From refugee to climate advocate empowering other newcomers

Written By Peter Allan

Milad Rajabi, a 25-year-old former refugee from Aghanistan, founded and runs the organization Refugee Talk — an organization that helps other newcomers to Canada with the resettlement process. Photo courtesy: Milad Rajabi

 

By Patricia Lane & Milad Rajabi

Milad Rajabi empowers refugees to protect our climate. This 25-year-old former refugee from Afghanistan founded and runs Refugee Talk to enhance the resettlement process for other newcomers. Now a permanent Canadian resident, he believes some essential ingredients for building a new life here include learning some of our Indigenous heritage and helping make the impacts of climate change on both their homeland and their new country more transparent.

Tell us about your project.

Refugee Talk lifts up newcomers’ voices so the world can hear and be enriched by their stories. We publish videos and podcasts about their journeys. We offer workshops for newcomers to access housing, education and employment. We support networking and job-hunting. We point them to financial institutions we know have an open attitude towards newcomers. We host conversations between senior newcomers to decrease isolation and improve their conversational English. Our goal isn't just to help newcomers. It is to equip them to add the richness of their experience to the important conversations that affect us all, including protecting our climate and environment and deepening our respect for Indigenous teachings.

How did you get into this work?

As a male child in Afghanistan, I was expected to protect my sisters and mother but was mostly unable to do that, so we had to leave. In Turkey, I taught younger children basic education like math and English. Once I came to Canada in 2023, I wanted to help other newcomers and help Canada so the country benefits from their talents, skills and experience. In my resettlement, I was fortunate to be educated about the role colonialism has played in Canada’s history. I developed the idea that for us to be at home here we have to have a relationship with the land. Indigenous teachings have so much to offer us in that exploration. I also became aware that the changing climate is resulting in a lot of migration, considerable hardship and opportunities. It is important to encourage an understanding of both these subjects as part of the resettlement process for others. I imported a structure I developed in Turkey and that helped speed things up. Even though we have only been operating a short time, we are already a registered charity.

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Peter Allan
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