A Place Called Home

As one excitedly returns from the Christmas Holiday breaks and is immediately forced into school mode, one of the hardest things a student may face, indeed, is waving goodbye to their family once again. At least for me, the ensuing long journey back to Montreal helps with moving on. Yet as I commence a fourth semester in Montreal, the ease by which I have settled back to life here hits me. Do I immediately miss home, the food, weather and more? yes – but adjusting back to Montreal mode here has become alarmingly simple. What one might call an emotional paradox, these contrasting feelings create an inherent dilemma in deciding where exactly I call home (if you have a child in college, try asking them a similar question).

Within this region, another group of people are experiencing similar, but more serious predicaments: they are the Syrian refugees making their way into the country. Some argue that because McGill students are, as a whole, part of a well-informed community that openly involves itself in the current events in Montreal, news spreads quickly. Hence with the influx of refugees came an explosion of volunteer opportunities from embracing them at the airport to organizing clothes drives to equip them for this winter. Although refugees are set to spread out around many areas of Canada, most McGill students unanimously stand in solidarity to support their integration into society. Already there are talks of cultural centers being implemented as well as efforts to teach English to Syrian residents via video chat.

Trudeau’s response to the refugee crisis is exemplary of some of his initiatives as the new PM, and it is safe to say his decisions so far have been influential towards the students around me. So amidst the dilemma for Montreal dwellers deciding where to call home, they still strive to make sure others truly in need find an easy answer to this question: Canada.