said Marilyne Dumas, Director of Diversity and Inclusion.

Among the participants were other immigrants whose loved ones had experienced exile, who shared their stories in relation to the scenes presented and confirmed the accuracy of the facts.

Throughout the activity, one of the participants kept saying, “Yes, that event happened on such and such a date, in such and such a place,” or “We used to swim 5 kilometers to reach such and such a territory,” according to Jean Gardy Joseph. “That’s the main goal of this exercise: to help people better understand the disastrous situation experienced by refugees and encourage them to show a little more patience, compassion, and openness toward them in their new country,” he concluded.

This simulation exercise session was a high note to end the year with for JRS Canada. The positive feedback that was received will keep the team motivated for the next year.

“Participating in the A Journey into Exile experience is essential to fully understand the reality of refugees, and I recommend it to the entire population.”

– Brigitte Guévremont, Employment Counselor.