-
The Government Started to Deny Citizenships to the Rohingya
Since 1982, the government has denied citizenship to the Rohingya and rendered the people stateless. -
He Was Born
In the Rakhine state of Myanmar, where his parents had resided for more than 50 years, JN Joniad was born into a Muslim Rohingya household. -
Period: to
Lived in Myanmar
He lived in Myanmar for 19 years with his family. While here he felt like he never belonged because he faced daily discrimination and persecution. During this time he faced many examples of non-inclusion. He was bullied and was called "Kalar," which meant illegal immigrant in Rakhine. -
Anti-Rohingya Violence
Security troops frequently invaded Rohingya homes and dragged everyone they found inside when anti-Rohingya rioting broke out in the Rakhine state in 2012. They targeted young and educated people in particular because they saw them as a danger to their rule. He faced non-inclusion when troops invaded because it made him feel unsafe and because he was on the list of the kind of people the troops targeted. -
Left for Austraila
In Australia, the closest secure nation, JN Joniad believed he could rebuild his life. He left because he wasn't free and felt trapped in Myanmar, he went to Australia because it was the closest free nation. He thus took a life-threatening danger and endured gunfire upon entering Thailand. He then escaped to Malaysia and Indonesia from there, but was stopped while attempting to board a boat and returned to Indonesia; he never made it to Australia. His being shot was an act of non-inclusion. -
Locked in Hotel Room
For three months, JN Joniad was imprisoned in a hotel room before being moved to a detention facility in south Sulawesi. With more than 500 asylum seekers in residence, it was a site with high walls and electric fences. All of the residence were victims of non-inclusion by the people who captured them. The push was that the people that captured him moved him and there was no pull. -
Detained in Indonesian communal shelter in Makassar
JN Joniad was moved once more. This time to an Indonesian communal shelter in Makassar. He encountered many more refugees from several nations, including Somalia and Afghanistan. The captives were subject to a curfew of 10 p.m. and were not permitted to leave the city. The push was that his request to move to Canada was accepted and the pull was that he would be free in Canada. -
Application to Canada was Approved
At the beginning of 2020, JN Joniad's application to enter Canada as a refugee was finally accepted. This is an act of inclusion because the people of Canada accepted him and took him in to help him and keep him safe. -
First Taste of freedome
In September 2021, after two weeks of quarantine because of the pandemic, he finally got his first taste of freedom in Toronto. He also opened his very first account, which he wasn't allowed to do in Myanmar. His being able to get a bank account was an act of inclusion because he was included in having a freedom that he had never had before. -
Received ID and Health Card
Later in 2021, JN Joniad received his ID and health card. Each documentation felt like a validation to him that he belonged in Canada. -
Received Permanent Resident Card
In April, he received his permanent resident card. For him, it wasn't just a piece of paper. It meant that for the first time in his life, he could study, work, and access health care, and eventually, he would be able to vote when I become a citizen.